Japan "Indicates Seafood Ban on Hong Kong, Deeply Regrets"... Firm Stance on Contaminated Water Discharge

The Hong Kong government announced a tough response, stating that it would impose a ban on seafood from 10 prefectures in Japan, including Fukushima and Tokyo, if contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is discharged. In response, the Japanese government expressed "deep regret" over the ban and lodged a protest. The Japanese government emphasized that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that the discharge meets safety standards and is demanding the Hong Kong authorities lift the regulatory measures they announced.

According to NHK on the 13th, Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, said at a morning press conference, "(Hong Kong government's indication of a ban) is extremely regrettable," and protested, saying, "We strongly demand the lifting of regulations based on scientific grounds." He added, "Japan has been providing information to the Hong Kong government regarding the safety of Japanese food products," and "We politely explained that the IAEA concluded that the planned discharge of treated water (the Japanese government's term for contaminated water) complies with international safety standards."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong, the day before, Tse Chin-wan, Hong Kong's Secretary for the Environment, announced that if Japan discharges contaminated water, it would immediately impose a total ban on seafood imports from 10 Japanese prefectures. Secretary Tse stated, "We will immediately ban the import of seafood from Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano, and Saitama prefectures." If the regulation is implemented, all seafood, including live fish and seaweed, will be included in the banned items. Hong Kong authorities have previously applied import bans on agricultural and marine products from Fukushima Prefecture since the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011.

Earlier, the Chinese government also announced that it would strengthen import regulations on Japanese food products if Japan discharges contaminated water. On the 7th, China's customs authority, the General Administration of Customs, stated, "Chinese customs is maintaining a high level of vigilance and closely monitoring the situation," and indicated that "necessary measures will be taken promptly to ensure the safety of Chinese consumers' dining tables." China and Hong Kong are the first and second largest markets for Japanese agricultural and marine product exports, so if bans are imposed, there are concerns that Japanese fishermen will suffer significant damage.

However, it is expected that Japan will maintain its stance on the discharge. NHK reported, "Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno expressed his intention to strongly demand that Hong Kong not strengthen regulations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.