The tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant yesterday began releasing its first batch of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, prompting China to ban seafood from Japan, while Taipei was not perturbed.
People inside and outside the country protested the wastewater release, with Japanese fishing groups fearing it would further damage the reputation of their seafood.
In response to the wastewater release, Chinese customs authorities banned seafood from Japan, customs authorities announced.
Photo: Kyodo / Reuters
The ban started immediately and affects all imports of “aquatic products,” including seafood, the notice said.
Chinese authorities said they would “dynamically adjust relevant regulatory measures as appropriate to prevent the risks of nuclear-contaminated water discharge to the health and food safety of our country.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said later that his government had demanded China “immediately eliminate” its import ban on seafood from Japan.
“We lodged a complaint through diplomatic channels to China, urging them to immediately eliminate” the ban, Kishida said.
The Japanese government and TEPCO say the water must be released to make room for the plant’s decommissioning and to prevent accidental leaks.
They say the treatment and dilution makes the wastewater safer than international standards.
In Taipei, Executive Yuan spokesman Lin Tzu-lun (林子倫) said that irradiation of Taiwanese waters as a result of the wastewater release would be negligible.
Analyses show that wastewater would reach Taiwan within one to two years after discharge, with the greatest concentration of leftover irradiated materials expected to peak after four years, Lin said.
Additional reporting by CNA and AFP
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