Japanese Gov't Increases Aid to Local Fisheries to $700Mln Amid China's Seafood Import Ban

TOKYO, (Sputnik) - The Japanese government on Tuesday decided to increase the amount of aid provided to Japanese fisheries to 100.7 billion yen ($686 million) following China's seafood import ban in connection with the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Initially, the government planned to allocate 80 billion yen earmarked before the start of the water release. However, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida proposed additional 20 billion yen in assistance after China imposed a ban on seafood imports in late August. The assistance worth 100 billion yen was approved at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The assistance measures for fisheries adopted by the government include the ones aimed at expansion of consumption and production, prevention of reputation damage, search for new export markets and the development of fish-processing industry, among other things.

On August 24, Japan began dumping treated wastewater from the Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean after diluting it with seawater. Tokyo claimed to have cleansed the water of all radionuclides except tritium, which was still within acceptable limits.

The water release has drawn strong opposition from China and other countries in the region. Beijing has called the discharged water "contaminated" and responded by suspending seafood imports from Japan.