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China open to expert-level talks on seafood ban, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says after talks with Xi Jinping

  • Kishida says he called for ‘objective judgment’ on Japanese seafood when he discussed Fukushima waste water row with Xi on Thursday
  • ‘Japan should take seriously the legitimate concerns at home and abroad’, the Chinese president says in brief reference to the dispute

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The day’s catch is readied for morning auction at Hisanohama port in northeastern Japan. Tokyo will be “pressing the Chinese government” and taking measures to support Japanese fishers. Photo: AP
China has agreed to address its ban on Japanese seafood, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco.
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China banned all seafood imports from Japan in August after it began to release treated waste water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Kishida said he discussed the waste water row with Xi when they met on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific economic leaders’ summit.

The two leaders agreed to seek ways “to find a resolution through consultation and dialogue based upon a constructive attitude”, Kishida said on Friday.

China had agreed to expert-level talks to address the issue, he said. “In the days ahead, discussions will take place based upon science at the experts’ level.”

China, which has historic tensions with Japan, has accused Tokyo of treating the sea like its “private sewer”.

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