TOKYO (Reuters) – U.N. nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency gave approval this week to Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, a step forward for Tokyo’s decommissioning effort.
China expressed regret over IAEA’s “hasty” release of its report and said Japan must bear all the consequences if it is bent on going its own way, raising concern that Beijing is unlikely to lift food import curbs.
More than 40 countries, including the United States, Britain and Canada have already lifted restrictions on food from Japan, introduced after the nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima plant in 2011.
Here is a list of major countries and regions that still ban or restrict food imports from Japan, according to data from Japan’s agriculture ministry:
CHINA
China bans all food and feed imports from Fukushima and eight regions nearby. Hong Kong, which has its own restrictions, has suspended imports of vegetables, fruit, milk and milk products from Fukushima.
Despite the ban, the value of Japan’s export of food and other agricultural, forestry and fishery products to China more than trebled over the last 10 years to 493 billion yen ($3.4 billion).
EU
The 27-country bloc does not impose a ban on food imports from Japan, but require government-issued radiation test certificates for some items, such as certain marine products from Fukushima.
Japan’s top government spokesperson said last week, however, that there were moves within the EU towards lifting the restrictions.
Japan aims to boost the export of food and other farm, forestry and marine products to 5 trillion yen by 2030, up from 1.4 trillion yen in 2022.
SOUTH KOREA
Seoul bans marine product imports from Fukushima and seven other regions. It has also suspended imports of rice, soybeans, some vegetables and several other items from Fukushima. It imposes an import ban on a smaller group of farm products from 14 other regions.
South Korea will not lift the ban until public concern over contamination is eased, the country’s agriculture minister said on Tuesday.
TAIWAN
Taiwan bans a limited scope of products such as mushrooms and game meat from Fukushima and four other regions. Taiwan is the third-largest destination for Japan’s export of food and other agricultural, forestry and fishery products behind China and the United States.
($1 = 144.5600 yen)
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
