Explainer | Fukushima discharge row: is Hong Kong’s ban on Japanese seafood imports an overreaction or one grounded in science?
- The Post explores the implications of a ban on imports from 10 Japanese prefectures amid controversy over Tokyo’s plan to discharge treated nuclear waste water into sea
- We also look into what industry players and regional countries are saying
Japan’s plan to discharge into the sea more than 1.3 million tonnes of treated nuclear waste water over the next three decades has prompted Hong Kong to propose an import ban on aquatic products from 10 prefectures in the country.
Although official confirmation of the discharge date is at present unclear, local catering sector leaders have said that under the ban, business for Japanese restaurants in the city would be halved and some 30 per cent of them are likely to close down.
The Post explores how the government’s seafood import ban will affect the city.
1. What has Hong Kong done so far in response to the discharge plan?
The government on Wednesday suggested banning aquatic products from 10 prefectures, including from the Tokyo metropolitan area, once the country commences dumping into the Pacific Ocean treated waste water used to cool nuclear reactors damaged by the 2011 earthquake in Fukushima.
Apart from Tokyo, other affected prefectures are Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, with the ban covering all live, frozen, chilled, dried and preserved seafood, sea salt, seaweed and other derivative products.
The proposed ban is an upgrade of current import control measures covering Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki and Gunma since the nuclear meltdown.
Hong Kong environment chief Tse Chin-wan on Thursday stressed the proposed measure was a “precautionary move”, adding that authorities would consider easing the rules if Tokyo could prove its discharge plan was safe.
