TOKYO: Japan will call for China to lift its ban on imports of Japanese aquatic products, through the World Trade Organization, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday.

China imposed the ban Thursday shortly after Japan started discharging treated water including small amounts of radioactive tritium into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

“We can’t accept China’s measure, which is not based on scientific grounds, and we are calling for its abolition,” Hayashi told a news conference. “We’ll continue to take necessary steps, including under the framework of the WTO.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a separate news conference that the Japanese government will take all possible measures to support affected fisheries operators, including compensation from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the Fukushima plant.

The government plans to compile a package of support measures for fisheries operators later this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

JIJI Press