Japan PM Kishida vows to put together measures to help fishing industry after China seafood ban

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, on Thursday (August 31), after his visit to Tokyo's biggest fish market said that he would put together measures in order to support the fishing industry hit by China's ban on Japanese seafood.

To fund the measures, the government will inject additional funds of approximately several tens of billions of yen (hundreds of millions of dollars) from the government's budget reserves for the current fiscal year, the Nikkei reported on Thursday.

"I will put together measures given the variety of opinions I heard from the fishing industry today," Kishida said to reporters following a visit to the Toyosu fish market on Thursday, adding that requests included support to help fishing companies develop new sales avenues and holding discussions with China.

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"Safe and delicious" meal from Fukushima

On Wednesday (August 30), Kishida consumed what he called "safe and delicious" fish from Fukushima.

He also invited his ministers to his office for a sashimi lunch made up of seafood caught from the Fukushima Prefecture.

A video clip of Kishida enjoying the meal was published on social media by his office.

The clip featuring cheery music shows the Japanese PM saying, "This is very good," as he chews on a slice of flounder sashimi.

三陸常磐出产的海鲜期待您的支持！
三陸常磐，即岩手、宮城、福島及茨城县。
欢迎您来日本，品尝并支持以三陸常磐海产
为代表的安全而美味的日本海鲜美食！

▼关于ALPS处理水 海洋释放的安全性https://t.co/0UVKY0ysBC
▼三陸常磐出产的海鲜期待您的支持https://t.co/Oaxth4sDxE pic.twitter.com/vTNdSkEQYe — PM's Office of Japan (@JPN_PMO) August 31, 2023

He then calls on viewers to enjoy "safe and delicious" Japanese seafood and support the northeastern region.

Concerns over Fukushima seafood

The move was aimed at pacifying concerns over the safety of seafood from Fukushima Prefecture, and promoting products from the area that 12 years earlier was devastated by a huge earthquake and a Tsunami.

The release of the treated water, which has undergone filtration to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium, is part of the decommissioning process of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This process, as per AFP, will happen over decades and will release water equivalent to more than 500 Olympic swimming pools.

(With inputs from agencies)

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