South Korea Maintains Fukushima Seafood Ban, Says Japan Has Not Requested New Talks

Seoul's foreign ministry said on June 10 that Japan has not formally requested regular talks or the creation of a new consultative body on South Korea's ban on seafood imports from Fukushima and seven neighboring prefectures. 9 percent of 1,000 South Korean respondents opposed resuming imports from the region, while 64 percent of 1,040 Japanese respondents supported it.

0 earthquake triggered a 40-meter tsunami that killed nearly 18,500 people and damaged the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

"The Japanese side has not formally requested the establishment of a new consultative body regarding the resumption of imports of Japanese seafood," the ministry said. " "Our position is that, before any such measures can be lifted, domestic consumers' confidence in the safety of Japanese seafood must first be restored," the statement added.

Japan filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization in 2015 challenging the ban and additional testing requirements.

The WTO ruled in South Korea's favor in 2019, finding that the measures did not constitute unfair trade restrictions or arbitrary discrimination. Last week Japan began the 20th round of discharges of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Activists held a press conference in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on January 12, 2026, urging Japan to halt the discharges.

The article was written by Oh Seok-min from Vienna and published by Yonhap.