Did China ban imports of Japanese seafood products? No, that's not true: Japanese seafood can still be exported to China with a certificate of origin and an inspection certificate. However, China has restricted seafood products from 10 of Japan's 47 prefectures in advance of an expected release of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, and it has imposed radiation testing on all Japanese seafood imports to China.
The claim appeared on a TikTok video (archived here) on July 27, 2023 with a caption reading:
China is frustrated by Japan's nuclear power plant treated water discharge. China has suspended imports of Japanese seafood.
(Text translated from Japanese to English by Lead Stories staff).
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Jul 27 12:48:40 2023 UTC)
Beijing restricts imports of seafood products fished from waters near the prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi, Ibaragi, Nagano, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, Tochigi, Gunma, and Niigata despite assurances from Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency that treated wastewater from Fukushima is safe for release into the ocean. It also decided on blanket radiation testing of all Japanese fishery products imported to the country.
China's decisions reflect its concerns over plans to discharge treated waste water from Japan's nuclear power plant which is supposed to happen in the summer of 2023 and it claims the restrictions and testing measures are designed to protect consumers in China, saying it is "responsible for people's health and the marine environment."
