On the 20th, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had reached an agreement with Japan regarding the ocean release of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The import of Japanese seafood, which was completely suspended after the release began in August last year, will be gradually resumed, provided certain conditions are met.

China has joined the long-term international monitoring system under the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and after participating countries have conducted their own sampling, they will gradually resume imports of Japanese seafood that meets the regulations.

At a press conference on the 20th, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said of the agreement, “There is no change to our position of firmly opposing Japan’s unilateral decision to begin ocean discharge.” He emphasized that the purpose of the agreement was to encourage “Japan to properly fulfill its obligations under international law and its safety supervision and management responsibilities.” China continued to use the traditional term “nuclear contaminated water” to refer to the treated water.

Regarding the resumption of imports of Japanese seafood products, he said, “This does not mean that China will immediately resume full imports.”

Asked about the fact that the agreement was announced shortly after the incident in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, in which a Japanese boy was stabbed to death by a man, he stated that he did not believe there was any connection.