Latest news with #TakeshiIwaya
Yomiuri Shimbun
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
China Hopes to Improve Japan Ties Amid Conflict with U.S.; Resumption of Japanese Seafood Imports Seen as Attempt to Boost Ties with Neighbors
The Yomiuri Shimbun Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, second from left, speaks at a meeting to expand exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday. Japan and China agreed to begin procedures to resume exports of Japanese marine products to China. Amid Beijing's conflict with Washington, China is hoping the move will improve bilateral ties with Japan. However, the resumption of exports of Japanese marine products will only apply to 37 prefectures, excluding Tokyo and nine other prefectures. The Japanese side will continue to seek the resumption of exports from these 10 prefectures as well as China's positive responses to other bilateral issues. 'This could be a big step forward in tackling various issues between Japan and China,' Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said at a press conference on Friday. China imposed a total ban on imports of Japanese marine products in response to the release of treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean. The release began in August 2023. Beijing subsequently launched a campaign criticizing the release at international conferences and other venues, saying, 'The Pacific Ocean is not a sewer for Japan's 'nuclear-contaminated water.'' Perceiving China's move as a way to undermine Japan's position in the international community, the Japanese government focused on winning the understanding of various countries, including South Korea and Pacific island nations. Japan had urged China to withdraw the embargo while spreading the view that there was no scientific evidence to support Beijing's ban. Under the latest agreement, such documents as an inspection certificate for radioactive tritium will be required for the initial exports, but the export procedures are expected to be almost the same as before August 2023. 'It took time, but we were able to achieve results without making major concessions,' a senior Foreign Ministry official said. Since U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term in January, Chinese President Xi Jinping's government has been at odds with Washington over tariffs. It is thought that China's move to resume imports of Japanese marine products is part of efforts to quickly improve ties with neighboring countries. The Chinese side hopes to attract more investments by improving ties with Japan. In 2024, direct investment in China by foreign companies declined 60% compared to the previous year, the lowest level since 1992. At the same time, China is marking this year as 'the 80th anniversary of winning the war against Japan,' inflaming people's patriotism. Some believe China worked to quickly reach an agreement with Japan because it would become more difficult for Beijing to make moves that could be seen as making concessions to Japan as the date neared Sept. 3, which marks the anniversary of China winning the war against Japan. However, some on the Chinese side have made certain remarks that raise doubts about whether the country wants to improve relations with Japan. At a press conference on Friday, Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, referred to the treated water as 'nuclear-contaminated water.' As the Chinese government has criticized Japan, it is believed that China is slowly introducing measures to improve ties with Japan while considering public opinion at home. The decision not to include marine products from the 10 prefectures may be part of that effort. Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to visit Japan this year for a trilateral summit meeting between Japan, China and South Korea. Japan is to chair the summit. If realized, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's first visit to China may also be considered. However, there are still many issues between Japan and China, including ensuring the safety of Japanese residents in China and China's violation of Japanese airspace with its aircraft flying near the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture. Japan plans to cautiously explore ways to improve relations with China because the issue of economic security, with China in mind, is on the agenda for Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations. 'We will carefully move forward with our diplomacy with China one step at a time while comprehensively seeing how the U.S.-China conflict and the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations will unfold,' said a Japanese government official.
CTV News
a day 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
Yomiuri Shimbun
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Philippines Agree to Strengthen Security Cooperation; Nations Hope to Work Together to Counter Expanding Chinese Maritime Presence
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo The Foreign Ministry in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo With China's aggressive expansion of its maritime presence in the East and South China Seas in mind, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo agreed to strengthen security cooperation between their two countries when they met in Tokyo on Wednesday. At the start of the discussions, Iwaya declared that Japan hopes to collaborate with the Philippines, its 'near-alliance' partner, to realize a 'free and open Indo-Pacific.' He also expressed his intention to further promote cooperation through the Official Security Assistance program, in which Japan provides friendly nations with defense equipment free of charge. The two sides also agreed to deepen Japan-Philippines and Japan-U.S.-Philippines cooperation. Iwaya also held talks with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn on Wednesday, in which the two sides exchanged views on issues such as the situation in the East and South China Seas.
Yomiuri Shimbun
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Beijing Removes Chinese Buoy from Japan's EEZ in Okinawa Pref.; No More Chinese Buoys Unapproved by Tokyo Placed in Japan EEZ
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, left, and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi shake hands at a meeting in Beijing in December 2024, when Iwaya protested China's placement of a buoy in Japan's EEZ. China has removed its large buoy that had been placed without Japan's approval inside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) south of Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture, according to sources. The Japanese government, which has been demanding that China remove the buoy since it was put in place in December, is looking into the reason why China removed the buoy. According to Japanese government sources, the Japan Coast Guard observed the buoy removal. The buoy had 'China Meteorological Administration' and other words were written on it, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry has insisted it was legal and for meteorological observation purposes. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that marine scientific research can only be conducted in the EEZ of another country if approval is obtained from the other state. China had previously placed a buoy in Japan's EEZ off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture in July 2023 but moved it to the Chinese side in February this year. Following the latest removal, there are no more Chinese buoys in Japan's EEZ without the approval of the Japanese government.
The Mainichi
3 days ago
- Business
- The Mainichi
Japan eyes closer ties with Philippines, Cambodia via security aid
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya expressed eagerness to enhance ties with the Philippines and Cambodia through security aid as he met separately with their top diplomats in Tokyo on Wednesday, in the face of China's growing influence in Southeast Asia. On the economic front, Iwaya agreed with Enrique Manalo from the Philippines to further cooperate in infrastructure development, while he underscored the importance of enhancing the multilateral free trade system with Cambodia's Prak Sokhonn, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. Reflecting the rapidly advancing ties with the Philippines, Iwaya said the partnership between Tokyo and Manila has evolved into a "near-alliance status" and called for joint efforts to realize a "free and open Indo-Pacific." Iwaya and Manalo also agreed to hold maritime talks involving senior officials and a vice-minister-level strategic dialogue later this year, the ministry said. The two countries share concerns over Beijing's maritime assertiveness, with Chinese vessels acting aggressively against Philippine ships near disputed shoals in the South China Sea and repeatedly entering waters around the Japan-controlled, China-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Japan has already decided to provide the Philippine military with coastal surveillance radar under the Official Security Assistance program launched in 2023 aimed at deepening security ties with like-minded partners. Cambodia, which has been deepening its ties with China economically and militarily, is not among the selected recipients under the program. But Iwaya conveyed to Sokhonn Japan's desire to advance discussion on the provision of defense equipment, according to the ministry. Touching on the China-funded Ream Naval Base in southwestern Cambodia, which Japanese defense force ships docked at in April, Iwaya said he would like to see port calls of vessels from various countries in the future leading it to become a "more open base." The Japanese foreign minister also confirmed that Tokyo will work with Cambodia to try and diversify its trading partners amid U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff measures, which have roiled global trade. Cambodia currently relies heavily on the United States and China.
