Overview
- China now requires an additional safety certificate for Japanese seafood, a step its foreign ministry says leaves the products with no market in China.
- The move follows Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Nov. 7 comment that armed attacks on Taiwan could justify sending Japanese troops to defend the island.
- Beijing frames the measure as necessary to monitor treated wastewater from the Fukushima plant, mirroring an embargo initially imposed in August 2023 and only partially eased recently.
- China has escalated diplomatic pressure by summoning Japan’s ambassador and advising Chinese citizens to avoid travel to Japan.
- Expanding the dispute beyond trade, China’s UN ambassador declared Japan "totally unfit" for a permanent Security Council seat, as Japanese envoy Masaaki Kanai held talks in Beijing with Liu Jinsong to reduce tensions.