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Japan Forward
3 days ago
- Business
- Japan Forward
Lesson from China's Seafood Ban: Diversify Trade Markets
このページを 日本語 で読む China's May 30 move to end its unjust embargo on Japanese seafood exports was only natural. After all, in September 2024, it had already promised to steadily revive Japanese seafood imports. Eight months later, the two sides have just reached an agreement on initiating the process to lift the import ban. However, rather than taking that promise at face value, we need to pay close attention to the Chinese government's tardiness and inadequacy of response. China imposed a blanket ban on all Japanese seafood imports following the release of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. On that basis, the agreement represents a key step for Japan's fishing industry, which has been battered by China's ban. China was a major export market for Japanese scallops and sea cucumbers before the ban. Hopes that exports would soon resume are therefore growing. However, has China's stance toward Japan really changed? The resumption of imports will apply to 37 prefectures. But that list does not include Fukushima, Ibaraki, and eight other prefectures where China had imposed restrictions on imports soon after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear disaster. Also, registration procedures for Japanese export businesses are just beginning on the Chinese side. Therefore, it will likely be several months before actual exports to China can resume. Moreover, since China often delays customs procedures for political reasons, caution is required. A cabinet meeting aimed at expanding exports of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products and other food was held at the Prime Minister's Office on May 30. The Shigeru Ishiba administration should take a proactive stance to ensure that China swiftly and steadily honors its promises. It must continue to press for the immediate abolition of the restrictions on exports from the remaining 10 prefectures. China requires inspections for radioactive substances and certificates of origin for all products it imports from Japan. According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Japan had committed to meeting China's regulatory and food safety standards and the criteria of Chinese supervisory authorities. Nevertheless, China's claim that the treated water is "radioactive contaminated water" is a false accusation to begin with. It is merely intended to deceive the public with absolutely no scientific basis. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other organizations have vouched for the safety of releasing the ALPS treated water. Chinese fishing vessels also continued to fish in Japan's coastal waters. It is perfectly clear that Beijing's argument that the embargo is justified due to "public anxiety" is hollow. For a decade after the Fukushima Daiichi accident, fishermen in the region suffered restrictions on import of their products. China may be eager to present the image of a conciliatory attitude toward Japan. Nevertheless, that is merely to counter pressure from the Trump administration. Moreover, even if China takes baby steps towards reconciling with Japan, we must remain vigilant. After all, no progress has been made on issues such as the detention of Japanese nationals in China and intrusions by Chinese vessels into Japan's territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands. Japan began to explore new export destinations for its marine products after China imposed its trade embargo. Even if exports resume, the political risks related to China will not decrease. The seafood industry should continue and intensify its efforts to diversify its export markets. Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun このページを 日本語 で読む
RNZ News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Japan's Fukushima nuclear wastewater 'pose major environmental, human rights risks'
Storage tanks for contaminated water at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in Okuma of Fukushima prefecture in 20 January 2023. Photo: Philip Fong / AFP The United Nations (UN) human rights experts have written to the Japanese government to express their concerns about the release of more than one million metric tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. In August 2023, Japan began discharging wastewaster from about 1000 storage tanks of contaminated water collected after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that caused the meltdown of its Fukushima nuclear plant. In the formal communication, available publicly , UN Human Rights Council special rappoteurs addressed the the management of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS)-treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) by the Japan government and TEPCO (Tokio Electric Power), and the ongoing discharge of such waters into the Pacific Ocean. They said "we are alarmed that the implementation of contaminated water release operations of into the ocean may pose major environmental and human rights risks, exposing people, especially children, to threats of further contamination in Japan and beyond." "We wish to raise our concern about the allegations of the failure to assess the consequences on health of the release of wastewater against the best available scientific evidence," the special rappoteurs write. "Against this backdrop, we would like to highlight that the threats to the enjoyment of the right to adequate food do not concern only local people within the borders of Japan. "Given the migratory nature of fish, their contamination represents a risk also for people living beyond the Japanese borders, including Indigenous Peoples across the Pacific Ocean which, according to their culture and traditions, mainly rely on seafood as their primary