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Quotable: Seafood in the balance "As for the remarks of the US Ambassador to Japan, it needs to be pointed out that the duty of diplomats is to deepen friendship between countries, rather than smear other countries and sow discords." -Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin's response during an Oct. 31 press conference. Japan has been having trouble finding buyers for its seafood exports since it began releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant in late August. Despite regulators giving the fish a safety stamp of approval, China won't budge, and that's a big hit to Japan's economy. China took 100,000 tons of scallops off Japan's hands last year. The US military is entering into a "Long-term contract" with fisheries and co-ops in Japan, according to US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel. The seafood will feed soldiers stationed in Japan and aboard vessels, in an attempt to "Wear out China's economic coercion." Since the contract won't be much help to Japan economically, and since the wastewater release could take up to 40 years Ananya Bhattacharya wonders what everyone's long-term plans actually are. Thailand is scrapping visas for those two countries for a six-month period-between Nov. 10 of this year and May 10, 2024, in hopes that wide open doors will give its economy a big boost.