China Ready To Lift Import Ban On Japanese Seafood

China will signal its readiness to lift a ban on imports of Japanese seafood once Japan and the UN nuclear watchdog agree to allow third-party countries to join monitoring activities on the discharge of treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, diplomatic sources said Thursday, Kyodo News reported.

Beijing has imposed a blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports since the start of the treated water discharge in August last year, labeling the water "nuclear-contaminated." I Photo: Kyodo

The Japanese government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plan to expand the involvement of third-party countries in water discharge monitoring, the sources said, as China seeks independent sampling of the water and the creation of a long-term international monitoring system, Mainichi Japan also reported.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi are expected to agree to permit third-party participation in sampling treated water and seawater near the Fukushima Daiichi complex during telephone talks, according to the sources.

Beijing has imposed a blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports since the start of the treated water discharge in August last year, labeling the water "nuclear-contaminated."