Japan hopes to lift Chinese seafood ban

China banned seafood imports from Japan immediately after the plant began discharging treated radioactive wastewater in August. Seafood makes up a small part of Japan's overall trade, but the ban hit exporters hard as China was the main destination for Japanese seafood exports. In September, the Japanese government approved the creation of a 20.7 billion yen ($141 million) emergency fund to help seafood exporters find new markets and finance government purchases of seafood for temporary freezing and storage. The country will also step up efforts to mitigate safety concerns as the second phase of wastewater discharges is set to begin on Thursday. Miyashita said Japan's careful monitoring since the dumping showed little impact on its seafood and agricultural products. According to him, all data on seawater and fish samples since publication were significantly below established safety limits. “We have not decided whether to immediately file a complaint (regarding China’s export ban) ...