Japan's seafood exports fell in July as Beijing opposed water release plan

The value of Japanese seafood exports to China fell in July as Beijing began tightening its customs controls in opposition to Japan's plan to release treated and diluted water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Japan's fisheries ministry says seafood exports to China in July came to 7.7 billion yen, or roughly 52 million dollars. That was down 23.2 percent from a year earlier in yen terms.

It was also the first year-on-year decline since January 2021, when people were eating out less frequently because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Seafood exports to China are expected to keep falling as a result of the recent suspension following the water release.
China was the largest importer of Japanese seafood last year.