China’s Imports of Japanese Fishery Products Down 99% in Oct.

Jiji Press

18:19 JST, November 19, 2023

BEIJING—China’s imports of fish and shellfish from Japan in October dropped 99% from a year earlier to $332,000, Chinese customs authorities said Saturday.

The plunge, which reflected a blanket ban on Japanese fishery products imposed by China in late August, came after the imports fell to zero in September. It was not clear why the small amount was imported in October.

Beijing fiercely opposed Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s release into the sea of tritium-containing treated water from its meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan, fully banning imports of fishery products from Japan from Aug. 24, when the water discharge started.

Earlier this month, the Chinese Foreign Ministry indicated the country’s stance of consistently opposing the treated water’s release.

Meanwhile, China’s overall imports of fishery products in October fell around 15%, after going down 10% in September, as demand for fishery products as a while diminished in China after the Chinse government described the treated water as “nuclear contaminated.”