Following a nearly two-year trade ban, China and Japan are close to striking a deal that would allow the Japanese to import seafood into China.
Following a successful meeting in Beijing this week, the two parties are now finalizing details, according to Tokyo on Friday.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, the head of Japan’s chief cabinet, told reporters that the government had reached a “resume of the technical requirements necessary to resume the exports of fish to China.”
As soon as the re-registration process for export-related facilities is finished, Hayashi said, humming the pending deal as a “milestone”.
After Japan released more than 1 million metric tons of radioactive treated waste from the former Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, China imposed a ban on Japanese seafood imports in August 2023. Three of Japan’s six nuclear reactors collapsed during the notorious earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and caused the power plant to collapse.
The International Atomic Energy Agency supported the release of wastewater, but neighbors like China were upset about it.
Exports will resume once “necessary procedures” are completed, according to China’s General Administration of Customs, on Friday, after “substantial progress” has been made in negotiations.
The agreement establishes a number of new rules for Japan, whose fish processing facilities will need to register with China.
According to Japanese officials, exporters will also need to include inspection certifications that prove seafood has been tested for radioactive material.
Due to concerns relating to the 2011 accident, China will continue to restrict exports of marine and agricultural products from 10 Japanese prefectures.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply