Japan urges China to lift seafood import ban

Japan renewed its appeal to China on Tuesday, urging it to lift the ban on seafood imports as the ruling parties resumed their annual dialogue for the first time since 2018.

Beijing imposed a blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports after Tokyo began releasing treated radioactive water into the sea in August 2023.

The appeal came as lawmakers from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, currently on an official visit to Beijing, held talks with the Chinese Communist Party.

In September 2024, China said it would "gradually resume" seafood imports from Japan.

This marks the first time since October 2018 that the two sides have resumed party-to-party dialogue.

Hiroshi Moriyama, the secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, also called on China to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals residing there.

The Chinese delegation was led by Liu Jianchao, the head of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department.

Dialogue between the ruling parties of China and Japan began in 2006 but was suspended starting in 2018 due to the general deterioration in bilateral relations and partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, both countries have recently taken steps to stabilize their ties, with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi expected to visit Japan next month.

Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visited China last month.