China to Suspend Japanese Fishery Imports Again

Tokyo, Nov. 19 (Jiji Press)–China will suspend imports of Japanese fishery products again, in the wake of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks about a possible Taiwan contingency, informed sources said Wednesday. China recently resumed imports of some fishery products from Japan, after imposing a blanket ban in response to the release into the ocean of tritium-containing treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in 2023. According to the sources, Beijing conveyed through diplomatic channels that it plans to stop accepting applications for the reregistration of Japanese export facilities, a procedure necessary to resume imports, saying that the screening process would take too long. Over the import suspension for Japanese fishery products, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a press conference Wednesday that Takaichi made wrongful remarks over Taiwan, adding that materials to guarantee the quality and safety of such goods have not been provided. Takaichi said at a parliamentary meeting earlier this month that a potential contingency over Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, in which the country can exercise its right to collective self-defense. China fully banned imports of Japanese fishery products in August 2023. It agreed with Japan this year to advance procedures for the reregistration of Japanese export facilities. The import ban was partially lifted later, and China-bound exports of frozen scallops from the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido restarted early this month. Still, the Chinese side has reregistered only three of the 697 Japanese export facilities for which applications had been submitted. Also, Beijing has yet to lift its import ban for 10 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, including Fukushima, which hosts the TEPCO plant. “We’ll continue to urge the Chinese side to work on ensuring (our) smooth export operations, including the prompt reregistration of export facilities,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference Wednesday, adding, “We’ll strongly request the removal of the import ban for the 10 prefectures.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]