Japan hopes to resolve China's seafood ban over Fukushima's wastewater release within WTO's scope

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Japan hopes to resolve China's ban on its seafood following the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant within the World Trade Organization's scope, Agriculture Minister Ichiro Miyashita said Wednesday.  

Despite repeated assurances, China banned seafood from Japan immediately after the plant began its treated radioactive wastewater release in August. Seafood accounts for a small portion of Japan's overall trade but the ban has hit exporters hard as China was the top destination for Japanese seafood exports. 

The Japanese government approved a 20.7-billion-yen ($141-million) emergency fund in September to help seafood exporters find new markets and to fund government purchases of seafood for temporary freezing and storage. The country is also stepping up efforts to ease safety concerns as a second round of wastewater discharge is set to begin Thursday. 

Miyashita said Japan's vigorous monitoring since the discharge showed negligible impact on its seafood and agricultural products. All seawater and fish sampling data since the release have been well below set safety limits, he said.