During the 45th session of the Taiwan-Japan Economic and Trade Conference on Jan. 11, Japan expressed concern over Taiwan’s ban on imports of Japanese food products from five prefectures following the March 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster. Japan said it hoped Taiwan would follow international standards in reviewing scientific data to lift the ban, just as Europe and the US have done.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) responded the next day, saying that the government, with safeguarding public health a priority, would address the food import restrictions and bilateral negotiations based on international standards and scientific evidence.
The Taiwanese and Japanese governments are pursuing solutions to the issue through serious and frank communication, while seeking public support to reduce the potential for political interference and manipulation of the issue by opposition parties.
As Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Representative Hiroyasu Izumi said, Japan is awaiting the determination of Taiwan.
On March 11, 2011, the Tohoku earthquake triggered a tsunami that led to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster that damaged several reactors and caused radiation leaks. Fourteen days later, the administration of then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) imposed a ban on agricultural and food imports from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba prefectures, and required nine categories of food imported from Japan to undergo residual radiation checks.
Faced with the possibility of radioactive food due to a nuclear accident, the restrictions were initially necessary, but as time went by and the situation became clearer, most countries fully or partially lifted such bans.
The Ma administration did not follow the trend, but imposed even stricter measures, demanding from 2015 that all food imported from Japan include a certificate of origin, and certain food from specific regions have a radioactivity test certificate.
Ma’s pro-China, anti-Japan stance led to a “cross-strait synchronization” of the ban on Japanese food imports. His obsession with Chinese identification might be one of the reasons behind the position. Observers have said that the ban was a political move that considered its implications on Taiwan’s relationship with China — and by imposing stricter bans, the space for the next administration to relax them would be limited.
Meanwhile, the Ma administration was trying its best to open Taiwan’s market to China, which showed that its strict ban on Japanese food imports was motivated by the administration’s pro-China, anti-Japan position, rather than its concern for people’s health.
The Ma administration also allowed the term “irradiated food” to mislead people, as it was used to label and stigmatize food from the five prefectures, which only fomented panic.
When the Tsai administration convened a hearing to review the policy soon after coming to power, protesters dressed in black heckled officials and hindered the government’s attempt to communicate with the public.
The ban not only undermines the Taiwan-Japan friendship, but also makes Taiwan’s measures against Japanese food imports increasingly obsolete among the international community.
The pan-blue camp continued to mislead the public and even launched a campaign for a November 2018 referendum against importing food produced in the five prefectures. During the campaign, supporters continued to push claims that the food endangered people’s health calling it “the referendum against irradiated food.”
The Tsai administration misjudged the situation and ignored the noise rather than defend its policy — which was tantamount to retreating from the battlefield — and the referendum passed.
Due to restrictions under the Referendum Act (公民投票法), the Tsai administration in the following two years was not able to address the food import ban, which has disappointed those in Taiwan and Japan who have been calling for closer ties between the countries.
Although then-Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was friendly to Taiwan and the countries continue to share close ties, the referendum more or less compromised Japan’s support for Taiwan.
Despite Japan sending Taiwan positive signals in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which was championed by Abe, Taiwan’s progress in joining the trade bloc has been delayed by a trade barrier it has imposed itself.
Ma’s pro-China policy has already hindered Taiwan’s internationalization. If Taiwan does not have the determination to move forward, it will be stuck in a trap of its own making.
On the other hand, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Taiwan and caused a spike in local cases in May last year, Japan was the first country to reach out and donate vaccines to Taiwan. Tokyo donated a total of 4.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Taipei, making Japan the top donor to Taiwan.
In contrast to the Chinese government, which initially allowed COVID-19 to go undetected and spread and tries its best to suppress Taiwan’s vaccine purchasing efforts, Japan has demonstrated itself to be a close partner of Taiwan through its generous donations, while the US also donated 4 million doses of vaccines, enhancing its ties with Taiwan.
As the COVID-19 pandemic raged, China imposed more military pressure on Taiwan, and prohibited some Taiwanese agricultural and fishing imports without advance notice. It actions show that Ma’s pro-China policy only led to the victimization of Taiwan’s farmers and fishers, making them prey for the Chinese Communist Party.
These stark contrasts enable Taiwanese to see the truth more clearly, and become more determined to distance themselves from China and to embrace the world.
For a referendum last month, the pan-blue camp even proposed a question on whether to ban imports of pork containing ractopamine residue, but voters rejected the proposal. That outcome sent a signal to the world that Taiwanese are determined to embrace the international community, and Taiwan is ready to welcome free and open international trade.
The issue of Japanese food imports that the Tsai administration is dealing with should be addressed with the same mindset. Based on statements from the Taiwanese and Japanese governments, they agree that the issue must be addressed according to the principles of “international standards and scientific evidence.”
Such a rational attitude should also be adopted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and other opposition parties, rather than trapping themselves in their own political stances to oppose the government just for the sake of opposing it.
The import ban issue has been left unresolved for many years, and Taiwan and China are among only a handful of countries that still impose a full ban on Japanese food imports. This year is the 50th anniversary of Japan-China diplomatic relations. Taiwan would be embarrassed if Beijing relaxes the ban on Japanese food imports before Taipei.
Demonstrating its determination to lift the ban on Japanese food imports would not enhance Taiwan’s relations with Japan, but would increase its chances of joining the CPTPP.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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