Korea imports record-high amount of Japanese seafood in Q1 since Fukushima accident

Korea imported a record-high amount of Japanese seafood in the first quarter since the nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima in 2011, government data revealed on Tuesday.

Environmentalists hold a rally at the Seoul Finance Center in central Seoul on March 9, two days before the 12th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear power incident, to oppose Japan's planned release of contaminated water. [YONHAP]

Korea imported a record-high amount of Japanese seafood in the first quarter since the nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima in 2011, government data revealed on Tuesday.

According to the Korea Customs Service, Seoul imported $48.58 million worth of fishery products from Japan from January to March, up 20.9 percent from the same period last year.

The import volume during the same period also rose by 15 percent, reaching 7,669 tons in the same period on year.

After the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in March 2011, Korea banned the import of seafood from the area and seven other Japanese prefectures. The measure has remained in place ever since.

As a result, Japanese seafood imports fell by 60.7 percent from $73.8 million in the first quarter of 2011 to $28.9 million in the same period of 2012.They reached a record low of $17.6 million in the first quarter of 2014.

However, first-quarter imports of Japanese seafood have risen consecutively in the last three years, oscillating between $20 million and $30 million.

Korea's overall seafood imports in the first quarter of 2023 declined by 1 percent to $1.42 billion compared to the same period last year, while Japanese seafood imports registered an upswing. Although the overall quantity of seafood imports also declined by 6.2 percent to 349,000 tons, imports of Japanese seafood rose.

Despite the increase, the government has repeatedly assured the public that seafood from Fukushima will not be allowed to enter the domestic market.

In a recent joint statement, the government emphasized the need for the treatment of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in compliance with international standards. It also stressed the importance of transparency in all disposal-related processes, as well as information sharing.

The Japanese government announced its intention to start releasing contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean this spring or summer.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]