Latest news with #Fukushima
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's overtures a ‘pointed signal' to stabilise ties with Japan: analysts
China has made a string of subtle yet telling overtures towards Japan in recent weeks – from removing controversial maritime buoys to easing a politically charged seafood import ban – in what observers see as a tactical recalibration rather than a true reset in bilateral ties. On Thursday, Japan 's government confirmed that China had dismantled the second of two oceanographic buoys it had installed without Tokyo's consent within Japan's exclusive economic zone near Okinawa. The following day, it was announced that the two governments had reached an agreement on procedures to resume exports of seafood products from most of Japan to China, 22 months after Beijing imposed a blanket ban on imports in response to Japan starting to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. China also appeared to temper its rhetoric during President Xi Jinping 's summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin earlier this month. A joint statement issued on May 8 emphasised expanded military cooperation, including regular joint air and sea patrols, but omitted a reference to securing 'Northeast Asia' – reportedly at Beijing's request – to avoid provoking Tokyo. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (centre) with farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi (right) during a meeting on Friday on the resumption of seafood exports to China. Photo: Kyodo 'I see this as China sending a pointed signal to Tokyo that it wants to stabilise the relationship, for a couple of reasons,' said Masayuki Masuda, director of Chinese studies at the Ministry of Defence's National Institute for Defence Studies in Tokyo.
CTV News
19 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Japan says China will resume Japanese seafood imports it halted over Fukushima water discharge
Visitors check seafood sold at the seafood market 'Lalamew' near the Onahama fish port in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, on Oct. 19, 2023 in Iwaki, northeastern Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) TOKYO — China will resume Japanese seafood imports it banned in 2023 over worries about Japan's discharge slightly radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, a Japanese official said Friday. China said their talks this week made 'substantial progress' but did not confirm an agreement with Japan on the issue that has been a significant political and diplomatic point of tension. Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the agreement was reached after Japanese and Chinese officials met in Beijing and the imports will resume once paperwork is complete. 'Seafood is an important export item for Japan and a resumption of its export to China is a major milestone," Koizumi said. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya also welcomed the move, saying, 'It will be a big first step that would help Japan and China to tackle a number of remaining issues between the two countries,' such as disputes over territory, trade and wartime history. But officials said China's ban on farm and fisheries products from 10 Japanese prefectures including Fukushima is still in place and that they will keep pushing toward their lifting. China's General Administration of Customs, in a statement issued Friday, said the two sides on Wednesday held 'a new round of technical exchanges on the safety issues of Japanese aquatic products ... and achieved substantial progress' but did not mention an agreement. How the disagreement over seafood imports began China blocked imports of Japanese seafood because it said the release of the treated and diluted but still slightly radioactive wastewater would endanger the fishing industry and coastal communities in eastern China. Japanese officials have said the wastewater will be safer than international standards and its environmental impact will be negligible. They say the wastewater must be released to make room for the nuclear plant's decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks. Tokyo and Beijing since March held three rounds of talks on the issue before reaching the agreement on Wednesday on the 'technical requirements' necessary for Japanese seafood exports to China to restart, Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It did not say how long it may take before the actual resumption. Mainland China used to be the biggest overseas market for Japanese seafood, accounting for more than one-fifth of its seafood exports, followed by Hong Kong. The ban became a major blow to the fisheries industry, though the impact on overall trade was limited because seafood exports are a fraction of Japan's total exports. Japan's government set up an emergency relief fund for Japanese exporters, especially scallop growers, and has sought alternative overseas markets. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi plant, has said it would compensate Japanese business owners appropriately for damages from export bans. Why the wastewater is being treated and released into the sea The nuclear plant had meltdowns in three reactors after being heavily damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan. Water used to cool the reactor cores has been accumulating ever since, and officials say the massive stockpile is hampering the cleanup of the site. The wastewater was treated and heavily diluted with seawater to reduce the radioactivity as much as possible before Japan began releasing it into the sea in August 2023. Last September, then-Prime Minster Fumio Kishida said the two sides reached 'a certain level of mutual understanding' that China would start working toward easing the import ban and join the International Atomic Energy Agency's expanded monitoring of wastewater discharges. People inside and outside Japan protested the initial wastewater release. Japanese fishing groups said they feared it would further damage the reputation of their seafood. Groups in China and South Korea also raised concerns. Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press
The Independent
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
China to resume Japanese seafood imports after Fukushima water row
Japan has announced that China will lift its ban on Japanese seafood imports. The ban was imposed in 2023 due to concerns over the discharge of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean. Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said that the agreement was reached during a meeting between Japanese and Chinese officials in Beijing. The resumption of imports is contingent upon the completion of required paperwork. As of now, there has been no immediate statement from China regarding this development. The step is based on an agreement between the two nations that Beijing was to take steps toward ending the ban by joining water sampling missions as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Fukushima Daiichi plant was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, triggering meltdowns in its three reactors and causing large amounts of radioactive water to accumulate. The wastewater was treated and heavily diluted to reduce the radioactivity as much as possible before Japan began discharging the wastewater in August 2023. Japan says the discharge has met international safety standards and data from the IAEA monitoring are publicly available. China blocked imports of Japanese seafood because it said the release would endanger the fishing industry and coastal communities in eastern China. Earlier this week, Japan announced plans to use slightly radioactive soil, stored near the nuclear plant, for flower beds outside Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's office. The move is intended to demonstrate the safety of reusing soil that was removed from Fukushima prefecture during decontamination efforts. Officials say that some of the soil has now reached levels deemed safe for reuse. The government aims to reassure the public by using the soil at Mr Ishiba's office in Tokyo, with plans to extend its use to flower beds and other purposes within government agency grounds.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan says China will resume Japanese seafood imports it halted over Fukushima water discharge
Japan says China will resume Japanese seafood imports it banned in 2023 over worries about Japan's discharge of treated but slightly radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. China said Friday that talks this week made 'substantial progress' but did not confirm an agreement on the issue that has been a significant political and diplomatic point of tension for the wary Asian powers.
Free Malaysia Today
21 hours ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
China to resume Japanese seafood imports
China imposed a ban on Japanese seafood imports in 2023. (EPA Images pic) TOKYO : China has agreed on procedures to resume imports of Japanese seafood products, Japan's government said today, marking a step towards ending a nearly two-year trade ban. Officials from Japan's ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries and China's customs reached the agreement during a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday, the ministry said, adding China-bound seafood exports are expected to resume after China takes 'necessary procedures'. The agreement comes as both governments work to ease tensions stemming from the 2023 release of treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The Japanese ministry did not specify the details of the procedures. But the Nikkei newspaper, which reported the news earlier, said that under the agreed measures, Japan will register fishery processing facilities with Chinese authorities, and export shipments will include inspection certificates confirming the absence of radioactive substances such as cesium-137. Nikkei added that China is expected to formally announce the resumption of seafood imports from Japanese prefectures outside the Fukushima region in the near future. China imposed the ban on Japanese seafood imports in 2023, shortly after Tokyo began releasing treated wastewater from the disaster-hit plant, prompting a sharp diplomatic and economic backlash. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
