Latest news with #FukushimaDaiichi
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
China to resume seafood imports from Japan
AP image China has agreed to resume the import of seafood from Japan after a two-year ban over the discharge of wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, Tokyo said on Friday. What do we know about the deal between China and Japan? The agreement between the two countries was reached in a meeting held in Beijing on Wednesday, Japan's Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said. He said the export to China will begin once Beijing takes "necessary procedures," without detailing what those might be. The agreement is based on China's participation in the water sampling missions as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Nikkei newspaper, which reported the news earlier, said that the agreement calls on Japan to register fishery processing facilities with the Chinese authorities. The agreement also requires inspection and certification of the seafood, confirming the absence of radioactive substances such as caesium-137. Nikkei also reported that China is expected to officially announce the resumption of exports from areas that lie outside the Fukushima region soon. Why did China ban the import of seafood from Japan? In 2023, China stopped importing Japanese seafood over the release of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo It said the released water posed a risk to the fishing industry and coastal communities in eastern China. The Fukushima Daiichi plant was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which led to meltdowns in three of its reactors, causing large amounts of radioactive water to accumulate. Japan started releasing the treated wastewater into the sea in 2023 and said the discharge met international safety standards and data from the IAEA monitoring was publicly available. But China still decided to halt the import of Japanese seafood at the time.
Japan Today
a day ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Japan says China will resume Japanese seafood imports
People shop for sushi and sashimi at a Japanese supermarket in Beijing in August 2023, shortly before a blanket ban on Japanese seafood was put in place. By Mari Yamaguchi China will resume Japanese seafood imports that 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, a Japanese official said Friday. The issue has been a significant political and diplomatic point of tension for the wary Asian powers. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the two sides reached an agreement after Japanese and Chinese officials met in Beijing and the imports will resume once the necessary paperwork is done. '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 issued a statement saying the two sides held "a new round of technical exchanges on the safety issues of Japanese aquatic products ... and achieved substantial progress' Thursday but did not mention an agreement. China blocked imports of Japanese seafood because it said the release would endanger the fishing industry and coastal communities in eastern China. Japanese officials have said the wastewater must be released to make room for the nuclear plant's decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks. They say the treatment and dilution will make the wastewater safer than international standards and its environmental impact will be negligible. Friday's announcement is based on 'a shared recognition' between the two nations that Beijing would take steps toward ending the ban by joining water sampling missions by the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency. Tokyo and Beijing since March have held three rounds of consultations on the issue before reaching the agreement on Thursday 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. Since March, Tokyo and Beijing have conducted technical consultations on the resumption of Japanese seafood exports to China The March 2011 nuclear meltdowns followed an earthquake and tsunami. There were meltdowns in the plant's three reactors, causing large amounts of radioactive water to accumulate in their basements. The water release has been a milestone for the plant's battle with an ever-growing radioactive water stockpile that officials say has hampered the daunting task of removing fatally toxic melted fuel debris from the reactors. The wastewater was treated and heavily diluted with seawater to reduce the radioactivity as much as possible before Japan began discharging the wastewater 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 IAEA 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. 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, making the ban a major blow to the fisheries industry. But experts said the ban's impact on overall trade was limited because seafood exports are a fraction of Japan's total exports. Japan's government has set up an emergency relief fund for Japanese exporters, especially scallop growers, and has sought alternative overseas markets. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings has said the utility would compensate Japanese business owners appropriately for damages suffered by export bans. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
NHK
a day ago
- Business
- NHK
Japan, China agree on requirements for resuming Japanese seafood imports
Japan's top government spokesperson says Japan and China have agreed on the requirements for resuming imports of Japanese seafood. China suspended the imports after Japan began releasing treated and diluted water that was accumulating at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa told a Cabinet meeting on Friday that Japan and China have reached an agreement on the technical requirements for resuming seafood exports to China. Hayashi said the exports will resume as soon as procedures are completed for re-registering export-related facilities. But China's import ban on beef, as well as food products from 10 Japanese prefectures including Fukushima, Miyagi and Tokyo, will still be in place. Hayashi asked the relevant Cabinet ministers to continue making efforts so that China may lift the ban. The two governments have been holding working-level talks for an early resumption of Japanese seafood exports. Last September, China said it would resume imports of Japanese marine products that meet regulatory requirements and standards. Water used to cool molten fuel at the Fukushima plant has been mixing with rain and groundwater. The accumulated water is being treated to remove most radioactive substances, but it still contains tritium. Before releasing the treated water into the ocean, the plant's operator dilutes it to reduce the tritium level to about one-seventh of the World Health Organization's guidance level for drinking water.
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Japan says China will resume Japanese seafood imports it halted over Fukushima water discharge
Japan said Friday that China will resume imports of Japanese seafood that it banned in 2023 over the discharge of wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the two sides reached an agreement after Japanese and Chinese officials met in Beijing and the imports will resume once the necessary paperwork is done. China did not immediately comment. 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.
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Health
- Gizmodo
Japan Puts Fukushima Soil in Prime Minister's Flower Beds to Show It's Safe
In March 2011, an earthquake triggered a massive tsunami along Japan's coast. The surging waters caused the Fukushima Daiichi power plant to lose power. As a result, the cooling systems of three reactors failed, and their cores experienced a partial meltdown, releasing radiation into the environment in the second worst nuclear accident in history. While the earthquake and tsunami claimed over 18,000 lives, the nuclear accident itself didn't cause any direct radiation deaths. However, 14 years later, Japan is still dealing with its consequences—including over 494 million cubic feet (14 million cubic meters) of slightly radioactive soil, equivalent to 11 Tokyo Domes. To demonstrate that the soil is now safe enough to repurpose, Japan announced on Tuesday plans to use some in the flower beds at the Prime Minister's office, as reported by Japan Today. The soil has been sitting at an interim storage facility near the Fukushima Daiichi complex since its removal during decontamination work, and the Japanese government is legally obliged to deal with the soil before 2045. The plan comes in the wake of public opposition to using the soil in Tokyo's public parks, pushing the government to abandon the plan. The Environment Ministry maintains that some of the soil is now safe enough to repurpose. Since the public is clearly not convinced, however, the government plans to demonstrate this firsthand by using the soil in flower beds as well as for other purposes near government offices, according to Japan Today. 'The government will take the lead in setting an example, and we will do so at the prime minister's office,' chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a meeting, as reported by the Guardian. Back in 2024, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved Japan's plan to recycle about 75% of the slightly radioactive soil—'if demonstrated safe'—in infrastructure including railways, waste treatment sites, roads, seawalls, coastal protection, agricultural land, and land reclamation. During the soil task force meeting, the Environment Ministry said that the radioactive soil would be used in foundations and covered in a thick layer of regular topsoil, according to the AP. 'The IAEA is confident that as the Ministry of the Environment (MOEJ) continues to explore solutions in line with our recommendations, its evolving strategy for recycling and final disposal of removed soil and waste will remain consistent with IAEA Safety Standards,' agency director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated in an IAEA press release. Japan is also dealing with hundreds of millions of gallons of contaminated water, which operators used in 2011 to flood the nuclear reactors to mitigate the meltdown. In 2023, the IAEA approved Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, which the country began doing shortly after despite strong opposition from neighboring countries. In a similar demo to the forthcoming one, Japanese ministers ate fish from Fukushima to demonstrate that the discharge was not contaminating seafood. Evidently, many people need tangible proof that the government truly has their health and safety in mind. It remains to be seen whether this future demonstration will be enough to convince them.
