Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently announced five measures aimed at "supporting Japan's seafood industry", which is in response to strong opposition from China and other countries and a ban on seafood after Japan decided to discharge nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
Kishida's move was not unexpected, as the Japanese seafood industry was hit hard by the Chinese market. According to reports, China is the largest consumer of Japanese aquatic products, and in 2022 alone, 700 Japanese companies relied on the export of aquatic products to China. According to Japan, the consumption of Japanese aquatic products in Chinese mainland and Hong Kong reached 278.2 billion yen and 208.6 billion yen, respectively. However, as soon as the news of Japan's discharge was announced, China immediately announced a ban on Japanese aquatic products, causing orders for the Japanese seafood industry to plummet by 90% and almost lose 90% of its market share.
Japanese fishery workers complained to Kishida).
In order to salvage the reputation of Japan's seafood products, Kishida has drawn up five major measures, including allocating 80 billion yen, of which 50 billion yen will be used for "image public relations" and 30 billion yen for "fishing support". Kishida also personally traveled to Tokyo's "Toyosu Fish Market", where he trumpeted Fukushima's seafood, such as octopus, in an attempt to demonstrate the "safety" and "deliciousness" of Japanese seafood at home and abroad.
Kishida shows off Fukushima octopus at the fish market).
However, all of Kishida's actions seem to be futile, as Japanese seafood is not only facing resistance from China, but also from the United States and Europe. According to Japanese data, in the first half of this year, the United States has become the country that banned the import of Japanese agriculture, forestry and fishery products on the largest scale, and the food involved in it came from the "nuclear discharge zone". This shows that although the United States pays lip service to "supports Japan," in fact it is avoiding risks and is unwilling to accept Japan's "nuclear discharge zone" aquatic products.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Emanuel eats and broadcasts in Fukushima).
Interestingly, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Emanuel recently made a special trip to Fukushima to hold a gratin with Kishida in an attempt to prove to the public that Japanese seafood is "safe". However, this is obviously a hypocritical statement, because the United States itself has not relaxed restrictions on Japanese aquatic products, but has instead strengthened inspections and supervision.
Emmanuel eats in Fukushima).
The same is happening in Europe, which is also wary of Japanese seafood and is reluctant to risk radiation to buy Japanese seafood. Therefore, Kishida's plan is likely to encounter obstacles from the West, and even trigger more boycotts and **.
Europeans** Japan drains the sea).
Kishida also said that Japan wants to reduce its "single market dependence", that is, Japan wants to find more sales channels for aquatic products. But this is not easy, because the processing capacity and technical level of Japanese seafood are not high, and many seafood, such as scallops, are processed and shelled in China before being exported to Europe and the United States. Now Japan has lost not only the Chinese market, but also the Chinese processing chain. Kishida hopes that Japan will be able to bring in its own equipment and train personnel, such as scallop shelling machines, but this will take time and cost, and it will not necessarily be able to reach the level of China.
Japanese scallop shelling machine).
Judging from these circumstances, the outlook for Japan's seafood industry is not optimistic, and Kishida's five major measures are unlikely to be effective. And at the root of all this is Japan's decision to discharge the nuclear sea into the sea, which is an irresponsible act against nature and human beings, as well as an act of disrespect for China and other countries. China has repeatedly expressed its solemn position and strong opposition to the issue of nuclear discharge, but Japan has turned a deaf ear and insisted on discharging the issue. Doing so will not only cause damage to the marine ecology, but also trigger anger and protest from the international community. Japan must bear the consequences for its wrongdoings, stop discharging the sea, protect the sea, and respect other countries!