China to suspend imports of Japanese seafood amid diplomatic dispute, media reports

TOKYO: China notified Tokyo that it will ban all imports of Japanese seafood, Kyodo news agency and NHK reported on Wednesday, amid an escalating diplomatic dispute between Asia’s top two economies.

Beijing earlier this year partially eased restrictions on Japanese seafood imports imposed in the wake of Tokyo’s decision to release treated wastewater from its the crippled Fukushima power plant into the sea in 2023.

Before that ban, China accounted for more than a fifth of all Japan’s seafood exports, according to official data.

China told Japan that the re-imposition of the blanket ban was due to the need for further monitoring of the water release, Kyodo reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

But it follows a deepening dispute between the neighbours over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks earlier this month about Taiwan, the democratically-governed island claimed by China.

Takaichi told parliament a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatening Japan’s survival could trigger a military response, drawing an angry rebuke from Beijing and a demand for her to retract her remark.

Japan warns citizens in China about safety as diplomatic crisis deepens

Beijing has urged its citizens not to travel to Japan, while Tokyo has warned its nationals living in China to step up security precautions following a wave of vitriolic commentaries in Chinese state-media.

China’s commerce ministry and customs administration did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Japan’s farm ministry did not immediately comment.