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G7 calls for Japanese food bans to be ‘immediately’ lifted after China’s curbs
- G7 trade ministers ‘deplore actions to weaponise economic dependencies’ in a statement without mentioning China
- The group also expresses its ‘concern’ over recent control measures on the export of critical minerals
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The Group of Seven (G7) industrial powers called on Sunday for the “immediate repeal” of import curbs on Japanese food products, a reference to China’s restrictions after Japan began releasing waste water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The G7 trade ministers, in a statement after a weekend meeting on Osaka, did not mention China but they also denounced what they consider its rising economic coercion through trade.
“We deplore actions to weaponise economic dependencies and commit to build on free, fair, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationships,” said the 10-page statement.
China slapped a blanket suspension of Japanese fish imports two months ago when Japan started the release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima plant into the Pacific. While Japan and the US have called the curbs unfair, Russia announced a similar restriction earlier this month.
The plant began releasing a second batch of treated radioactive waste water into the sea on October 5.
The waste water discharges, which are expected to continue for decades, have been strongly opposed by fishing groups and neighbouring countries including South Korea, where hundreds of people staged protest rallies.
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