An official measures radiation levels of scallops imported from Japan as they conduct a radioactivity check, which have been conducted regularly since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, at Noryangjin fisheries wholesale market in Seoul, South Korea, July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
HONG KONG, July 12 (Reuters) – Hong Kong's environment and ecology department head said the city will ban seafood imports from 10 Japanese prefectures if Tokyo goes ahead with a plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima plant into the sea.
Tse Chin-wan, Secretary for Environment and Ecology told reporters on Wednesday that a ban would include imports of all live, frozen, refrigerated, dried or otherwise preserved aquatic products, sea salt, and unprocessed or processed seaweed.
The measures come a day after Hong Kong leader John Lee said that the city would ban sea products from a "large number" of Japanese prefectures if Tokyo went ahead with the waste water discharge.
The city is Japan's second largest market, after mainland China, for agricultural and fisheries exports. In 2022, Japan exported 75.5 billion yen ($536 million fishery products to Hong Kong, according to Japanese government statistics.
Japan's plan, approved by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has faced opposition at home and abroad over concerns of food safety. The country insists the releases will be safe and meet global standards.
Japan has made a strong request to Hong Kong officials not to tighten restrictions on food imports from Japan because of its plan to discharge treated radioactive water from its Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Tse and chief secretary Eric Chan said they met the Japanese consul general in Hong Kong to discuss the issue and emphasized that the government has a rigorous system to ensure food safety.
The ban would apply to imported aquatic products from Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, Tse said.
Reporting by Twinnie Siu and Farah Master; Editing by Jacqueline Wong & Simon Cameron-Moore
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
The Pentagon is considering the development of a vast network of Artificial Intelligence-powered technology, drones and autonomous systems within the next two years to counter threats from China, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.
Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology.
The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs.
The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals.
Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile.
Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts.
Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks.
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.
© 2023 Reuters. All rights reserved