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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
China to resume seafood imports halted over Fukushima discharge, says Japan
China will resume Japanese seafood imports that it banned in 2023 over worries about Japan's discharge of 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 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. 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 an agreement 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. 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. 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 debris from the reactors. The wastewater was treated and heavily diluted 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. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings has said the utility would compensate Japanese business owners appropriately for damages suffered by export bans.
2 days ago
- Business
Japan says China will resume Japanese seafood imports it halted over water discharge
TOKYO -- China will resume Japanese seafood imports that it banned in 2023 over worries about Japan's discharge of 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 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. 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 an agreement 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. 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. 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 debris from the reactors. The wastewater was treated and heavily diluted 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
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Japan says China will resume Japanese seafood imports it halted over Fukushima water discharge
TOKYO (AP) — China will resume Japanese seafood imports that it banned in 2023 over worries about Japan's discharge of 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 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. 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 an agreement 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. 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. 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 debris from the reactors. The wastewater was treated and heavily diluted 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.
Yomiuri Shimbun
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan, ROK to Open Fast-Track Airport Immigration Lines;Bilateral Benefit Marks Anniversary of Diplomatic Ties
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo Flags of Japan and South Korea Fast-track immigration control lanes will be introduced at two airports in Japan and another two in South Korea for each other's citizens for one month, the Japanese government said Wednesday. The lanes will be introduced for the month of June at Haneda and Fukuoka airports as well as Gimpo International Airport in Seoul and Gimhae International Airport in Busan. The move is part of efforts to facilitate immigration procedures between the two countries, thereby promoting exchanges and strengthening relations as this year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Passengers who have entered the countries at least once in the past year and their family members on flights arriving at the airports between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. are eligible for the priority lanes. Advance entry procedures online are required. At Haneda and Gimpo airports, the dedicated lanes will be available only for passengers on flights of All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. This will be the first time for Japan to establish dedicated lanes for people of a specific nationality at its airports. Although immigration procedures will be conducted as usual in Japan, this move is expected to help alleviate congestion caused by the increase in the number of foreign visitors. At a meeting in September last year, then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and then South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed to introduce the lanes in conjunction with the 60th anniversary. The measure will be introduced for the month of June because June 22 marks the anniversary of the signing of the Japan-South Korea basic relations treaty that normalized the bilateral diplomatic ties in 1965. Japan and South Korea have become each other's most popular tourist destination, with about 8.81 million South Koreans visiting Japan and about 3.22 million Japanese visiting South Korea in 2024.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
How Japan uses heavy machinery and AI to clear Ukraine mines
With some 2 million land mines believed to be contaminating around 174,000 square kilometers in Ukraine, Japan is bringing both its diplomatic and technological skills to bear as it seeks to reduce the threat in the war-torn nation. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Japan will host an international workshop this fall focusing on mine clearance efforts in Ukraine. After that, it is set to chair the 22nd conference of the parties to the Ottawa Convention the 1997 agreement that prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of when it meets in Geneva in December. At the same time, the Japanese government, private companies and academics are using both cutting-edge technology and more traditional approaches to clearing large areas of mines and unexploded ordnance in an effort to save lives in Ukraine. Japanese companies have decades of experience in this sector. Komatsu Ltd, the Tokyo-based manufacturer of heavy construction equipment, has been cooperating with NGOs in Cambodia since 1999 to clear paddy fields and the countryside of mines. The company has since expanded similar programs to Laos, Afghanistan and Angola. Detonating devices 'in situ' On July 9 last year, Japan's ambassador to Kyiv, Kuninori Matsuda, handed over four heavily armored Komatsu excavators to Ukraine. The machines are fitted with equipment to safely detonate anti-personnel mines "in situ" in their original position. The foreign ministry in Tokyo followed this up with a statement saying that the removal of mines and unexploded ordnance was "not only essential in ensuring the safety and security of residents, but is also a prerequisite for recovery and reconstruction" in Ukraine. The following month, a group of trainees with the state emergency service of Ukraine (SESU) traveled to Japan for instruction in the operation and maintenance of equipment, before going on to Cambodia for practical training in the field. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Between the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the end of 2024, Japan provided Ukraine with 91 billion yen (€553.9 million, $617 million) in grant aid to assist its reconstruction. Japan vows to help Ukraine Under the terms of its post-war constitution, however, Japan has to navigate strict restrictions on military aid to Ukraine. Tokyo has provided Kyiv with medical equipment, helmets and body armor, but not the munitions or weapons systems that have been forthcoming from other nations. Yet successive Japanese leaders have committed to doing what they can to assist. "Japan will step up its efforts in the areas of mine clearance to enable the Ukrainian people to feel reassured as they re-establish their daily lives," then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the attendees of the Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland last year. And while Komatsu is using tried-and-tested techniques to render mines safe, others are applying the latest technological advances to the problem. Drones learning to find mines from the air In February, Hideyuki Sawada, a professor in the school of advanced science and engineering at Tokyo's Waseda University, took part in an online seminar organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross to detail his latest advances. Sawada's team is developing a system that teaches AI to identify mines using a drone equipped with an infrared camera. The drone is capable of scanning large areas of ground much more rapidly than humans equipped with hand-held detection equipment. Potential threats can then be marked for specialist engineers to make them safe. "I started this research in 2019 and I'm trying to make robots behave and react like a human," Sawada, an expert in artificial intelligence, robotics and machine learning, told DW. "We are using machine learning to teach the robot to identify a mine from the hundreds of pictures that we input." The challenge is greatly increased as mines are usually buried underground, so the infrared camera is required to help detect and identify a target from its metal or plastic heat signature, he added. Temperatures, humidity levels and the makeup of the ground further complicate the situation, but are gradually being overcome, Sawada said. "At the moment we have a success rate of around 95% for buried mines and we are adding extra variables, such as temperature and terrain," he said. Sawada and his team are gathering data on these variables in Ukraine. The Japanese expert is keen to get on the ground, although he says more work needs to be done to achieve the optimum results. "There are more than 100 different types of mines that have been used there so it is difficult to gather all the data we need for every situation," he told DW. Protecting 'an entire generation of children' "Even though the system is not yet perfect, I believe it is very important to test it in a real-world environment and gather more data so we can build our knowledge of the technology and the environment so we can become more effective," Sawada said. And it is critical that such improvements are made quickly, he added. "We know that 40% of the victims of land mines are children who are playing in the fields and accidentally step on a mine," he said. "Solving this problem will mean that an entire generation of children will not have to experience that." "In Ukraine, even after the war has ended, mines will still be there and mean that many areas are not safe," Sawada said. "I want to do my best to change that and there are other Japanese companies and organizations that are doing the same."
