Chinese customs authorities on Friday hinted at the possibility of expanding the scope of the country’s import ban on Japanese food products, as Japan plans to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea.

China’s General Administration of Customs said that it would take necessary measures depending on developments related to the Fukushima water release plan.

The import ban was introduced after the March 2011 meltdowns at the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings plant in northeastern Japan.

The customs agency said it will strengthen supervision and inspection of food products from 37 of Japan’s 47 prefectures that are now partially exempt from the import ban, while continuing to bar products from Fukushima and other prefectures.

The move is designed to allow China to fully ban food imports from Japan at any time so that it can use the import ban as a diplomatic card, a source familiar with the matter said.

On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report confirming that the planned water release was “consistent with relevant international safety standards.”

Japan said Thursday that China and South Korea have both discharged liquid waste containing high levels of tritium, a radioactive material, countering Beijing’s criticism of Tokyo’s plan to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Japan’s standard for the release of tritium, at below 22 trillion becquerels per year, is far stricter than that of other nations including its neighbors China and South Korea, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the top government spokesman, said.

In 2021, the Yangjiang nuclear plant in China discharged around 112 trillion becquerels of tritium, while the Kori power station in South Korea released about 49 trillion becquerels of the radioactive material, Japan’s industry ministry said.

South Korea has issued a statement saying it respects the findings of the IAEA.

But the Chinese customs agency claimed that the anxiety of Chinese consumers over the Fukushima water release plan has increased.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson argued that Japan is trying to transfer the risk of nuclear contamination to the rest of the world.

Link : https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/07/07/national/fukushima-water-china-food-ban/