China's Foreign Ministry said on January 23 that no abnormality in the concentrations of radioactive substances was found in tests by Chinese experts on a sampling of waters off Fukushima in northeastern Japan.

The samples were taken from the sea near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after Japan began releasing treated contaminated water accumulating at the facility.

But the ministry’s spokesperson denied that China will immediately resume imports of Japanese marine products, saying the testing was merely a step toward fulfilling Japan's commitment to ensure independent sampling and monitoring by stakeholders.

She said resumption will be based on a series of scientific data from continued tests and analyses by China.

China has agreed to resume imports of Japanese marine products after confirming their safety.