According to Japan's Sankei Shimbun, the governments of China and Japan have entered into final negotiations to lift China's ban on Japanese seafood imports, which is attributed to the discharge of treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean, as disclosed by several Japanese diplomatic sources on the 19th.

In addition, the Japanese government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have expanded the monitoring system under the IAEA framework to allow third countries, including China, to participate. In response, China is reconsidering its measures. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and IAEA Director General Grossi agreed to expand the scope of monitoring in a phone call on 20 December.

In July's Japan-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting and other activities, the Japanese side called on China to immediately lift the ban on imports of Japanese aquatic products, while the Chinese side called for the establishment of an impact monitoring system ocean release. Kishida's government asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to intervene, rather than allowing China to participate in the monitoring alone, can ensure Japan's sovereignty and the objectivity of the investigation.

According to Japanese diplomatic sources, the Chinese and Japanese governments may agree to gradually resume imports of Japanese fish products that meet standards on the basis of expanded monitoring.

China strongly objected to the discharge of nuclear wastewater, which began last August, calling it a “forced discharge of nuclear-contaminated water,” and decided to suspend imports of Japanese aquatic products, criticizing Japan's response at international conferences and other events. In response, the Government of Japan has repeatedly called for the repeal of these measures.