Fukushima water release: Japan announces US$141 million relief measures for seafood exporters hit by China’s ban

Chinese trade restrictions have affected Japanese seafood exporters since even before the release began, with shipments held up at Chinese customs for weeks. Prices of scallops, sea cucumbers and other seafood popular in China have plunged. The ban has affected prices and sales of seafood from places as far away from Fukushima as the northern island of Hokkaido, home to many scallop growers.

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Japan’s prime minister tucks into Fukushima seafood, vowing to overturn Chinese import ban

Japan’s prime minister tucks into Fukushima seafood, vowing to overturn Chinese import ban

Kishida said the emergency fund is in addition to 80 billion yen (US$547 million) that the government previously allocated to support fisheries and seafood processing and combat damage to the reputation of Japanese products.

The money will be used to find new markets for Japanese seafood to replace China and fund government purchases of seafood for temporary freezing and storage. The government will also seek to expand domestic seafood consumption.

Kishida talked with workers at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market last Friday to assess the impact of China’s ban and pledged to protect Japan’s seafood industry.

All seawater and fish samples taken since the release of the treated waste water began have been way below set safety limits for radioactivity, Japanese officials and the plant operator say.

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Seafood exports are a fraction of Japan’s total exports, and the ban’s impact on overall trade will be limited unless tensions escalate and China widens its restrictions to other trade sectors, said Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute.

“Taking into consideration such risks, the Japanese government needs to carefully think about how to deal with worsening ties with China, not just over the treated water discharge but also how it should cooperate with the United States in areas of investment and trade restrictions with China,” Kiuchi said in a recent analysis.