China to Gradually Resume Importing Japanese Seafood After Fukushima Water Safety Agreement
China has announced that it will gradually resume importing seafood from Japan. This decision comes after both nations agreed on the safety of water released from the closed Fukushima nuclear facility.
In a statement, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “China will begin to adjust the relevant measures based on scientific evidence and gradually resume imports of Japanese aquatic products that meet the regulation requirements and standards.”
Officials from both sides conducted several rounds of consultations on the Fukushima discharge. China had imposed a ban last year on all seafood imports from Japan following the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Before the ban, mainland China accounted for nearly 20% of Japanese seafood exports, with scallops making up roughly 50% of that. The International Atomic Energy Agency had concluded in July, after a two-year safety review, that the treated water discharge would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.
Doubts Revealed
Fukushima -: Fukushima is a place in Japan where a big nuclear accident happened in 2011. A nuclear accident is when something goes wrong at a nuclear power plant, which can be dangerous.
nuclear facility -: A nuclear facility is a place where nuclear energy is made. Nuclear energy is a powerful type of energy that can be used to make electricity.
consultations -: Consultations are meetings where people talk and discuss important things. In this case, China and Japan had meetings to talk about the safety of the water.
consensus -: Consensus means that everyone agrees on something. China and Japan both agreed that the water from Fukushima is safe.
International Atomic Energy Agency -: The International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is a group that helps make sure nuclear energy is used safely around the world. They said the water from Fukushima is not very dangerous.
radiological risks -: Radiological risks are dangers from radiation, which is energy that can come from nuclear materials. The IAEA said the radiation from the Fukushima water is very low and not harmful.