Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to implement strategies to support the fishing industry affected by China’s ban on Japanese seafood, following his visit to Tokyo’s largest fish market.
To fund these measures, the government will allocate additional funds of several tens of billions of yen (hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars) from the current fiscal year’s budget reserves, as reported by Nikkei on Thursday.
After his visit to Toyosu fish market, Kishida stated to reporters, “I will develop strategies based on the diverse opinions I heard from the fishing industry today.” These strategies will include providing support for fishing companies to explore new sales avenues and engaging in discussions with China.
China, Japan’s biggest trade partner, imposed a complete ban on Japanese aquatic products in response to Japan’s release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
The Tokyo government has established two funds worth 80 billion yen (US$548 million) to facilitate the development of new sales channels and to store excess fish until demand rebounds, among other measures. Previously, officials denied the possibility of implementing additional fiscal measures for the industry.
In 2022, more than 700 Japanese companies exported approximately US$600 million worth of aquatic products to China, making China the largest market for Japanese exports. Hong Kong, which also banned seafood imports from 10 Japanese regions following the Fukushima release, is the second-largest market.
Fisheries Minister Tetsuro Nomura stated last Friday that the government will take action to diversify Japan’s fish exports for products, such as scallops, that heavily depend on China. In 2022, China accounted for over half of Japanese scallop exports.
Japanese officials have also hinted at diplomatic measures to persuade China to lift the ban, citing the lack of scientific evidence. These measures include filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami and Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Stephen Coates and Lincoln Feast.)
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