China’s ban on Japanese seafood after the release of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant was ‘totally unacceptable’, Japan told the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Monday. Mainland China is the biggest overseas market for Japanese seafood, accounting for 22.5 percent of the total, followed by Hong Kong with 20 percent, making the ban a major blow for the fisheries industry, Associated Press has report. Seafood exports are a fraction of Japan’s total exports, and the ban’s impact on overall trade will be limited unless tensions escalate and China widens its restrictions to other trade sectors, said Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute.
The discharge of the wastewater into the ocean began on August 24 and is expected to continue for decades. The Japanese fishing associations and groups in neighboring countries have also strongly condemned the discharge of the wastewater.
The discharge of the wastewater into the ocean began Aug. 24 and is expected to continue for decades. Japanese fishing associations and groups in neighboring countries have strongly opposed the release. In addition to China’s ban on all Japanese seafood imports, Hong Kong has banned Japanese seafood from Fukushima and nine other prefectures.
Chinese trade restrictions have affected Japanese seafood exporters since even before the release began, with shipments held up at Chinese customs for weeks. Prices of scallops, sea cucumbers and other seafood popular in China have plunged. The ban has affected prices and sales of seafood from places as far away from Fukushima as the northern island of Hokkaido, home to many scallop growers.
Although marine products make up less than 1% of Japan’s global trade, which is dominated by cars, Japan exported about $600 million worth of aquatic products to China in 2022, making it the biggest market for Japanese exports, followed by Hong Kong.