Japan has called on China to remove a total ban on its seafood products, imposed after Tokyo began the scientifically-endorsed release of treated water from its Fukushima nuclear plant.
China, the leading buyer of Japan’s fish, announced on Thursday it was making the order due to concerns for consumers’ health.
However, the claim is not backed by science – with the consensus from experts being that the release poses no safety risks to ocean life or seafood consumption.
“The main reason is not really the safety concerns,” international trade law expert Henry Gao told the BBC. “It is mainly due to Japan’s moves against China,” he said, noting Japan’s closer alignment to the US and South Korea in recent years.
Following the waters’ release on Thursday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitors at the site said their tests showed the discharge had even lower radiation levels than the limits Japan has set – 1,500 becquerels/litre – which is about seven times lower than the global drinking water standard.
And despite Japanese fishermen’s fears, analysts say the trade hit to Japan’s industry will be short-lived and less than expected.
The main market for Japan’s fish remains its domestic one.
Locals consume most of the catch, so top seafood companies Nissui and Maruha Nichiro have both said they expect limited impact from China’s ban. Both companies’ stock prices were slightly up at close of trade on the day of the ban’s announcement, Reuters reported.
Beyond China, no other country has even hinted at a total ban – South Korea still bans seafood imports from Fukushima and some surrounding prefectures.
Experts say even people who scoff down lots of seafood will be exposed to only extremely low doses of radiation – in the range of 0.0062 to 0.032 microSv per year, said Mark Foreman, an associate professor of nuclear chemistry in Sweden.
Humans can safely be exposed to tens of thousands of times more than that – or up to 1,000 microSv of radiation per year, Associate Prof Foreman said.
