Chinese Customs Conduct Radiation Tests on Imported Japanese Aquatic Products: Implications and Pressure on Japan’s Contaminated Water Discharge

2023-07-19 21:46:27

◀ Anchor ▶

Chinese customs have begun conducting radiation tests on all imported Japanese aquatic products.

It is interpreted as a warning and pressure from the Chinese government about Japan’s forced discharge of contaminated water from nuclear power plants.

Correspondent Lee Hae-in in Beijing.

◀ Report ▶

A Japanese restaurant in Beijing.

It’s lunch time, so I’m in the middle of preparing ingredients.

Originally, Japanese fish was also used a lot, but it is said that there is no such thing now.

[베이징 일식집 요리사]

″Not now. Japanese ingredients are not used. There is no income, so even if you want to eat, there is no place that sells it.″

It has been since last week that Japanese seafood has been unavailable.

This is because Chinese customs started conducting radiation inspections on Japanese products.

It is expected that customs clearance will take two weeks for refrigerated seafood and one month for frozen seafood, making it virtually difficult to import seafood that needs to be kept fresh.

[베이징 일식집 요리사]

″I can’t come in because customs inspected it. You don’t even want to bring it in. Only Australian and domestic.″

After the nuclear accident in 2011, China banned imports of food and fishery products from 12 regions in Japan, including Fukushima Prefecture, but did not impose any restrictions on imports of fishery products produced outside these regions.

For this reason, it is interpreted that this radiation test is an attempt to pressure the Japanese government, which is trying to force the discharge of contaminated water.

China is Japan’s largest exporter of fishery products, with exports of nearly 800 billion won last year alone.

[CCTV 보도 / 7월 7일]

″(China Customs) has announced that it will continue to strengthen inspections and monitoring for radioactive materials to ensure the safety of Japanese food.″

Japan put forward an IAEA report that the plan to discharge contaminated water meets safety standards, and demanded the abolition of import regulations.

However, China is in the position that the IAEA is giving Japan an indulgence, so there is a possibility that import regulations will be further strengthened if contaminated water is discharged.

This is Lee Hae-in from Beijing for MBC News.

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