US Military Makes Big Seafood Buy from Japan to Counter China’s Ban

The Japanese flag flutters over the Bank of Japan head office building in Tokyo on April 27, 2022. Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. has begun purchasing Japanese seafood in bulk for its military in the area to help offset China’s import ban on the products.

China, previously the largest importer of Japanese seafood, announced the ban after Tokyo began dumping treated water from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.

During an interview with Reuters on Oct. 30, the United States ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, revealed the project and said that Washington should also look more broadly at how it could help counter China’s embargo, which he said was part of China’s “economic wars.”

The United Nations nuclear inspector has approved the release of water from the facility, which was destroyed by a tsunami in 2011; the flow began in August. On Oct. 29, trade ministers for the G7 countries demanded that any restrictions placed on Japanese food be lifted immediately.

“It’s going to be a long-term contract between the U.S. armed forces and the fisheries and co-ops here in Japan,” Mr. Emanuel said during his interview.

“The best way we have proven in all the instances to kind of wear out China’s economic coercion is to come to the aid and assistance of the targeted country or industry.”

The first purchase consists of just under a metric ton (about 2,205 pounds) of scallops, a negligible portion of the more than 100,000 tons of scallops that Japan exported to mainland China in the previous year.

Bases, Ships, and Restaurants

The purchases will feed soldiers on bases and ships and be sold in shops and restaurants on military bases, Mr. Emanuel said. They will also gradually expand to include all varieties of seafood. He said that the U.S. military hadn’t previously purchased Japanese seafood.

The United States could also examine its overall imports of fish from Japan and China, he said. In addition, the U.S. is in discussions with Japanese authorities to assist in directing locally caught scallops to U.S.-registered processors.

In recent months, Mr. Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff for former President Barack Obama, has made a series of statements about China, criticizing its economic policies, decision-making practices, and treatment of foreign firms.

The ambassador also stated that China has faced major economic challenges exacerbated by a leadership intent on turning their backs on international systems.

“The kind of loser in this is the youth of China,” Mr. Emanuel said. “You now have a situation where 30 percent of the Chinese youth, 1 out of 3, are unemployed. You have major cities with unfinished housing ... you have major municipalities not able to pay city workers.

“Why? Because China made a political decision to turn their back on a system in which they were benefiting,” he said.

Diplomatic Outreaches

In an effort to mend strained relations, senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have visited Beijing.

Japan, a U.S. ally, has attempted to bolster U.S. Treasury securities and pick up American assets, while China has dumped U.S. debt in recent months.

While China has cut its holdings in United States debt by more than $16 billion, or 15 percent, Japan has boosted its holdings by about $4 billion, according to an Oct. 20 report from the Treasury Department.

Additionally, Japan has joined South Korea and the United States in denouncing North Korea’s transfer of arms to Russia.

“Such weapons deliveries, several of which we now confirm have been completed, will significantly increase the human toll of Russia’s war of aggression,” a joint statement from Mr. Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko, and Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Park Jin reads.

“We will continue to work together with the international community to expose Russia’s attempts to acquire military equipment from the [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea].”

Reuters contributed to this report.