October 31, 2023 — The US military is helping Tokyo curb the economic fallout from China’s ban on seafood products from Japan.

Right after Japan started releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant in late August, China halted seafood exports from the country. It cited food safety fears from damage to the environment and marine life—a concern dismissed by regulators after thorough investigation. (Never mind that Chinese vessels kept fishing in the same waters.)

The US military stationed in Japan has started bulk-buying Japanese seafood to feed soldiers in messes and aboard vessels, and to sell in shops and restaurants on bases, Rahm Emanuel, US ambassador to the country, told Reuters in an interview yesterday (Oct. 30). It’s the first time the US armed forces have bought Japanese fish.

A “long-term contract” has been established between the US military and fisheries and co-ops in Japan, Emanuel said. Washington’s strategy to “wear out China’s economic coercion is [to] come to the aid and assistance of the targeted country or industry,” he added, harking back to his September speech in which he called economic coercion “the most persistent and pernicious tool” in China’s economic toolbox.

This may be a clever diplomatic move, but it’s unclear how sustainable it is. The total release of all the wastewater from Fukushima could take up to 40 years. Would China really keep a ban in place for four decades? And would the US keep coming to Japan’s aid for all that time?

Read the full article at Quartz