Japan and China said Friday they have reached a deal toward resolving their disputes over the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea and Beijing’s ban on Japanese seafood.

China has agreed to end its ban on Japanese seafood imports – eventually. China’s ban was implemented in August 2023 after Japanese authorities approved the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

China looks set to start lifting its ban on the import of Japanese fishery products after reaching an agreement with Japan for the independent monitoring of the discharge of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant by China and other countries.

China and Japan reached a four-point agreement on the discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water, in which both sides agreed on Japan establishing a long-term international monitoring arrangement and allowing stakeholders including China to conduct independent sampling and monitoring.

China is one of the largest markets for Japanese seafood exporters and the ban has been one of the main points of tension between the two countries.

China and Japan reached a consensus in August on the discharge of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday, bringing to an end a diplomatic dispute that had rumbled on for over two years.

China said on Thursday its Liaoning aircraft carrier had been on a routine training mission in the western Pacific and dismissed charges by Tokyo that the vessel and its escorts had entered Japanese waters.