Kishida, on Question About Timing of Lifting China's Seafood Import Ban, Says "Cannot Predict"

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed the view that it is "honestly not a situation where we can make a prediction" regarding the timing of China's withdrawal of its ban on Japanese seafood imports.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Photo by Yonhap News

According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK on the 18th, Prime Minister Kishida held a press conference with domestic and international reporters after completing the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit schedule held in San Francisco, USA. In this press conference, when asked by reporters about the withdrawal of China's seafood import restrictions, Kishida stated, "We will seize every opportunity to strongly push for an immediate repeal," and added, "We will urge a calm judgment based on scientific analysis and facts, and a constructive attitude."

Prime Minister Kishida held a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time in a year the previous day and demanded the immediate withdrawal of China's seafood import restrictions following the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean. However, President Xi referred to the contaminated water as 'nuclear contaminated water' and responded that appropriate treatment is still necessary. Both countries agreed on the direction of starting discussions with the participation of experts.

Regarding the Japan-China summit, Kishida said, "We confirmed the broad direction of building a constructive and stable relationship," and added, "We decided to repeatedly communicate at all levels, including between the leaders." He also commented on the income tax and resident tax cuts to be implemented in June next year, saying, "It is a temporary measure to prevent a return to deflation," and added, "We will ensure that the disposable income of the people does not decrease."