Mr. Yao, a restaurant owner in Beijing, faces a dilemma in the face of the imminent release of Fukushima waters: either continue to serve Japanese tuna at the risk of alienating his customers, or shop elsewhere.
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But this second solution would expose it to wildly fluctuating prices and quality, he explains.
Chinese sushi and sashimi lovers are skeptical after Japan announced that water accumulated at the site of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant will be discharged into the Pacific Ocean from Thursday.
The Japanese project was launched twelve years after the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl and was validated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
But China expressed its opposition and in July banned the import of food from ten Japanese departments – including that of Fukushima. Hong Kong followed on Tuesday.
In the meantime, restaurateurs are making faces.
“We’re already feeling the effects,” Mr Yao told AFP, whose customers are increasingly asking questions about his Japanese tuna and are sometimes reluctant to buy it.
In Hong Kong, Jasy Choi, a Japanese takeaway caterer, says the ban imposed by local authorities will disrupt its business.
“About 80% of the seafood we use comes from Japan,” explains the 36-year-old chef.
“If more than half of the ingredients I import are affected, it will be difficult to continue my activity.”
radioactive tritium
According to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, mainland China and Hong Kong are the world’s top importers of Japanese food at 500 billion yen ($3.4 billion).
At a Beijing restaurant, in front of small plates of sushi being paraded on a conveyor belt, a mother, Liu Dan, says she is afraid of the Fukushima water runoff.
“Starting August 24, I will be advising my kids and husband to avoid these seafood products,” she explains.
When asked about the various reports, including that from the IAEA, that the discharged water was safe, Ms. Liu said she had “no scientific means at my level to confirm whether these conclusions are correct or not.” .
“My spontaneous reaction is simply that I find this rejection irrational.”
On Tuesday, China summoned the Japanese ambassador to convey its official protests.
The water to be discharged was treated to remove most of its radioactive elements.
But tritium, a radionuclide dangerous to humans in high concentrations, could not be eliminated.
“Tritium has been released (from nuclear power plants) for decades with no documented adverse effects on the environment or human health,” nuclear expert Tony Hooker of the University of Adelaide (Australia) told AFP.
According to him, the tritium levels in Fukushima’s waters are well below World Health Organization (WHO) limits.
“Hard to replace”
“Previously, virtually all of our seafood products were imported from Japan,” restaurateur Fang Changsheng told AFP at his restaurant, which is located in an area of Beijing known for its Japanese cuisine.
But the 40-year-old entrepreneur now uses products from Chile, Spain and Russia.
At a sushi restaurant in Hong Kong, the story is more nuanced.
“There are always people for whom that’s not a problem,” says Jacky Wong, owner of a small restaurant in the lively Wan Chai district.
However, the restaurateur warns that it will take a few days to measure the impact on its customers and possibly adapt as “some Japanese seafood products are difficult to replace,” he points out.
An opinion shared by caterer Jasy Choi.
“Even if there are substitute products, like sea urchins from China, South Korea or Australia, I’m not sure if I want to offer them to my customers,” he warns.
“Of course, it’s not great to dump polluted water into the sea, even if it’s treated,” he says.
“But it is being done in many places around the world […] So what can we ordinary citizens do about it?”