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China to halt Japanese seafood imports as tensions show no signs of easing

Published: 19 Nov. 2025, 15:53

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Oct. 21. [AP/YONHAP]

China told Japan on Wednesday that it would suspend imports of Japanese seafood, Kyodo News reported, adding pressure to strained ties after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Japan could take part in a Taiwan crisis.

The Chinese government delivered the message through official diplomatic channels on Wednesday morning, according to the report.

The decision came as relations between Beijing and Tokyo worsened after Takaichi suggested earlier this month that Japan could exercise collective self-defense if a Taiwan contingency occurred. China already advised its citizens to avoid travel and study in Japan and postponed the release of Japanese films.

China imposed a blanket ban on Japanese seafood in August 2023 after Japan began releasing treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. In June this year, Beijing said it would resume imports from all regions except the 10 prefectures that had already faced restrictions before the water discharge.

On Nov. 5, a 6-ton shipment of frozen scallops from Hokkaido left Japan for China, marking the first Japanese seafood import to China in more than two years.

Beijing's ban on imports comes less than two weeks later.

Kyodo quoted a Japanese government official as saying that China claimed it needed to monitor the treated water release to ensure safety.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]