Japan pressed Singapore to ease its ban on food imports from Fukushima Prefecture, following the EU’s move to relax restrictions on imports from the area, according to media reports yesterday.
Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Hiroshi Moriyama said Singapore would take “proactive” steps to meet Tokyo’s request, after holding talks with Singaporean Minister of National Development Lawrence Wong (黃循財), Jiji Press reported.
On Saturday, the EU began easing restrictions on Japanese food imports imposed after the March 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster.
Under the previous rule, the EU required all food products excluding alcohol from Fukushima Prefecture to come with radiation inspection certification.
However, the EU continues to restrict imports of items such as rice, mushrooms and some fishery products.
Singapore has banned imports of certain Fukushima products since 2011.
“I explained the EU’s step to ease” its restriction, Moriyama told Japanese journalists in Singapore.
“I asked for easing of the restriction based on scientific evidence,” Moriyama said, according to Jiji.
During the talks, Wong said Singapore “would take proactive steps by studying cases such as the EU’s latest step,” Moriyama told reporters.
Fukushima was a key agricultural area before the 2011 disaster, when a tsunami swamped reactors and sparked meltdowns, sending out plumes of radioactive material.
Thousands of people were evacuated and huge tracts of land were deemed unfarmable. The accident has left the Fukushima brand contaminated both domestically and internationally.
Tokyo has been encouraging countries around the globe to ease trade restrictions on Japanese food products established after the Fukushima crisis.
At least 14 countries — including Australia and Thailand — have abolished their restrictions on Japanese food imports, while dozens of nations continue to maintain select regulations, according to Kyodo News.
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