In late August this year, despite strong opposition from neighboring countries, Japan insisted on discharging sewage from the operation of nuclear power plants into the ocean. Concerned that the seafood produced in the waters around Japan could be contaminated by nuclear wastewater, the Chinese customs immediately announced a ban on the import of aquatic products from Japan. Japan must have thought that China would retaliate, but it also did not expect the countermeasures to be so tough, and this ban was like a bolt from the blue for Japan's aquaculture industry, and the "killing" caused by it could be called devastating. The reason for this is that China has long been the largest overseas consumer market for Japanese fisheries, and half of Japan's total seafood exports are exported to China every year. China's killing is equivalent to half of Japan's aquatic products, and it has lost its sales.
The effect of China's ban was immediate, and in just one month, Japan's exports to China were reduced to almost zero. In order to be able to sell these backlogs, the Japanese top management has thought of a lot of ways, to know that this problem must be solved, and as soon as possible, otherwise the loss of aquaculture farmers will be very large. According to Japanese media reports, the final solution that Japan's top brass came up with was to sell aquatic products that China did not want to South Korea and the European Union. According to the report, according to the plan of Japan's top management, by 2025, the export value of Japanese aquatic products will be increased to 65.6 billion yen, and the key to achieving this goal is to export a large number of Japanese aquatic products to South Korea and the European Union.
After hearing the news, South Korea immediately responded. The country's first minister of state, Park So-ran, said that South Korea's ban on the import of aquatic products from eight regions near Fukushima Prefecture in Japan will definitely not be lifted, and that import controls will be strengthened for aquatic products from other regions, and that they must undergo comprehensive and strict radioactive material content testing before entering the customs. The South Korean side's response is very euphemistic, and its meaning is actually this: You don't want to come in easily for Japan's aquatic products, in a sense, this is tantamount to banning Japan's aquatic products in disguise. The only difference between China's policy and China's policy is that China is very clear and straightforward, while South Korea still has to pretend.
This is so because South Korea does not want to damage its newfound alliance with Japan. After Yoon Suk-yeol came to power last year, South Korea-Japan relations ushered in a major breakthrough, although the two countries did not become rivals because of the presence of the United States, but they are far from reaching the level of allies. But now it's different, Yoon Suk-yeol previously announced that South Korea will no longer ask Japan for some historical debts, and Japan has also lifted restrictions on the export of semiconductor materials to South Korea. There is no doubt that the United States, Japan, and South Korea are now the "iron triangle" and a proper alliance. The relationship between the EU and Japan can also meet the standards of allies, especially in recent years, after some EU member states "looked eastward" and increasingly intervened in Indo-Pacific affairs, the relationship between the EU and Japan is like a rocket.
However, it is ironic that from the point of view of Japan's intention to export China's unwanted aquatic products to South Korea and the European Union, these two are regarded as "garbage cans" by Japan, in fact, this is also understandable, the relationship between them has never been sincere, it is completely a relationship of mutual use, as long as they can profit from it, the word "ally" can be completely thrown aside.