livelihood." The letter follows a complaint submitted by Ocean Vision Legal in August 2023 on behalf of the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) and endorsed by over 50 civil society groups in the Pacific and beyond. In a statement on Tuesday, PANG hailed it as "a landmark move for ocean justice and human rights". The organisation said that the destructive legacy of nuclear contamination through nuclear testing is still strongly felt across the region. It said this legacy is marked by severe health impacts across generations and the ongoing failure to properly clean up test sites, which continue to contaminate the islands and waterways that Pacific peoples depend on. "As Pacific groups, we remain disappointed in the Japanese Government and TEPCO's shameless disregard of the calls by numerous Pacific leaders and civil society groups to hold off on any further release," PANG's coordinator Joey Tau said. "Their ignorance constitutes a brazen threat to Pacific peoples' livelihoods, safety, health and well-being, and the sovereignty of Pacific nations," he added. Joey Tau Photo: RNZ Pacific / Lydia Lewis Japan has consistently maintained that the release is safe. The UN human rights experts have asked for further information from Japan, including on the allegations raised, and on how the Radiological Environmental Impact Assessment has been conducted according to the best available scientific evidence. This communication sends a clear message: Ocean issues must be understood as human rights issues, requiring precautionary and informed action aligned with international environmental law to safeguard both people and the marine environment. Ocean Vision Legal founder and CEO Anna von Rebay said while the communication is not legally binding, it is a crucial milestone. "It informs the interpretation of human rights and environmental law in response to contemporary threats, contributing to the development of customary international law and strengthens accountability for any actor harming the Ocean," she said. "Ultimately, it paves the way towards a future where the Ocean's health is fully recognised as fundamental to human dignity, justice, and intergenerational equity."
Japan Forward
21-04-2025
- Science
- Japan Forward
TEPCO Makes Progress Toward Fukushima Daiichi Decommissioning
このページを 日本語 で読む On April 10, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) began the 12th round of ALPS treated water discharges from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. This was the first of seven planned discharges in Fiscal Year 2025. As the discharge continues, tanks no longer needed will be dismantled in phases. The cleared space will be repurposed for building new facilities essential to the decommissioning process. ALPS treated water refers to water that has come into contact with radioactive materials inside the Fukushima Daiichi reactor buildings and then been treated to remove impurities that make it unsafe. In the immediate aftermath of the nuclear accident, roughly 500 cubic meters of contaminated water were generated each day. This was primarily due to rainwater and groundwater mixing with water that had come into contact with molten nuclear fuel (fuel debris). By FY2023, that figure had decreased to 80 cubic meters per day. All of the contaminated water is collected and then steadily purified through the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to meet safety standards set by regulators. Radioactive materials, except tritium, an element commonly present in nature, are removed. Discharge operations began in August 2023. Around 86,000 tons of ALPS treated water had been released into the ocean as of the end of March 2025. TEPCO plans to discharge approximately 54,600 tons over seven rounds in FY 2025. Also at Fukushima Daiichi, TEPCO began its second trial retrieval of fuel debris from Unit 2 of the nuclear power plant on April 15, 2025. The debris was formed when radioactive fuel in the reactor could no longer be cooled during the 2011 accident caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. It refers to a solidified mixture of molten nuclear fuel and structural materials from the reactor. Sample of fuel debris retrieved from Unit 2 in September 2024. Size: approximately 9mm × 7mm; Weight: approximately 0.69g (©JAEA via TEPCO HD) The first retrieval was conducted in September 2024. This second attempt targets a location one to two meters closer to the center of the primary containment vessel. A specially designed robotic arm — capable of precision movements and navigating tight spaces — is being used for the operation. The Japanese government and TEPCO aim to remove all remaining fuel debris and complete the decommissioning process by 2051. Control room during the second remotely operated fuel debris retrieval. April 15, 2025 (© TEPCO HD *Some portions of the image have been modified) In seawater near the ALPS treated water discharge outlet, the highest tritium concentration detected was 56 becquerels per liter. This is based on a rapid measurement conducted in March 2025. The level is well below TEPCO's suspension threshold of 700 becquerels per liter, which applies to readings taken within three kilometers of the plant. It is also far lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline for drinking water, which sets the upper limit at 10,000 becquerels per liter. On April 7, the China National Nuclear Corporation released findings from seawater and marine life samples collected near the plant in February. The samples, analyzed by Chinese research institutions, showed no irregularities in tritium levels or other radioactive substances. China imposed a blanket ban on Japanese marine products when the ALPS treated water discharge began. It has since announced that imports meeting safety standards will gradually resume. However, it has not said when.
