UPDATE - China to resume seafood imports from Japan: Japanese official

UPDATES WITH CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY REMARKS, IAEA DELEGATION'S VISIT

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - China has agreed to begin procedures to resume seafood imports from Japan, a Japanese official said Friday, according to local media reports.

"The two nations have agreed on 'technical requirements for the resumption of seafood exports' to China," Kyodo News Agency quoted Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi as saying.

China is also expected to issue a notice easing the blanket ban, which has been in place since 2023, it said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that the sides have been in contact on the matter since the beginning of the year due to the international monitoring of the discharge and "the fact that there’s no abnormality in the result of China’s independent sampling and testing," adding that Beijing and Tokyo held a new round of technical exchange on Wednesday.

Tokyo has "promised to take credible and visible measures to guarantee the quality and safety of its aquatic products" and ensure they meet Beijing’s "regulatory requirements and food safety standards," Lin said.

China imposed a complete ban on Japanese seafood imports just after the release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant began in August 2023.

The ban was enacted to protect consumer health and prevent potential contamination.

An International Atomic Energy Agency delegation concluded a working visit to Japan on Friday, during which they "confirmed that the discharge of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water into the sea has been carried out safely," according to a statement from the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Tokyo "will continue to work firmly to gain further understanding of the discharge of ALPS-treated water into the sea both domestically and internationally, in close cooperation with the IAEA, which firmly maintains neutrality," said the statement.

Last September, China agreed to resume seafood imports from Japan contingent on third-party nations, including itself, taking part in monitoring the discharge of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the sea.

*Islamuddin Sajid contributed to this story