マグロなど既に「影響大」、処理水放出に揺れる北京の水産市場

【北京ＡＦＰ＝時事】東京電力福島第１原子力発電所の処理水海洋放出が始まった２４日、中国・北京では水産業者の間に動揺が広がっていた。（写真は中国・北京の水産物卸売市場）
　北京最大級の水産市場の店で店長を務めるワン・ジンロン氏（５３）は、放出開始の数時間前にＡＦＰの取材に応じ、売り上げにはマグロを中心に既に「大きな影響」が出ていると語った。
　ワン氏は、中国政府が７月に福島を含む１０都県からの水産物の輸入を禁止したことに言及し、「以前は新鮮な日本産の魚が手に入ったが、税関で止められたため、２か月前から手に入らなくなった」と説明しながら、日本産の冷凍魚類を見せた。これを売ってしまえば、再入荷はできない。ただし消費者に今も買う気があればの話だ。
　「以前とは売り上げに大きな差がある。新型コロナウイルスの流行時でも毎週３～５匹のマグロをさばいていた」とワン氏。今さばいているのはごくわずかで、しかも日本産ではなくオーストラリア産、ニュージーランド産、スペイン産だが、品質が「非常に悪く、日本産とは比べ物にならない」と言う。
　だが、日本産の水産物に対する中国国民の「大きな抵抗」を前に、選択の余地はほとんどないという。「この汚染の話題は注視されている」
　国際原子力機関（ＩＡＥＡ）は海洋放出計画について、国際的な安全基準に合致しており、「環境への放射線による影響は無視できる程度」だと評価している。世界の専門家の間でも、安全だとの見方が支配的となっている。
　しかし、２４日の放出開始直後、中国政府は日本産の水産物の輸入を全面的に停止すると発表した。
　同市場の他の店からも、放出計画の影響は大きいとの声が上がった。多くの業者が最近、日本産水産物の販売を中止している。健康への影響を懸念する消費者と、輸入規制措置が圧力になっているという。
　ある業者はＡＦＰの取材に対し、いつもマグロは日本から仕入れているが、理由は単純で、他の産地のマグロは日本産ほどおいしくないからだと語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/08/25-16:45）

Seafood sellers in Beijing expressed consternation Thursday over Japan's gradual release of wastewater from the disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.
Hours before the release began, a store manager named Wang Jinglong in one of the Chinese capital's biggest seafood markets told AFP there had already been a major impact on his business, especially tuna sales.
We used to get some fresh Japanese fish, but due to customs bans we stopped receiving them two months ago, Wang said, referring to import controls imposed last month.
Wang showed AFP frozen Japanese seafood products that he will be unable to restock once sold -- if customers are still interested.
There's a large gap in our sales volume compared with before. In the past, such as during the pandemic, we had to kill three to five tuna every week, Wang said.
Now we kill very few fish and they are not from Japan, but from Australia, New Zealand and Spain.
The 53-year-old said the quality of those products is very poor, and not comparable to that of Japan.
He said he has little choice in the face of great resistance from the public to Japanese products.
This pollution topic is being closely followed.
The release plan has been endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency -- the United Nations' nuclear watchdog -- which said it meets international standards and will not cause any harm to the environment.
And the overriding consensus among international experts is that the operation is safe.
But shortly after the discharge of wastewater began on Thursday, China said it would suspend the import of all Japanese aquatic products.
Meanwhile, many shoppers responded by rushing to buy large quantities of table salt, prompting the state monopoly to issue a plea for moderation.
Chinese consumers snapped up salt in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster based on groundless rumours that the iodine in it could prevent radiation poisoning.
Due to the impact of Japan's discharge of nuclear wastewater, some markets in China have seen panic buying of table salt, China Salt said in a statement on Thursday evening.
Salt reserves and supplies remain abundant, the state-owned firm said, but added that online retailers as well as some commercial supermarket channels have exhibited temporary shortages.
We are working overtime to add extra production and deliveries, and doing all we can to guarantee market supply, the company said.
We urge all sectors of society to consume salt in a managed way and not blindly hoard it.
Elsewhere in the Beijing market, workers said the impact of the water release plan had been significant.
Many recently stopped selling all seafood from Japan.
The plan to release the water is causing trouble for Japan and all other countries, said Huang Xiaohao, the boss at a store advertising imported products.
If you look around at what we're selling, you'll find that most of these things are actually domestic products, he said.
Pressure has come from both official customs restrictions, others said, as well as from consumers who worry about a supposed impact of Japanese seafood products on their health.
One merchant who declined to be named told AFP that tuna from places other than Japan -- where he usually sourced products -- are simply not as good.