With the new measures on Japanese food imports to take effect in two weeks, Nobuo Kishi, a younger brother of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, arrived in Taiwan to voice Japan’s concern over the issue.
The new rules are to require labeling on Japanese foodstuffs that shows specific places of origin, as well as certification showing that the products have passed a radiation inspection.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said that communication between the two nations is unimpeded and it believes any issues would be resolved satisfactorily.
Kishi, who is also the head of a subgroup of the Japanese Diet’s House of Councillors aiming to boost economic and cultural exchanges between the two nations, led a group of Diet members who arrived in Taipei on Wednesday.
According to Japanese media, Kishi was asked by Abe to explain to the Taiwanese public that Japanese products are safe.
Lo Koon-tsan (羅坤燦), secretary-general of the Association of East Asian Relations, the group in charge of ties with Japan in the absence of diplomatic relations, said at the ministry’s weekly news conference that Kishi’s trip to Taiwan is a “routine visit,” and the government would exchange views with the delegation on the food regulations to be implemented.
However, the government so far has no plans to put off the implementation of the new measures, Lo said, adding that he was not clear whether Kishi would touch upon food regulation issues in a meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Lo said that the food issues fall within the remit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and that MOFA would refer Japan’s concerns about the new regulations to it.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare says that food products imported from Japan would have to show their specific places of origin rather than just the country of origin, and some products, such as dairy products and tea from certain regions, would also require a radiation inspection certificate before going through customs checks.
The new measures are to take effect on May 15.
A source familiar with bilateral exchanges said that if Taiwan is to impose rigorous safety checks on food imports from Japan, it could easily lead to a “total embargo” of Japanese products from May 15 if the two countries fail to agree on the specifics, including the format of the attached certificates, required details on labels and specifics about customs checks.
A total embargo would not happen, Lo said.
Most food manufacturers would have no trouble presenting the correct documentation, but it is also possible that some food products would be detained temporarily for custom checks, he added.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-hsuan
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
RSS