China and Japan agree to relax seafood import ban

China and Japan have reached an agreement that would pave the way for the lifting of Beijing's ban on imports of Japanese seafood, eliminating a major source of diplomatic tension between the two countries.

The breakthrough came after both sides agreed on a framework to monitor Japan's discharge of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. In protest against Tokyo's move, China imposed a blanket ban on Japanese seafood in August last year.

On Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi agreed to increase international monitoring of the water discharges. Japan said the measures would “take into account the interests of all countries involved, including China.”

The announcement came a day after the death of a Japanese child who was stabbed to death in Shenzhen. China is one of the biggest markets for Japanese seafood exporters and the ban is one of the main points of conflict between the two countries. Relations are also strained due to historical grievances and an ongoing territorial dispute.

China said independent sampling and other monitoring measures would need to be carried out first before imports could be gradually resumed, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

State broadcaster CCTV added that the agreement with Japan “will help China obtain comprehensive, true and meaningful data in a timely manner and prevent discharges that do not meet standards.”

Japan began discharging treated radioactive water from the plant into the sea in August last year, saying the move was necessary because there was not enough storage space on land. The decision prompted China and other countries to impose an import ban on Japanese seafood. Hong Kong also imposed an import ban on seafood from ten Japanese prefectures.

According to the IAEA and the Japanese government, regular tests of the seawater since the release began have not revealed any radiation levels that would pose a threat to human health. China and other countries also discharge treated radioactive water from their nuclear power plants into the sea. Several countries have lifted or relaxed their bans on Japanese seafood.

China has been one of the largest export markets for Japanese seafood and Tokyo has repeatedly called on Beijing to lift its ban. But the latest agreement does not mean exports will quickly return to pre-ban levels.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stressed at a briefing on Friday that the country had not changed its opposition to Japan's “unilateral decision” to release the wastewater. She added that Beijing would now work with Tokyo to create a new long-term monitoring mechanism.

Tensions between the two countries escalated this week after a 10-year-old Japanese child was stabbed to death on her way to school in China and subsequently died as a result of the attack, and when a Chinese aircraft carrier was sailing between two Japanese islands. Tokyo protested both incidents.

Last month, a Chinese military aircraft entered Japanese airspace in an unprecedented maneuver. And in July, China said a Japanese destroyer had entered its territorial waters. The two countries are embroiled in a territorial dispute over islands in the East China Sea controlled by Tokyo and claimed by Beijing.

With support from Sarah Hilton and Stephen Stapczynski.