Following Japan’s decision to discharge Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the ocean, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) openly opposed the move and announced a temporary suspension of seafood imports from Japan. However, in an attempt to ease tensions between the two countries, the CCP has decided to conditionally resume importing seafood from certain regions of Japan, including 449 items such as tuna and scallops.
According to a recent report by Japan’s Kyodo News Agency, the CCP has announced the resumption of seafood imports from Japan, with import procedures currently underway. The General Administration of Customs of China has stated that Japanese seafood products such as tuna, scallops, squid, and crabs are now included in the list of permitted imported foods.
On June 29, the General Administration of Customs of China announced the immediate resumption of imports of certain seafood products originating from Japan and approved a total of three Japanese enterprises from Hokkaido and Aomori Prefecture to export to China. Excluded from this list are 10 prefectures, including Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Niigata, and Nagano. The Japanese government intends to request the lifting of import restrictions on these 10 prefectures.
When declaring the resumption of imports of Japanese seafood products, the General Administration of Customs of China stipulated that Japanese seafood exporters must provide official health certificates, proof of passing radiation tests, and origin certificates for the products. Only after completing the necessary registration procedures for trade facilities can Japanese seafood production enterprises resume exports to China.
Media personality Li Yiming commented to the Epoch Times, “Currently, the trade war with the United States is making it increasingly difficult for Chinese companies to export, so the CCP is seeking to ally with Japan against the U.S. It is using the import of Japanese seafood products as a gesture of goodwill towards Japan.”
In the past, China was the largest export market for Japanese seafood products, and the Japanese government has consistently urged China to reopen its market to Japanese seafood. Last November, during a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shippou and CCP leader Xi Jinping, this issue was also raised.
In fact, as early as September last year, the governments of Japan and China reached a consensus. China agreed to actively participate in monitoring activities such as sampling seawater and treated water under the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and began to gradually relax import restrictions. In March of this year, during the Ministerial “Japan-China Economic High-Level Dialogue” in Tokyo, it was agreed to continue negotiations.
“China wants to actively promote this matter mainly because the CCP is becoming increasingly isolated internationally,” said Liu Yuan, a medical doctor from Tokyo University, to the Epoch Times. “The CCP’s allies in the Middle East are crumbling in the face of strong military forces from Israel and the U.S. Europe has also clearly stated its position.” “Japan and China have completely different ideologies; Japan has always been pro-American, while China has favored Russia. Therefore, China’s decision to import Japanese seafood products is also a way to show goodwill towards Japan.”
The nuclear wastewater issue stems from the damage caused to the Fukushima nuclear power plant during the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The plant has been continuously injecting seawater to cool the melted nuclear fuel, which absorbs nuclear substances as it passes through the reactor. Tokyo Electric Power Company has been treating the cooling water at the plant to remove most radioactive isotopes except for tritium. After over a decade of operation, the space for storing the cooling water at the nuclear power plant is reaching full capacity.
The International Atomic Energy Agency stated in July 2023 that discharging tritium into the ocean would not pose a significant threat to human health. As a result, the Japanese government decided to begin discharging the treated nuclear wastewater into the sea on August 24, 2023.
Subsequently, on August 24, 2023, the General Administration of Customs of China issued a notification of the complete suspension of seafood imports from Japan. This recent resumption of seafood imports follows approximately two years of import restrictions.
Since 2021, China has become the largest export market for Japan’s agricultural, forestry, seafood, and food products worldwide. According to statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Japan’s exports to China increased by 25.1% in 2022 compared to 2021, reaching 278.2 billion yen. Within this total, seafood exports accounted for 87.1 billion yen, with scallops at 46.7 billion yen, processed sea cucumbers at 7.9 billion yen, and bonito and tuna at 4 billion yen.
Japanese democratic activist Xia Yifan expressed to the Epoch Times, “Japan is the perpetual imagined enemy that the CCP needs. To maintain its legitimacy, the CCP must continually prove to the Chinese people that it can stand against formidable enemies.”
“Previously, the Chinese market rejected Japanese seafood products, causing losses to Japanese fishermen. However, this led Japan to find alternative channels bypassing China. For instance, previously, shellfish was processed in China, but after the rejection, it shifted to Vietnam for processing. Although the transportation distance is longer, the labor costs are lower, which is something the CCP does not want to see,” said Xia Yifan. “The resumption of imports of Japanese seafood products is nothing more than a temporary measure for the CCP. As long as the CCP exists, there will never be true peace between Japan and China.”
[Translation of the original Chinese news article from Epoch Times, published on July 21, 2025.]