BEIJING — China has reopened its market to seafood from Japan after an almost two-year ban over the discharge of barely radioactive wastewater from the tsunami-destroyed Fukushima nuclear energy plant.
A discover from the customs company stated the ban had been lifted Sunday and that imports from most of Japan could be resumed.
The ban, imposed in August 2023, was a significant blow to Japan’s fisheries business. China was the most important abroad marketplace for Japanese seafood, accounting for greater than one-fifth of its exports.
The nuclear plant at Fukushima was closely broken by a lethal tsunami that adopted an enormous offshore earthquake in 2011. Water nonetheless should be pumped in to chill the radioactive gasoline. The water is then saved in what was an ever-growing advanced of tanks on the property.
After years of debate, the utility received authorities permission to discharge the water regularly into the ocean after treating it to take away a lot of the radioactive parts. Japanese officers stated the wastewater would be safer than worldwide requirements and have negligible environmental affect.
China disagreed and imposed a ban, saying the discharge would endanger the fishing business and coastal communities on its east coast.
The ban will stay in place for seafood from 10 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, together with Fukushima and close by ones.
Japanese seafood exporters must reapply for registration in China and all imports must embody a well being certificates, a certificates of compliance for radioactive substance testing and a certificates of origin, the Chinese language customs company stated.