THE government has lifted all restrictions on Japanese food imports in another show of support for Tokyo after reports that China will stop purchases over a row with the new prime minister.
The government in Taipei imposed a blanket ban on food imports from five Japanese regions in and around the site of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami, before easing some restrictions in 2022 and 2024.
Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that “Japanese food safety management measures return to normal”, with immediate effect.
“Since 2011, Taiwan has conducted border inspections on over 270,000 batches of Japanese food for radiation testing, with a failure rate of 0%,” it said.
“The risk assessment of additional radiation exposure risk from Japanese food is ‘negligible’,” it said, citing unspecified scientific data.
Images of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te holding a plate of sushi were posted on social media on Thursday in a show of support. — AFP
