<span>STORY: Japanese restaurant owners in China were eagerly waiting for Chinese authorities to lift the ban on seafood imports from Japan.</span><span>But those hopes were dashed this week as the diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo escalated.</span><span>“Whenever a major event like this happens, we feel great pain because our hearts go up and down as the relations between Japan and China are shaken every time. It’s very painful.”</span><span>This is Takashi Ito, owner of a seafood restaurant in Shanghai.</span><span>He cites a flare-up of tensions after Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said this month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response.</span><span>China, which sees the democratically run candidate as its own, responded harshly.</span><span>He reimposed a ban on Japanese seafood and called for a boycott of travel to Japan.</span><span>Many meetings and cultural events were also cancelled.</span><span>Ito’s restaurant also had a few cancellations on Wednesday night, but people didn’t say why.</span><span>Beijing recently partially eased restrictions on Japanese seafood.</span><span>These were implemented two years ago, when Tokyo decided to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima power plant, where the 2011 nuclear meltdown took place.</span><span>Ito says he tries to source locally, but some fish can only be purchased in Japan.</span><span>He is not optimistic that the import ban will be lifted anytime soon. </span><span>“Takaichi said what he said, and I don’t think he will change it. I hope that diplomats in Japan and China can work together to improve the situation, if possible. I hope the people of China and Japan can enjoy the same food without fighting with each other.”</span><span>Following some hostile comments from the Chinese side, Japan warned its citizens in China to increase security measures.</span><span>But both Ito and Shanghai-based restaurateur Kazuaki Sone say they are more concerned that problems between their governments are making it harder for people to connect for work, food or cultural exchange.</span><span>Sone, who has been living in China for more than ten years, says that he has experienced tension between the two countries many times.</span><span>“But people in general, especially good friends, don’t treat me any differently,” he says. “That’s why I think I can still work here in China.”</span>
