China’s call for deeper Japan trade ties may clear way for seafood imports to resume

Beijing banned Japanese seafood imports in 2023 following a row over the release of waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant

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Japan is reported to have made a fresh request for the ban to be lifted. China was the largest market for Japanese seafood before the ban. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:00pm, 18 Jan 2025

China may be a step closer to reopening its doors to Japanese seafood imports after Beijing signalled it was keen to strengthen trade in food and agricultural products.

Meeting his Japanese counterpart Taku Eto in Beijing on Friday, China’s agriculture minister Han Jun said that both sides should deepen cooperation, and noted that relations were “at a key stage of improvement and development”, according to his ministry.

Eto said after the meeting that he had made a fresh request for the ban on Japanese seafood to be lifted, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Beijing imposed the ban in August 2023, in the wake of a row over the release of waste water from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant.

The Chinese ministry statement on the meeting did not specifically refer to the issue, but quoted Han as saying that China was “willing to … strengthen pragmatic cooperation in areas such as animal health, fishery resource protection, smart agriculture, rural revitalisation and agricultural trade”.

The statement also said that Eto had expressed his willingness to work with China to promote the healthy development of agricultural ties.

Beijing had cited public health concerns in imposing the seafood ban after Japan started releasing treated radioactive waste water from the Fukushima plant, which was hit by the devastating 2011 tsunami.