Chinese Fishing Boats Catch Seafood off Japan as Beijing Bans Japanese Imports

Fishery workers unload seafood caught in offshore trawl fishing at Matsukawaura port in Soma City, Fukushima prefecture on Sept. 1, 2023, STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images

In August, the release of treated wastewater from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant sparked tensions between the Chinese communist authorities and Japan. Still, Chinese tourists flooded into Japan for an eight-day-long vacation in October. Meanwhile, Chinese fishing boats have been catching fish off Japan’s coast to meet domestic market demand as Beijing banned Japanese seafood imports.

On Aug. 24, Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant released treated water. As a response, Beijing announced on the same day that it would suspend all imports of Japanese seafood products. Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) mouthpiece used the incident to promote public anger, causing a boycott of Japanese products and condoning people to make harassing phone calls to Japan; with travel agencies in some cities even canceling tours to Japan.

This tension seems to have somewhat eased a month later.

Japanese TV stations, NHK, and other Japanese media reported on Sept. 29 that the popularity of Chinese travel to Japan during the recent “golden week” vacation was not affected by Beijing’s tough stance against the Fukushima incident. Japan is among the most popular travel destinations for Chinese tourists.

The “golden week” is an extended vacation period for China’s Mid-Autumn Festival and CCP’s National Day holiday, lasting from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6.

Starting Oct. 1, All Nippon Airways would increase the number of weekly flights between Japan and Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou from 62 flights per week to 70 and 76 flights per week starting in late October.

Beijing resident Lin Jia (a pseudonym) told The Epoch Times on Sept. 27 that she did not expect travel to Japan to be reopened. Still, it was too late for her because she had already pre-paid for a trip to another country after being told the Japan tours had been suspended, “What a pity,” she said.

In addition, Chinese fishing vessels have been fishing in the North Pacific Ocean off the east coast of Japan, and the seafood those Chinese caught were labeled as “Chinese products” to enter China and circulate in the Chinese market, as reported by Japanese media.

But Beijing’s ban remains in place; seafood caught by Japanese fishing boats, albeit from the same Japanese waters as seafood caught by Chinese fishing vessels, still cannot exported to China.

Chinese Vessels Fishing off Japan’s Coast

It appears that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ban on Japanese seafood is not due to the water pollution problem as claimed, since Chinese boats have never stopped catching fish near Japan’s coast.

“China is engaged right now in fishing in Japan’s economic waters while they are simultaneously engaged in the unilateral embargo on Japan’s fish,” said U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel in a Sept. 22 speech in Tokyo, accusing the CCP’s move of an “economic coercion” against Japan.

According to an Asahi News report on Sept. 25, in the one month that the Chinese regime banned Japanese seafood, a large number of Chinese fishing vessels concentrated about 1,000 kilometers off the eastern coast of Nemuro City, Hokkaido. During the period of water discharge from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, there were about 146 to 167 fishing vessels per day fishing together with the Japanese fishing vessels, capturing seafood such as swordfish, mackerel, sardines, and more, as identified by the Global Fishing Watch system.

The results of the survey conducted by the Japan Fisheries Agency are almost the same. According to the agency, the number of Chinese fishing vessels operating in the relevant waters was roughly the same as that of the same period last year.

According to the North Pacific Fisheries Commission, in 2022, Taiwan’s catch of swordfish was 42,000 tons, the largest in the North Pacific, followed by China’s 35,000 tons and Japan’s 18,000 tons.

The Fisheries Agency also revealed that from the beginning of this year to mid-September, the total catch was more than double that of the same period last year.

If the number of fishing vessels is roughly the same, it can be assumed that Chinese fishing activities have increased accordingly, Japan’s Fisheries body said.

“No wonder they [Chinese fishing boats] continue to catch fish in Japan’s EEZ [exclusive economic zone]. They have a choice between fiction or fact, and they choose fiction so they can keep fishing. Everyone can see through China’s [CCP regime’s] smoke & mirrors.” Mr. Emanuel wrote on X on Sept. 27.

Cui Weilei, the new Consulate General of China in Niigata, said on a Sept. 26 pressing brief, “I bought fish in Niigata and ate it, and it was delicious.” But he also emphasized that he would like to eat more meat, saying, “I don’t think you can detect the effects of pollutants after one or two meals.”

Mr. Cui’s words, on the one hand, according to current affairs commentator Li Linyi, were an attempt to justify Beijing’s ban on seafood imports from Japan and, on the other hand, a seeming attempt to improve Sino-Japanese relations by excusing Chinese fishing boats from fishing off Japan.

“Fish caught by the Japanese are radioactive and cannot be exported, while fish caught by the Chinese can be eaten: “[this is] how shamelessly the double faces of the CCP is.” Mr. Li said to The Epoch Times on Sept. 28.

The Japanese government has stated that Japan’s Fukushima discharge of its nuclear-treated water meets the international standard process. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings announced on Aug. 25 that the results of water quality tests conducted at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at ten monitoring points in its waters, all of which showed that the concentration of tritium, a radioactive substance, followed the standard and was below the lower limit of detection by instruments. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also reported that Japan’s procedures were safe and complied with internationally accepted nuclear safety standards.

Japanese Sympathize With Brainwashed Chinese

A sign reading "Suspend the sale of all fish products imported from Japan" in an area of Japanese restaurants in Beijing on Aug. 27, 2023. Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images

In August, major Japanese media outlets reported telephone harassment by Chinese people. Most callers were young Chinese people who called Fukushima ramen stores, hotels, the Tokyo Police Department, the House of Councillors, the Tokyo Fire Department, and other places, to hurl abuses and threats.

“[making harassing phone calls] I think it’s not good; I hope the Chinese people will change such doings … and it’s hurtful to both China and Japan.” said Japanese national Maru Yama.

Ms. Yama told The Epoch Times on Sept. 29 that she believes that this was only the behavior of some Chinese, not all, and that she knew that the Chinese people under the CCP’s rules have no democracy or freedom. “The CCP’s official propaganda [brainwashes] them, and the CCP was inciting the Chinese people’s nationalistic sentiments.”

She also noted that the Chinese people are just forced to make a living and listen to the CCP’s incitement and do not dare to speak out their true thoughts.

Yuan Ming, a Japan-based Chinese and current affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times: “For a long time, when the CCP is trying to divert the attention of the people in China and divert the attention of the public, the neighboring places such as Japan and Taiwan can be easily exploited by the CCP,” indicating CCP’s smear propaganda on Japan’s discharge of treated water.

“Chinese people are unfortunate; the CCP constantly brainwashes them.” Mr. Yuan said.

“This state of affairs can only be changed if China moves toward a free and democratic society and returns to universal values in the future. Under communist dictatorship, we can’t see any hope,” he said.