The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on Russia to lift restrictions on the import of Japanese seafood, introduced against the backdrop of the discharge of purified radioactive water into the ocean from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. reports press service of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
According to the Japanese side, tightening import controls over Japanese seafood “is not justified and goes against the international trend to soften and abolish restrictions on the import of Japanese food products.”
“The decision of the Russian Federation is extremely regrettable, the Japanese side calls for its cancellation,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Earlier on October 16, Rosselkhoznadzor introduced temporary restrictions on the supply of fish and seafood from Japan to Russia; they will remain in effect until information on the safety of seafood is provided and until these products are analyzed by Rosselkhoznadzor specialists.
On August 24, with the permission of the IAEA, Japan began releasing more than a million tons of treated water from the destroyed Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. It is expected that this process could last decades. The community of local fishermen spoke out against the dumping – they went to court as a group of more than 150 people. After the dumping began, China immediately banned the import of fish and seafood from Japan.
Japan itself previously supported Western anti-Russian sanctions, which were significantly strengthened after the start of the special operation in Ukraine.
