Taiwan Further Lifts Import Restrictions on Fukushima Food Products from Japan

The Taiwanese government announced that it will further lift import restrictions on food products from five prefectures, including Fukushima Prefecture, which were introduced after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011, starting from the 25th, according to Japan's Kyodo News.

With the lifting of the import ban on certain items such as mushrooms, all food products distributed in Japan can now be imported into Taiwan. Previously, in February 2022, Taiwan had basically lifted the ban on food products from the five prefectures of Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma, Ibaraki, and Chiba, but continued to prohibit imports of certain items such as wild animal meat and mushrooms.

With this additional easing of regulations, the submission of radioactive substance inspection reports required when importing designated food products from specific regions, such as tea leaves from Shizuoka Prefecture, will no longer be necessary.

However, the Taiwanese government has maintained the requirement to submit certificates of origin for all Japanese food products and the obligation to submit radioactive substance inspection reports for food products from the five prefectures including Fukushima.

Taiwan allowed the import of food products from the Fukushima area in February 2022, which is interpreted as Taiwan accepting Japan's request in order to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) gradually and comprehensively.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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