China has agreed to resume seafood imports from Japan, contingent on third-party nations, including itself, participating in monitoring the discharge of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday.
The two neighbors found common ground as Kishida and International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi agreed to strengthen monitoring of the water release, prompting Beijing to begin arrangements for lifting its ban on Japanese seafood imports. The ban has been in place since August 2023, when the discharge began.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters after his phone call with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi at the premier’s office in Tokyo on Sept. 20, 2024. (Kyodo)
“We conveyed to China that we are ready for additional monitoring on ALPS-treated water. At the same time, China will make arrangements on its restrictions and work toward steadily restoring seafood imports from Japan,” Kishida told reporters.
The water is processed through an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, to remove most contaminants, except for the relatively nontoxic tritium, before it is released into the Pacific Ocean.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in Beijing that the agreement does not mean an immediate lifting of restrictions, as China will gradually resume imports after participating in monitoring activities.
Mao also said China still firmly opposes Japan’s “unilaterally starting the ocean discharge.”
Kishida, meanwhile, reaffirmed Japan’s steadfast stance of urging China to immediately repeal its ban on Japanese fisheries products.
The agreement comes at a time when China is seeking an independent sampling of water and building a long-term international monitoring structure.
Japan believes the new monitoring plan under the IAEA’s framework will effectively meet China’s demands while maintaining fairness and objectivity in water discharge monitoring.
During telephone talks with Kishida, Grossi said the IAEA will work with Japan toward the early implementation of the additional monitoring measures under its framework, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
Through the expanded monitoring, third-party countries that are IAEA members will have increased opportunities to sample and analyze treated water as well as elements around the nuclear power plant, the ministry said.
Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached an agreement in November that the two countries will build constructive and stable relations and find solutions to the issue through dialogue.
As the fisheries industry in Fukushima Prefecture struggled due to China’s blanket ban, Japan has initiated dialogue among experts of the two countries address the issue.
The IAEA’s task force, involving experts from around a dozen countries, conducts safety reviews on the water release, with the agency pledging its support until the end of the water release, which is expected to last around 30 years.
Prior to the discharge, the IAEA released a report, concluding that the water release aligns with global safety standards and that the discharge would have a “negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.”
Since the discharge began, no abnormalities have been detected in the seawater monitored around the plant, including the tritium concentration levels, according to the Japanese government and the IAEA. The plant was damaged due to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
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