Japan launched its dedication to launch handled wastewater from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear catastrophe into the ocean remaining yr, and has proceeded to take movement since August 2023 regardless of outrage from an entire lot of its neighbouring nations.
Amidst all of this, Japan has furthermore been rising its efforts to get worldwide markets to take away all import restrictions positioned on meals objects coming from districts affected by the Fukushima incident, considerably Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Chiba.
Consistent with the latest report launched by Japan’s Export and Worldwide Affairs Bureau in August 2024, thus far 49 of all 55 nations and areas that launched import measures in 2011 have lifted all such commerce limitations, together with the EU in 2023 and French Polynesia in Might this yr.
That acknowledged, there are nonetheless loads of markets standing firm all through the dedication to cope with these import limitations, notably for seafood, much like Hong Kong.
“The Japanese authorities not too long ago launched by way of absolutely fully completely different channels that the handled Fukushima nuclear wastewater has met worldwide requirements, and has requested Hong Kong to cool down import controls on the import of Japanese seafood merchandise,” the Hong Kong Setting and Ecology Bureau (EEB) acknowledged by way of an accurate assertion on its social media.
“EEB has repeatedly acknowledged that the impacts of this discharge will remaining 30 years, involving bigger than 1.3 million tons of nuclear sewage – The size of time and scale are unprecedented and if any errors are made, the damaging impacts on marine ecology and meals insecurity may presumably be catastrophic.
“As a consequence of this actuality, Hong Kong will proceed to take preventive measures to limit the import of seafood and associated merchandise from the highest-risk areas in Japan, together with conduct testing on fully completely different associated Japanese imports to make sure native meals security.”
The EEB furthermore highlighted that Japan’s administration of the discharge has not been a simple one, and is ready off for continued concern and warning.
“Beforehand yr or so alone, there have been [at least] seven reported accidents that occurred on the Fukushima nuclear vitality plant, with some employees needing hospitalisation and the shut by neighborhood affected by air air air pollution,” acknowledged the bureau.
“[This means that] on widespread, there was on accident occurring each two months – this frequency is solely beautiful!
“As such, Hong Kong will proceed to watch the state of affairs and further analyse the have an effect on of the nuclear wastewater discharge on meals security, with a view to analysis and implement acceptable response measures typically.
“If the state of affairs is discovered to worsen, we won’t rule out the necessity to take additional, additional stringent measures to strengthen the safety of meals security in Hong Kong.”
Scientific justification
However, Japan has continued to insist that its actions are fully sanctioned by the United Nations Worldwide Atomic Vitality Agency (IAEA), and that it has a stringent administration system in place to make sure meals security.
“The UN Joint FAO/IAEA Centre has acknowledged that ‘Japan’s measures to watch and reply to components relating to radionuclide contamination of meals are acceptable, and that the meals current chain is managed effectively by the related authorities and that most individuals meals current is protected’,” the Export and Worldwide Affairs Bureau acknowledged.
“The monitoring outcomes of radionuclides in meals exports to fully completely different markets have solely discovered just a few non-compliant circumstances, which have been detected shortly after the accident, nonetheless bigger than a decade on, there have been no circumstances of most ranges exceeded reported in markets sustaining import restrictions.
“There’s not a scientific justification for import restrictions and fully completely different measures on Japanese meals, and we ponder that every one remaining restrictions and fully completely different measures should be lifted.”