South Korea’s imports of Japanese seafood posted the biggest on-year decline last year since 2012, a year after the Fukushima nuclear accident, data showed.

South Korea imported Japanese fish and shellfish worth a combined $151.9 million in 2023, down 12.8 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.

The drop was the biggest since 2012, when South Korea’s imports of Japanese seafood plunged 33.3 percent on-year due to safety concerns after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered three reactor meltdowns amid a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

In 2013, South Korea banned all seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures near Fukushima. (Yonhap)