SEOUL: A tourism video promoting Japan's tsunami-hit Fukushima region is airing on billboards across Seoul, in what a Japanese official called a first since the 2011 nuclear accident.
The 30?second clip was produced by Japan's Reconstruction Agency, a government body that deals with the aftermath of the 2011 disaster.
It featured several well?known sites and carried captions reading: "Now time to visit Fukushima with 15 years of recovery."
The Fukushima catastrophe unfolded in March 11, 2011 when a powerful earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands of people triggered one of the world's worst nuclear accidents.
"As we reach the turning point marking the 15th anniversary of the earthquake, we hope this will showcase Fukushima's recovery and the appeal of its food and tourism," a representative of the Japanese embassy in Seoul told AFP on Tuesday, adding it will run through to Sunday.
More than 9.4 million South Koreans visited Japan in last year, making them the largest group among all foreign visitors to the country, according to official Japanese data.
But overnight stays by South Koreans in Fukushima are still only about one-tenth of pre-tsunami levels, according to Japan's broadcaster NHK.
Since 2013, South Korea has maintained a ban on seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, due to concerns about radiation contamination.
China banned imports of Japanese seafood in 2023 after Japan started releasing treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima plant into the sea.
Beijing later resumed some imports but then reportedly reversed course in November as part of an ongoing diplomatic rift with Tokyo. - AFP
