TOKYO
Friday – In a significant diplomatic and economic breakthrough, Japan has officially resumed seafood exports to China, ending a two-year suspension imposed by Beijing following the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The landmark shipment, confirmed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, consisted of 6 metric tons of scallops dispatched from Hokkaido to China on Wednesday.
China had implemented a comprehensive ban on all Japanese seafood imports in August 2023, shortly after Japan began discharging the treated water into the Pacific Ocean—a process deemed safe by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but fiercely opposed by Beijing.
Secretary Kihara hailed the resumption as a “positive development” and urged China to lift its remaining restrictions on other Japanese marine products. This move signals a potential thaw in trade relations and is a crucial victory for Japan’s fishing industry, which had been severely impacted by the ban.
