Both countries have reached a deal regarding the release of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant into the ocean.
China has indicated that it will reconsider its ban on seafood imported from Japan as the two countries have come to an agreement on the discharge of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean.
According to the recent agreement declared on Sept. 20, Japan will enhance its international monitoring measures with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and ensure that all concerned countries, including China, can independently sample and compare results.
“We have been in discussions with China on an administrative level, and as of today, we have reached a certain level of mutual understanding,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated to reporters on Sept. 20.
“Japan has informed them that we are prepared to conduct additional monitoring of the ALPS-treated water, while China will begin preparations to lift the ban on Japanese seafood imports. Once they meet the standards, China will gradually resume imports,” added Kishida.
The term ALPS refers to the Advanced Liquid Processing System, a filtration system designed to eliminate all harmful substances except tritium, a hydrogen isotope that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration states poses low health risks.
Kishida affirmed that the safety of the Japanese water discharges has been established and will continue to urge China to lift the ban immediately.
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China extended its current ban on seafood to include all aquatic products from Japan in August 2023, shortly after Japan initiated the release of over a million metric tons of treated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, a process expected to span a decade.
China’s foreign ministry strongly criticized Japan’s decision to release the wastewater into the ocean, claiming that it poses a risk of “radioactive contamination” to food safety, despite no scientific evidence being presented to support this assertion.
The Japanese government has maintained that the treated wastewater is safe, a stance supported by the IAEA, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog, asstated.
In a July 2023 report submitted to the Japanese government, the agency concluded that the treated wastewater would have a “negligible radiological impact” on people and the environment. The IAEA approved Japan’s discharge plan, and unlike China, the European Union decided to remove restrictions on Japanese seafood imports.
Beijing also confirmed its agreement with Tokyo on Sept. 20. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stressed that “reaching the agreement does not automatically mean China will resume imports of all Japanese aquatic products.”
“We will engage in technical discussions with Japan and gradually resume imports of Japanese aquatic products that satisfy regulatory requirements and standards once China’s demands are fully met,” the spokesperson stated during a daily briefing in Beijing.
Japanese officials and some scientists have noted that China’s nuclear power plants emit more tritium than Japan’s Fukushima. For instance, according to Japan’s foreign ministry, the Qinshan plant in eastern China released liquid effluents containing 203 trillion becquerels of tritium last year, approximately nine times the maximum annual discharge target of 22 trillion becquerels set for Fukushima.
“The release of currently filtered cooling water containing tritium atoms from the Fukushima plant will not have any adverse effects,” stated David Krofcheck, a physics expert at the University of Auckland, emphasizing its safety.
“The water release is designed to contain seven times less tritium per liter than what the World Health Organization recommends for drinking water. Significantly more tritium has been released by operating nuclear power plants in other countries into the North Pacific Ocean since those plants, including those in China, South Korea, and Taiwan, were initially located on coastal sites.”
A sign reading “Suspend the sale of all fish products imported from Japan” in front of a Japanese restaurant in Beijing on Aug. 27, 2023. Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images
Two days before the announcement of the agreement, a 10-year-old Japanese boy was fatally stabbed on his way to school in China. This incident, the third stabbing of Japanese nationals in China this year, has raised concerns among Japanese expatriates about their safety in China, further straining bilateral relations.
Beijing denied any link between the timing of the announcement and the incident.
“The agreement’s content and release timing were determined by China and Japan following extensive consultations,” stated the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson to reporters in Beijing. “There is no connection between the two matters.”
In response to the schoolboy’s death in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Japanese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hiroshi Hiroshi visited Beijing on Sept. 22 to meet with Chinese officials and nationals.
