Key Takeaways
- Japan will use World Trade Organization mechanisms to challenge the seafood import ban imposed by China.
- The ban follows China’s concerns about the release of treated waste water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency says the wastewater has a negligible radiological impact, but diplomatic tensions remain high.
Tokyo: Japan will use tools within the World Trade Organization (WTO) to respond to the seafood import ban imposed on it by China over the release of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP), Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Kyodo news agency reported Tokyo was mulling the possibility of filing a lawsuit with the WTO and developing other measures in response to China’s seafood import ban.
“Such actions are totally unacceptable. We will consider various options and take necessary actions within the WTO,” Matsuno told a press briefing.
On August 24, Japan started dumping the treated waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, having diluted it with sea water in advance. In response, the Chinese customs authorities announced the suspension of all seafood imports from Japan.
Japan’s decision to discharge treated nuclear-tainted water into the Pacific Ocean has faced criticism from China that fears radioactive contamination. Beijing has strongly opposed the water release and demanded that Japan stop this “wrongdoing.” Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said that the treated wastewater would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.
