By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Authorities in Japan on Thursday appealed to China to withdraw its blanket ban on the importation of fishery products from Tokyo, in protest for the release of treated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the sea.
Kenji Yamada, state foreign minister, during a meeting of trade and investment ministers of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies held in Jaipur, in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan, on Thursday made the appeal.
Yamada said he told the meeting, “The Japanese government absolutely does not allow the release into the ocean (of water) that harms human health and the marine environment,”
“The Chinese measure, which is not based on scientific evidence, is utterly unacceptable, so I called for its immediate withdrawal,” he also said.
China’s customs said the suspension on aquatic products including seafood was to “protect the health of Chinese consumers.” The country’s foreign ministry condemned Japan’s move as “selfish and irresponsible.”
“What Japan has done is pass on the risks to the world and pass on the pain to future generations of mankind, becoming ecological and environmental destroyers and global marine polluters, and violating the people’s rights to health, development and environmental rights,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an online statement.
“The Japanese have also violated their moral responsibilities and international legal obligations,” it added.
The water — used to cool radioactive debris trapped inside the facility after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered three meltdowns — is stored at the site in over 1,000 tanks that are almost full. It will be gradually discharged over 30 years.
China has been vocally critical of Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (TEPCO) move, warning that the contaminated water could impact people’s health. It had previously questioned the safety of the method and said Japan had not provided “sufficient scientific and convincing explanations.”
