Row with China over Fukushima release could shave 0.2% off Japan GDP -Daiwa

A view of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after it started releasing treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, seen from the nearby Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, Aug. 25, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Bateman/File photo

TOKYO  – A row with China over Tokyo’s decision to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant could shave 0.2 percent off Japan’s real gross domestic product (GDP), estimates by Daiwa Institute of Research showed on Thursday.

Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean last Thursday, prompting China, Japan’s biggest trade partner, to impose a blanket ban on Japanese seafood products.

Japan’s real GDP could shrink by around 1.2 trillion yen ($8.2 billion), or 0.2 percent, if inbound tourism from China does not recover, adding to the hit from the ban imposed by China and Hong Kong, the estimates showed.

If the row escalates and leads to a 20-percent drop in goods exports to China, Japan’s GDP could shrink by around 6.1 trillion yen, or 1.1 percent, according to the estimates.

More than 700 Japanese companies exported about $600 million worth of aquatic products to China in 2022, making it the biggest market for Japanese exports, followed by Hong Kong, which announced its own ban on seafood imports from 10 Japanese regions after the Fukushima release.

($1 = 145.8900 yen)