Governments across Asia are scrambling to assuage public concerns about the safety of seafood following Japan’s release of radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
Numerous Asian countries restricted imports of Japanese seafood following the 24 August release, despite assurances from United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency that the release would not pose a safety risk. China imposed a full ban on all seafood from Japan the day after the release.
“The ocean is the common property of all mankind, and the forcible initiation of the discharge of Fukushima-contaminated water into the ocean is an extremely selfish and irresponsible act that disregards the international public interest,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
A hashtag about the release received more than 800 million views on the Chinese social media platform Weibo within 24 hours, with many commentors calling for a total ban on all Japanese products in protest of the release, according to CNN. Shanghai food safety officials conducted a surprise raid of supermarkets and Japanese grocery stores on 24 August checking for seafood originating from Fukushima, but authorities found no violations, according to the Shanghai Oriental Press.
Hong Kong also announced import restrictions on Japanese seafood products after the release.
While China is Japan’s largest seafood export market, worth USD 357.4 million (EUR 328.5 million) in 2022, Japan’s seafood exports to China have been waning in recent years, down 3.7 percent in 2022 and 12 percent year to date through July 2023. Seafood accounted for just 0.17 percent of Japan’s exports by value in 2022.
“The trade relationship – especially trade in goods – remains important, but Japan is diversifying away from the Chinese market for commercial and risk-management reasons, even as China focuses more on domestic production and consumption,” National University of Singapore Associate Professor of Political Science Chong Jia Ian told the South China Morning Post. “Both China and Japan may be less key for each other over time.”
Rabobank Senior Global Seafood Specialist Gorjan Nikolik said the ban won’t make much of a difference in terms of regional or global trade.
"It's not going to make many ripples in the seafood sector," Nikolik told Bloomberg. "Japan is not a relevant exporter."
However, representatives of China’s seafood industry are more concerned that the furor will result in an overall drop in consumption of seafood across the country and region.
“It will definitely have an impact on the fishery and aquaculture industry. Some domestic companies will be affected as well,” a China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance staff member, who declined to be named, told the South China Morning Post. “According to what I’ve heard … many people won’t eat seafood, at least in the short term. It’s a dangerous sign for the industry if such a mentality were to be widespread.”
Suzhou, China-based consulting firm BRIC Agricultural Information Technology said the impact on consumption will be far-reaching.
“Public willingness to consume aquatic products may be affected,” it said. “Traffic in seafood markets in coastal cities could drop, while sales of such products will slump, along with price cuts.”
U.S. leaders have issued statements backing the release, with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emmanuel pledging to visit Fukushima and eat local seafood at a restaurant there, with the goal of providing assurance that fish caught in the region are safe to eat, according to Fortune.
In South Korea, the country’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, ate sushi on 28 August to provide public assurance the local seafood supply is safe, according to Reuters. Yeol has stated South Korea’s partial ban of seafood from 10 Japanese products is enough to protect South Korean consumers from any potential radioactive contamination. The executive office has launched a publicity campaign involving the consumption of local seafood at governmental offices as a means of calming frayed public confidence.
"The presidential office decided to provide Korean seafood products on the lunch menu at our cafeteria every day for a week starting Monday, hoping our people consume our safe seafood products without concerns," Yeol’s office said in a statement.
South Korean government officials have met with representatives of some of the country’s largest seafood and catering companies, including Samsung Welstory, Ourhome, Hyundai Green Food, and CJ Freshway, to discuss a memorandum of understanding that would see the distribution of local seafood onto menus across the country, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.
The South Korean Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries' Busan regional office, meanwhile, has launched an educational outreach plan focused on contacting school nutritionists to provide them with information about the safety of the region’s seafood. The efforts focus on combating industry concerns that there will be a sharp decline in seafood consumption in South Korea as a result of the Fukushima release.
A July 2023 Media Research survey found more than 80 percent of South Koreans opposed the release, and 62 percent said they will cut back or stop consuming seafood as a result of the discharge, despite government assurances that it would closely monitor the release.
Seoul resident Kim Mijeong said she is eliminating seafood from her diet following the release.
“We should absolutely cut back on our consumption of seafood. Actually, we can’t eat it,” Kim told the Associated Press. “I can’t accept the Japanese plan because it’s too unilateral and is proceeding without countermeasures.”
At Noryangjin, the largest fish market in Seoul, seafood seller Kim Hi-soo is worried about the future.
"One of our regulars came days ago and said he came to consume as much as he can before (the discharged water) spreads,” Kim said. “It's heartbreaking ... when I think about the slump that we'd have to face in months [to come]."
Busan fishmonger Kim Hae-cheol said his business has already declined by more than half.
“I haven’t had any customers today. In past years, I sold fish worth KRW 400,000 to KRW 500,000 [USD 300 to USD 380, EUR 280 to EUR 350] by this time on a normal day,” Kim told the AP on 24 August. “Others in this market have had few customers today as well.”
Photo courtesy of Chen WS/Shutterstock
