
Published Date: 2021-12-23
It’s been more
than ten years since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, but Taiwan still maintains
a ban on imports of food from five Japanese prefectures that were particularly
affected.
The issue of
whether to lift that ban has come back into the spotlight following a recent
referendum on imported pork. It’s been a topic of discussion in the
legislature, too, where lawmakers from both major political parties heard
arguments from both Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung and Economics Minister
Wang Mei-hua.
Agriculture
Minister Chen Chi-chung went to the legislature with a mission: to tell
lawmakers that Taiwan’s policy on Japanese food imports could endanger its bid
to join the CPTPP trade bloc.
Japan wants Taiwan
to lift its continued ban on food products made in areas affected by the 2011
Fukushima nuclear disaster. Chen said that besides Taiwan, only China continues
to ban food imports from these areas. He said that if Taiwan wants entry into
the CPTPP, of which Japan is an important member, it will need to bring its
trade and food safety policies in line with international standards.
But KMT lawmaker
Hsieh Yi-Fong interrupted Chen’s presentation. She said that he strayed off
topic by talking about Japanese food products in general instead of focusing on
products from the Fukushima area.
The other side of
the political aisle didn’t give Chen an easier time, either. DPP lawmakers
expressed concerns about the safety of Japanese food products in general. They
say that this year alone, there were 145 cases of Japanese food products found
to contain more pesticide residue or heavy metals than allowed by Taiwan’s food
safety standards.
Meanwhile,
Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua told the lawmakers that the ban is a topic of
importance to Japan, and that it will definitely be discussed in future talks.
However, she said there are no discussions underway about whether to lift the
ban now.