China will reimpose a ban on imports of Japanese seafood products, media reports said Wednesday, as the diplomatic row over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent comments on Taiwan escalated and officials girded for a prolonged dispute.
The ban would effectively be a return to one put in place in August 2023, following Japan’s release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Tokyo and Beijing reached an agreement in September last year to resume imports, with Japan confirming the first shipment of seafood to China less than two weeks ago.
NHK said China had explained that the ban was necessary in order to monitor the wastewater being released from the No. 1 plant, with the import halt lasting “for the foreseeable future.”
China’s Foreign Ministry did not directly confirm the measures, but spokesperson Mao Ning said Japan had “so far failed to provide the technical documentation it promised,” which she said is a precondition for seafood imports.
Mao also appeared to link Takaichi’s remarks to the ban, saying that even if Japanese marine products are exported to China, “there will be no market for them.”
“We urge Japan to retract the wrongful remarks and stop stirring up trouble and take concrete actions to safeguard the political foundation of bilateral relations,” she said. “If Japan refuses to retract those remarks, China will take serious countermeasures, and all the consequences will be borne by the Japanese side.”
Asked about the reported import suspension, the Japanese government’s top spokesperson denied that Tokyo had been contacted about the issue by the Chinese side.
“In any case, regarding China’s import restrictions on Japanese seafood, it is paramount that the shared understanding announced by both governments last September is fully implemented,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a news conference Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Kihara reiterated that Tokyo “remains open to various forms of engagement” with China but did not detail specific options going forward.
China has reacted furiously to Takaichi’s Nov. 7 remarks in parliament that Japan might intervene militarily under a worst-case scenario, such as a Chinese naval blockade of sea lanes around Taiwan, with Beijing demanding the comments be retracted.
The marine ban comes a day after Liu Jinsong, director-general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Asian Affairs Department, said he was “dissatisfied” with the results of a meeting with Masaaki Kanai, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau.
That meeting appeared to be largely a rehash of both government’s previous statements, with the Chinese side continuing to demand Takaichi withdraw her remarks and pledging to keep in place measures it has taken in response, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
In addition to the reported seafood import ban, these measures have included warnings against citizens traveling to Japan and students studying in the country.
The row has also creeped into other areas, with the China Film Administration pausing the approval process for new movies from Japan on Monday, Bloomberg News reported, citing unidentified sources. It said the regulator had also suspended six Japanese titles that had previously been approved and secured release dates.