The Philippines has lifted its ban on Japanese meat and other agriculture products from Fukushima prefecture, nine years after it was struck by a powerful quake that caused a nuclear meltdown in the area.
Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, who is currently in Manila for a two-day official visit, made the announcement in a joint press briefing with counterpart, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr.
“Japan welcomes the lifting of the import ban of food products from Japan by the government of the Philippines yesterday. With this lifting, we hope that safe food from Fukushima as well as other parts of Japan will reach many people in the Philippines,” Motegi said.
The ban was first imposed in 2011 after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, which was triggered by the Tohoku earthquake, prompting countries, including the Philippines, to ban Japanese products from that area.
Japan’s embassy in Manila said the lifting of the ban covers “meats, fruits, vegetables and seafood” from affected areas.
Allowing Japanese agriculture products from Fukushima is seen to further improve trade relations between the Philippines and Japan, which has long appealed to Filipino government officials to lift importation restrictions, saying sufficient time has passed since the incident.
In 2019, the Philippines partially lifted the ban for several fish species from Fukushima, such as Cherry Salmon, Sand Lance, Japanese Dace, and Ayu. (Mika Dela Paz)
