China yesterday said that it would “gradually resume” importing seafood from Japan after imposing a blanket ban in August last year over the release of water from the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.
“China will begin to adjust the relevant measures based on scientific evidence and gradually resume imports of Japanese aquatic products that meet the regulation requirements and standards,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Chinese and Japanese officials recently conducted “multiple rounds of consultations” on the discharge of water from the stricken nuclear power station, the ministry said.
Photo: AFP
Japan had committed to “fulfilling its obligations under international law, doing its utmost to avoid leaving [a] negative impact on human health and the environment, and conducting continuous evaluations of the impact on the marine environment and marine ecosystems,” it said.
In late August last year, Japan began discharging treated water from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean in an operation it says is safe, a view backed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
However, the release generated a fierce backlash from China, which branded it “selfish” and banned all Japanese seafood imports.
Tokyo welcomed the establishment of a “long-term international monitoring arrangement within the International Atomic Energy Agency framework covering key stages in the discharge of the nuclear-contaminated water,” the statement said. “Both sides agree to continue to have constructive, science-based dialogue with a great sense of responsibility for the ecosystem, the environment, and human life and health.”
At about the same time as the announcement, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Tokyo had “informed the Chinese side of its readiness to carry out additional monitoring of the ... treated water, while the Chinese side has decided to ... steadily restore imports of Japanese fishery products that meet certain standards.”
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