(Yicai) Oct. 9 -- China’s imports of Japanese aquatic products tumbled nearly 66 percent in August, after China suspended them in the wake of Japan discharging nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima atomic power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Exports of Japanese seafood to China fell to JPY3.6 billion (USD24 million) in August from a year ago, according to data released by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Oct. 6.

To prevent the risk of radioactive contamination caused by the release of wastewater from the Fukushima power station, China banned all imports of aquatic products from Japan on Aug. 24.

Japan’s total exports of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products and foodstuffs fell 7.9 percent to JPY103.4 billion (USD693 million) for the second consecutive month in August from a year earlier. Exports of aquatic products alone fell 8.2 percent to JPY28.8 billion (USD193 million), with those of scallops plunging 71 percent to JPY1.6 billion.

In August, China accounted for 13 percent of Japan’s total exports of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products and foodstuffs, while the United States made up 20 percent. 

China was a major buyer of Japan’s farm and ocean produce. Its seafood, such as scallops and sea cucumbers, were quite popular in the Chinese market. China took 34 percent of Japan’s aquatic product exports in August 2022, and the US 10 percent.

Japan’s exports of agricultural and aquatic products, especially seafood, may have declined further last month, as the country’s decision to release nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea came into effect in late August, a Japanese trader told Yicai.

Japan’s gross domestic product could slide 0.03 percent if China’s import ban lasts for a year, based on 2022 data, according to a prediction made by think tank Nomura Research Institute.

In the worst-case scenario, Japan’s exports to China could decline 20 percent, resulting in a loss of JPY6.1 trillion (USD40.9 billion) and a 1.1 percent drop in Japan’s GDP, as the wastewater discharge impacts exports and Chinese consumers are less willing to travel to Japan, according to a report by Daiwa Securities’ research institute.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione