TAIPEI -- Taiwan will lift its blanket ban on food imports from Japan's Fukushima and neighboring areas, imposed after the nuclear disaster in 2011, as it seeks Tokyo's support for joining an Asia-Pacific trade pact.
Announcing the decision at a news conference on Tuesday, spokesman Lo Ping-cheng noted that many governments have relaxed similar prohibitions, "with only Taiwan and China [still] completely banning food imports from areas related to Fukushima." He added that even Hong Kong and Macao had eased their restrictions.
