Fri May 30 06:38:50 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary and news article based on the provided text:
**Summary:**
Japan and China are nearing an agreement to lift China’s ban on Japanese seafood imports, imposed in August 2023 after Japan began releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Following successful negotiations in Beijing, the two countries are finalizing technical requirements for the resumption of trade. Japan will need to re-register its export facilities and provide certificates of inspection verifying seafood safety. While progress has been made, restrictions will remain on agricultural and marine products from 10 Japanese prefectures due to concerns stemming from the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
**News Article:**
**Japan and China Poised to End Seafood Import Ban After Fukushima Wastewater Dispute**
**Tokyo, Japan** – Japan and China are on the verge of resolving a major trade dispute that has kept Japanese seafood out of the Chinese market for nearly two years. The breakthrough follows negotiations in Beijing this week, signaling a potential end to the import ban implemented by China in August 2023 after Japan began releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
“We have reached an agreement on the technical requirements necessary to resume exports of fishery products to China,” announced Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi on Friday. He hailed the pending deal as a “milestone” and stated that exports would resume “as soon as the re-registration process for export-related facilities is completed.”
China’s General Administration of Customs confirmed the progress, stating that exports would resume once “necessary procedures” are finalized. The agreement will require Japanese fish processing facilities to register with Chinese authorities and exporters to provide certificates guaranteeing seafood has been tested for radioactive material.
The ban was enacted after Japan began releasing over 1 million metric tons of treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima plant, which suffered a meltdown following the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami. While the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has backed the safety of the release, China voiced strong concerns.
Despite the overall progress, restrictions will remain on agricultural and marine exports from 10 Japanese prefectures due to lingering concerns dating back to the 2011 disaster. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi stated that Japan would continue to press China to lift all remaining restrictions. The resumption of seafood exports would provide a significant boost to the Japanese fishing industry and ease tensions between the two nations.
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