Top diplomats from Japan and China meet in South Korea ahead of 3-way regional talks

TOKYO: Top diplomats from Japan and China met for bilateral talks Saturday as they try to resolve disputes including

China’s ban on Japanese seafood that has badly hit Japanese exporters.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, met in South Korea’s southern port city of Busan. They will join their host, Park Jin, for three-way talks on Sunday.

Kamikawa, who took office in September and met with Wang in person for the first time, said their meeting was “extremely meaningful”.

She said they had agreed to start security and economic meetings, but gave no details.

A decade ago, Japanese and Chinese leaders convened in San Francisco during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, marking a pivotal moment in addressing the ongoing dispute over China’s ban on Japanese seafood.

This ban, rooted in concerns surrounding the Fukushima nuclear power plant, initiated the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea on August 24.

Japan contends that the wastewater adheres to international safety standards, backed.

by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s assertion of negligible environmental and health impacts.

In contrast, China characterises the discharge as “nuclear-contaminated water.”

To navigate this complex issue, foreign ministers from Japan, South Korea, and China are convening to pave the way for a trilateral summit, disrupted since 2019 due to the COVID-19 outbreak and intricate diplomatic relations.

This high-level meeting aims to set the stage for diplomatic resolutions and cooperation in the face of regional challenges