Explainer | Fukushima waste water fears: all you need to know about Hong Kong’s latest response and how it affects Japanese food lovers
- Latest measures on imports from 10 areas in Japan will last indefinitely, with authorities insisting they have already taken a conservative stance
- Japanese seafood retailers lament dip in business as consumers shun cuisine amid contamination fears
A Hong Kong ban on seafood imports from 10 areas of Japan has come into force in response to Tokyo’s decision to release about 1.32 million metric tonnes of treated radioactive water into the ocean from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant from Thursday.
The Japanese government has insisted the water release is safe, but Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu said the move was an “irresponsible way of pushing one’s problems onto others” and demanded the import ban for the sake of public health and food safety.
The Post takes a look at the details of the ban, as well as its implications for local Japanese food lovers and restaurant operators.
1. What are the products affected?
The ban, which begins on Thursday, targets imported aquatic products from 10 metropolitan areas and prefectures of Japan – Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama.
Hong Kong authorities gazetted an order detailing the types of aquatic products to be banned, covering live, chilled, frozen, dried and preserved goods, as well as sea salt and seaweed items.
Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan on Tuesday said the government had already taken a conservative approach, limiting restrictions to high-risk coastal prefectures and their neighbouring areas.
Tse also said authorities would check all food imported from Japan to ensure radiation levels met safety standards.
