TOKYO: Japanese cabinet ministers Friday voiced strong opposition to China’s all-out import ban on Japanese fishery products imposed over the release of treated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea.

The import ban is “absolutely unacceptable,” industry minister NISHIMURA Yasutoshi told a press conference.

Nishimura said the government will make all-out efforts to dispel harmful rumors, adding that he has asked other ministers to work on expanding the consumption of fishery products affected by the Chinese ban.

Finance Minister SUZUKI Shunichi said that the Chinese action will have a “huge impact,” adding that his ministry will consider relief measures for fishery workers.

The import ban is “an unscientific and political measure,” consumer affairs and food safety minister KONO Taro said.

The ban is “extremely regrettable as it runs counter to international moves to ease or abolish restrictions on Japanese food imports,” agriculture minister Tetsuro Nomura said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary MATSUNO Hirokazu said that Japan will promptly release data on the concentration of tritium levels in seawater and fishery products.

He urged China to act based on scientific evidence, while reiterating that the government will provide financial assistance to fishery workers.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. plant, the site of the 2011 triple meltdown, started discharging treated water into the ocean on Thursday. The water is diluted with seawater to reduce the concentration of tritium before being released.

JIJI Press