China has reportedly reimposed a total ban on Japanese seafood imports, just weeks after the countries celebrated the first shipment of Hokkaido scallops in over two years.
Kyodo News has reported that a government source said China has reimposed the recently lifted suspension of Japanese seafood imports amid political turmoil between the two countries over Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan. Takaichi recently made remarks suggesting that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could present a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, leading to sharp rebukes from China and the renewed threat of a seafood import ban.
The publication said that Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara denied the existence of a renewed ban, while Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said Japan had not provided sufficient documentation yet for its seafood to enter China.
Mao also said the comments from Takaichi provoked “strong public outrage” and that even if Japan’s seafood entered China, “there would be no market.”
Mao said Japan should withdraw its remarks to avoid China taking further measures.
“Japan should first retract its erroneous remarks and take concrete actions to safeguard the political foundation of China-Japan relations; otherwise, China will have no choice but to take further measures,” Mao said.
Kyodo News added that talks between senior Chinese and Japanese officials have been unable to resolve the issue.
The renewed pressure and potential ban would be yet another chapter in the multi-year saga Japan’s seafood industry has faced.
Multiple countries banned Japanese seafood in the wake of the 2011 earthquake that lead to major issues at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, including South Korea, which initiated a ban in September 2013 due to Japan’s decision to allow the release of contaminated cooling water into the ocean. Those bans remained in place for years and faced action by the World Trade Organization in 2017 after Japan disputed the restrictions.
Taiwan was among countries that banned Japanese seafood, making the move in 2011 over radiation concerns, and did not fully lift its bans on most food products from certain prefectures until 2022.
China was also among the countries with a seafood ban in place and had narrowed that ban to nine prefectures of Japan: Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Miyagi, Nagano, Saitama, Tokyo, and Chiba. However, when Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) decided to release treated wastewater in 2023, China cracked down and banned all seafood from the country.
That relationship was beginning to mend in September 2024, and the two countries gradually moved toward resuming trade with the first shipments of seafood from Japan heading to China in early November 2025 – only to face yet another ban.
