Tokyos: China bans Japan food imports over Fukushima water release – Times of India
Beijing: China’s customs authority on Friday said it would ban food imports from 10 Japanese prefectures over Tokyo’s plan to release treated nuclear wastewater into the ocean. Japan’s planned, decades-long discharge of accumulated water from the devastated Fukushima nuclear facility has been approved by the IAEA as meeting global standards.
The release is expected to begin this summer but is opposed by some regional neighbours, with Beijing vocally condemning the plan, as well as some in Fukushima, particularly fishing communities who fear customers will shun their catches. China’s foreign ministry on Thursday said that the IAEA report cannot be used as a “green light” for the water release plan and warned of unknown risks to human health. China’s customs authority on Friday said it would “ban imports of foodstuffs from 10 Japanese prefectures including Fukushima” over safety concerns, and conduct stringent radiation tests on food from the rest of Japan.
Some 1.33 million cubic metres of groundwater, rainwater and water used for cooling have accumulated at the Fukushima site, which is being decommissioned after several reactors went into meltdown following the 2011 tsunami that badly damaged the plant.
The release is expected to begin this summer but is opposed by some regional neighbours, with Beijing vocally condemning the plan, as well as some in Fukushima, particularly fishing communities who fear customers will shun their catches. China’s foreign ministry on Thursday said that the IAEA report cannot be used as a “green light” for the water release plan and warned of unknown risks to human health. China’s customs authority on Friday said it would “ban imports of foodstuffs from 10 Japanese prefectures including Fukushima” over safety concerns, and conduct stringent radiation tests on food from the rest of Japan.
Some 1.33 million cubic metres of groundwater, rainwater and water used for cooling have accumulated at the Fukushima site, which is being decommissioned after several reactors went into meltdown following the 2011 tsunami that badly damaged the plant.
