China has officially agreed to resume the import of seafood from Japan, marking an end to a two-year ban. This ban was initially implemented due to concerns surrounding the discharge of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, as announced by Tokyo on a recent Friday.

Details of the agreement emerged following a crucial meeting held in Beijing on a Wednesday, according to Japan's Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. Minister Koizumi stated that seafood exports to China would recommence once China finalizes what he termed "necessary procedures," although specific details of these procedures were not provided by the Japanese side. A significant component of this new understanding is China's active participation in water sampling missions, which are conducted under the purview of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Nikkei newspaper, which had reported on this development earlier, added that the agreement stipulates that Japan must register its fishery processing facilities with the relevant Chinese authorities. Moreover, the agreement mandates thorough inspection and certification processes for all seafood to ensure the absence of harmful radioactive substances, including caesium-137. The Nikkei also reported an expectation that China will soon officially announce the resumption of seafood exports from Japanese regions lying outside the immediate Fukushima area.

The context for this ban dates back to 2023, when China halted all imports of Japanese seafood. The primary driver for this decision was the commencement of the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. China articulated concerns that this discharged water could pose a significant risk to its domestic fishing industry and the ecological health of coastal communities in eastern China.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility sustained catastrophic damage during the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011. This natural disaster led to meltdowns in three of the plant's reactors, resulting in the accumulation of substantial quantities of radioactively contaminated water. In 2023, Japan initiated the process of releasing this treated wastewater into the sea, asserting that the discharge operations met stringent international safety standards and that comprehensive data from IAEA monitoring efforts was made publicly available. However, despite these assurances and the availability of data, China proceeded with and maintained its embargo on Japanese seafood imports until the recent agreement.