China’s Fukushima-linked ban appears to widen to reel in Japan’s prized ornamental carp as traders bemoan ‘serious damage’

Chinese authorities have failed to renew the relevant paperwork for the export of Japan’s nishikigoi carp, Japanese fish traders say

Fukushima is ‘an excuse’ and Chinese collectors want to breed their own stock of the ornamental carp, according to a Japanese trader

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Nishikigoi koi swim in a water tank at a fish farm in Saitama prefecture. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:00pm, 15 Nov 2023Updated: 1:46pm, 15 Nov 2023

Japan’s prized nishikigoi carp appears to be the latest casualty of a widening ban on the country’s marine products by China in response to the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Chinese authorities have failed to renew permits for exports and quarantine of the ornamental koi at the end of October despite Japanese exporters submitting the required paperwork well in advance, the All Japan Nishikigoi Promotion Association said.

“We have not been informed about why the paperwork has not been approved this time,” said Tsutomu Senuma, a spokesman for the association.

“This is a very difficult situation for many of our members as China is an important export market for them,” he said. “We are asking China to approve the permits and have requested more information through the Japanese government.”

The association’s members feel the problems are not insurmountable and are hoping that sales of the nishikigoi carp to the Chinese market can resume soon, Senuma said.

Goldfish and carp swim in a spherical water tank at a Tokyo art exhibition in July 2014. Photo: AP

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference in Tokyo on November 9 that Japan “will continue to urge the Chinese authorities” to approve all the procedures required to resume exports of the ornamental koi from Japan.