TOKYO: China has agreed on procedures to resume imports of Japanese seafood products, Japan’s government said on Friday (May 30), marking a step towards ending a nearly two-year trade ban.
Officials from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and China’s Customs reached the agreement during a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday, the ministry said, adding that China-bound seafood exports were expected to resume after China completes “necessary procedures”.
China’s General Administration of Customs said that the two countries made “substantial progress” following another round of talks on the trade of Japanese aquatic products.
The agreement comes as both governments work to ease tensions stemming from the 2023 release of treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
It “marks one important milestone”, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said during a regular press conference.
“We will continue calling for the resumption of Japan’s exports of its beef to China and the lifting of import restrictions on agricultural and marine products from ten prefectures,” including Fukushima and Tokyo, Hayashi added. Those prefectures were not included in the agreement.
Under the agreed measures, Japan will register fishery processing facilities with Chinese authorities, and exports will include inspection certificates confirming the absence of radioactive substances, the farm ministry said.
The Nikkei newspaper, which reported the news earlier, said that China is expected to formally announce the resumption of seafood imports from Japanese prefectures outside the Fukushima region in the near future.
China imposed the ban on Japanese seafood imports shortly after Tokyo began releasing the treated Fukushima wastewater, prompting a diplomatic and economic backlash.
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