Mainland China halted seafood imports from the prefectures near the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant after Tokyo began releasing treated wastewater into the ocean. The move triggered a run on Japanese salt and seafood in some markets, with many consumers concerned about health risks. It also raised fears that it could cause damage to the seafood industry in those areas and prompt consumers to avoid the products altogether. The Chinese government has promised to protect the marine environment, food safety, and public health. Still, many residents of the affected regions have expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the situation.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the government had demanded that China “immediately eliminate” the ban on seafood from Japan. “We complained through diplomatic channels to China, urging them to eliminate” the ban immediately, Kishida told reporters. He added that the government will continue to “actively seek” a discussion with China on the matter based on science and will take steps to ensure seafood safety from the prefectures affected by the water discharge.
Tokyo Electric Power, which operates the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, began releasing the water this week after receiving approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA says the water will be filtered to remove most of its radioactive isotopes, and the release is part of a plan to decommission the reactors.
The contaminated water has been building up at the plant since the 2011 tsunami, and authorities say they are running out of space to store it. They have argued that releasing it into the ocean is a reasonable option. The IAEA’s assessment of the plan found it complied with international norms and would cause only “negligible” damage to the environment and people.
But China, which is Japan’s biggest seafood buyer, has yet to be convinced. Its foreign ministry said on Friday that it has demanded that Japan prove the water discharge will be safe and that Beijing will keep a close eye on developments to protect its citizens’ health.
Activists in Hong Kong and other Asian cities are staging protests against Japan’s decision to release water into the Pacific. Hundreds of people marched through central Hong Kong on Wednesday, holding up pictures of IAEA head Rafael Grossi as the devil. Jacay Shum, a 73-year-old activist who leads the group Anti-IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated) Japan, described the IAEA’s report as “irresponsible.” She said: “Japan’s actions in discharging contaminated water are irresponsible, illegal and immoral.” In a statement, the WWF Japan Seafood Market Team called for a law to be passed requiring records on catches and transfers of seafood from a country to be submitted and verified by the government to establish traceability and certificates of legal catch should be required for any imported seafood. It added that the government should establish an independent body to verify those records and ensure transparency in the seafood supply chain.
