Japan has lodged a protest with the World Trade Organization (WTO) in response to China’s blanket ban on seafood imports after the discharge of handled water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, the Japanese Foreign Ministry stated late Monday.
Hirokazu Matsuno, the Japanese authorities’s high spokesperson, stated Tokyo has submitted a doc to the WTO protesting Beijing’s ban on importing seafood, which China imposed following Japan’s launch of radioactive water into the ocean on Aug. 24, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported on Tuesday.
Earlier, Beijing notified the WTO of its emergency import ban on Thursday, which Matsuno stated prompted Japan to lodge its protest.
According to the doc, China’s import suspension is “totally unacceptable,” and Tokyo will proceed to ask Beijing to “immediately repeal its measure.”
Matsuno stated Japan has demanded that China evaluate the import ban in accordance with the principles of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) commerce settlement, to which each Tokyo and Beijing are signatories.
Tokyo started releasing handled nuclear waste from the crippled Fukushima energy plant final month, eliciting criticism from neighbors, significantly China.
South Korean opposition events have additionally decried Tokyo’s launch of the nuclear waste, whereas the federal government has reaffirmed its dedication to sticking to its authentic plan of releasing the water.
People in Japan, South Korea and China have stopped consuming Japanese seafood, whereas Tokyo and Seoul have taken measures to assuage their fears, together with offering monetary assist to the fishing business.
Meanwhile, the South Korean authorities on Tuesday determined to spend a “report finances this yr to prop up consumption of seafood,” Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.
President Yoon Suk-Yeol’s authorities will spend a further 80 billion received (roughly $60.36 million) in reserve funds to “encourage folks to have extra seafood and to higher assist the fishing business.”
Although marine merchandise make up lower than 1% of Japan’s world commerce, which is dominated by automobiles, Japan exported about $600 million price of aquatic merchandise to China in 2022, making it the largest marketplace for Japanese exports, adopted by Hong Kong.
Data on Tuesday confirmed China-bound exports of aquatic merchandise fell for the primary time in 2.5 years in July, dropping 23% year-over-year to 7.7 billion yen.
Goods certain for China have confronted stricter inspections since Japan introduced its plan to launch the handled Fukushima water, slowing down shipments.
To ease the ache of dropping that seafood demand, Japan introduced a brand new bundle of over $141 million on Monday to assist the fishing business.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
