Japan To Boost Food Safety Publicity
Japan will boost its efforts to persuade 20 foreign governments to lift or ease food import restrictions on Japanese products. The measures were prompted by concern over radioactive fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident nine years ago.
The 20 are among the 54 governments that imposed bans or other restrictions after the disaster that followed a major earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
The Philippines, Malaysia, and 32 others have already removed their import curbs.
But five governments, including those of South Korea and China, have been keeping their bans and other restrictions in place for food items produced in Fukushima and nearby prefectures.
The measures have been targeting products, such as seafood and mushrooms.
Fifteen others, including Indonesia and the European Union, have continued to require certification on levels of radioactive materials contained in food.
Japan's Foreign Ministry will use summits, ministerial meetings and other occasions to request those 20 countries and territories scrap or relax their bans and restrictions.
The ministry says Japan's food safety standard for radioactive cesium is more than 10 times stricter than those in the United States and the European Union.
