Japanese seafood exports to China slumped 76% in August after ban

Beijing barred imports after release of treated Fukushima water; Tokyo says it is safe

Seafood at the Hamanoeki Fish Market and Food Court in Soma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, on Aug. 31. © Reuters

SAYUMI TAKE, Nikkei staff writer

September 28, 2023 13:40 JST

TOKYO -- Shipments of seafood from Japan to China fell 76% in August from a year earlier, reflecting Beijing's ban on imports of such goods since Tokyo began discharging treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Japan exported 2.2 billion yen ($14.7 million) worth of seafood products to China last month, down from 9 billion yen in August 2022, data from Japan's Finance Ministry showed Thursday.