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Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days 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.
Euronews
3 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
China to resume seafood imports from Japan after Fukushima disaster
China will resume seafood imports from Japan that it banned in 2023 over worries about the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, a Japanese minister has said. Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the agreement was reached after officials met in Beijing and the imports will resume once paperwork is complete. China said 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. "Seafood is an important export item for Japan and a resumption of its export to China is a major milestone," Koizumi said. Japan's 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." 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 said in a statement that the two sides had held "a new round of technical exchanges on the safety issues of Japanese aquatic achieved substantial progress," but did not mention any agreement. 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 said the wastewater will be safer than international standards and its environmental impact will be negligible. They said the wastewater must be released to make room for the nuclear plant's decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks. Tokyo and Beijing have held three rounds of talks since March on the issue before reaching the agreement this week 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 its exporters, especially scallop growers, and 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. The nuclear power plant suffered 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. People inside and outside Japan protested the initial wastewater release and Japanese fishing groups said they feared it would further damage the reputation of their seafood. Groups in China and South Korea also raised concerns.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
China set to resume imports of Japanese seafood halted over Fukushima water discharge
TOKYO — 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, a Japanese minister said Friday. Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the agreement was reached after officials met in Beijing and the imports will resume once paperwork is complete. China said 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. 'Seafood is an important export item for Japan and a resumption of its export to China is a major milestone,' Koizumi said. Japan's 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.' 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 said in a statement Friday that the two sides had 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. 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 have held three rounds of talks since March on the issue before reaching the agreement this week 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 its 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. 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. Yamaguchi writes for the Associated Press.
NBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- NBC News
Japan says China will resume Japanese seafood imports it halted over Fukushima water discharge
TOKYO, Japan — China will resume Japanese seafood imports it banned in 2023 over worries about Japan's discharge of 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 that imports would resume once the 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. 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 will compensate Japanese business owners appropriately for damages from export bans. 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 Minister 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.
Yomiuri Shimbun
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Public Comment System: Does Flood of Submissions to Government Reflect Public Opinion?
Comments have been submitted en masse to government ministries and agencies via the public comment system on such topics as nuclear power plant policy. These submissions are believed to have been organized via social media, making it difficult to say that they accurately reflect public opinion. The public comment system was introduced in 2005 for the government to solicit a wide range of opinions from members of the public while it was formulating policies and rules. Anyone can submit their comments by mail or through the government's e-Gov online system. People submitting comments do not have to provide their name or address, and there is no limit to the number of comments one person can submit. Most policies elicit no comments, and if there are any, the number tends to be small. However, The Yomiuri Shimbun has found that in recent years, more and more topics have been receiving over 1,000 comments. In fiscal 2024, there were 10 topics that drew more than 10,000 comments each. For example, about 200,000 submissions, a record high, were made on the topic of reusing soil removed during decontamination work following the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The majority of the comments were negative. However, 96% of these comments were copies of sample texts, and more than 10,000 submissions contained identical sentences. In one case, a single person submitted 1,300 comments. It is believed that individuals and groups opposed to reusing the soil called for submissions on social media. Certain comments were also found to have been submitted on topics related to infectious diseases such as COVID-19. These were likely an attempt to pressure the government by creating the impression that a significant majority of the public supports the views in these comments. However, the government does not make policy decisions based on the number of comments it receives. Understandably, the government added a note to a form on the public comment system. 'Even if comments with the same content are submitted in large numbers, the number of comments will not be taken into consideration,' the note reads. The government should actively disclose the number of comments with identical text as well as the number of comments submitted by the same individuals and make it possible to determine whether intentional manipulation has taken place, while also making the original purpose of the system more widely known among the public. Of course, limiting opportunities for the public to express their opinions is not ideal. However, it is also true that officials in charge at the ministries and agencies are significantly burdened by the current situation, as they have to read through all the comments and manually prepare responses. To reduce the administrative burden, a system should be introduced that automatically sorts comments with the same wording. The public comment system provides an important opportunity to improve the fairness and transparency of government workings, but it is frequently criticized as nothing more than a way to rubber-stamp policies that have already been decided on. With this issue of mass submissions having cropped up, isn't now the time to review the system? (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 19, 2025)
