South Korea's seafood imports from Japan fall by most since 2012

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – South Korea's seafood imports from Japan fell by the most last year since 2012, a year after Tokyo began releasing millions of tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from its damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, local media reported on Sunday.

South Korea imported Japanese fish and shellfish worth $151.9 million in 2023, down 12.8% from a year earlier, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported, citing Korea Customs Service data.

This was the biggest decline since 2012 when Seoul's imports of Japanese seafood fell 33.3% year-on-year due to food safety concerns and fears of radiation contamination in food after Japan began releasing millions of tons of nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which was hit by the disaster in 2011.

South Korea banned all seafood imports from the eight Japanese prefectures near Fukushima in 2013.

In Aug. 2023, Japan began dumping millions of tons of wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, despite fierce criticism from China, North Korea, and several Pacific nations.

South Korea, which was initially opposed to the idea, has reversed course since President Yoon Suk Yeol took office in May 2022.

*Writing by Aamir Latif