Taiwan to lift blanket ban on Fukushima food amid CPTPP push

Tsai removes thorny issue with Japan as she seeks support for joining trade pact

A Taipei official checks Japanese apples for radiation in 2011, shortly after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Over a decade later, Taiwan is removing a blanket ban on food imports from five Japanese prefectures. © Reuters

THOMPSON CHAU, Contributing writer

February 8, 2022 12:41 JST

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.