China warned Japan on Wednesday that it will ban all her seafood imports.
Media outlets reported that Beijing issued the threat amid an escalating diplomatic dispute between Asia’s top two economies.
Tensions between the two countries ignited after new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said this month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatened Japan’s survival and could trigger a military response
In response, China has demanded she retract the remarks and urged its citizens not to travel to Japan, resulting in mass cancellations that could deal a sizable blow to the world’s fourth-largest economy.
The latest pain point for Japan comes after Beijing just months ago partly erased restrictions on Japanese seafood that had been imposed due to Tokyo’s decision to release treated wastewater from its Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2023.
China has told Japan that the re-imposition of the ban was due to the need for further monitoring of the water release, Kyodo news agency reported citing sources.
China’s commerce ministry and customs administration did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Representatives for Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries were not immediately available for comment.
Japan also warned its citizens in China on Monday to step up safety precautions and avoid crowded places.
Tokyo has said Takaichi’s remarks in parliament are in line with the government’s position, suggesting no breakthrough is imminent.
China had said in June that it would resume importing Japanese seafood products from all but 10 of Japan’s 47 prefectures.
The re-imposition will be a painful blow for many companies eager to re-enter a market that previously accounted for more than a fifth of all Japan’s seafood exports.
Nearly 700 Japanese exporters had applied to re-register for shipments to China, Japanese Agriculture Minister Norikazu Suzuki told reporters on Tuesday. However, only three had been approved to date.
-Reuters contributed to this article.
