The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Govt to review standards on radioactivity in food
The government plans to review safety standards for radioactivity levels in food products that were set one year after the 2011 accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The initiative was included in the new basic policy for reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday.
In tests carried out by central and prefectural governments in fiscal 2019 on agricultural and marine products before and after shipments, 99.94% of results were within the limit.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will work with other ministries and agencies to conduct scientific verification of the adequacy of the standards.
The government set strict safety standards regarding radioactivity levels in April 2012, one year after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, based on the assumption that “All food products in the country are contaminated and people are consuming them every day.”
The limit on the amount of cesium allowed in general food products was set at 100 becquerels per kilogram, less than one-tenth of the levels permitted in the European Union and the United States.
According to the health ministry, most of the results of tests conducted across the nation in fiscal 2019 were “not detectable,” meaning they were below the limit of measurement. Only 0.06% exceeded the limit, down from 0.85% in fiscal 2012.
Most of the products that exceeded the limit were from the wild, such as mountain vegetables and game meat; only a few items required cultivation management.
In January 2019, the government’s Radiation Council issued a recommendation stating it “could not explain the need to continue using the current standards.” (March 10)
AYABE, Kyoto — After guest numbers dwindled during the pandemic, Ayabe Onsen, a lodging facility in Ayabe, Kyoto Prefecture, decided to build a giant maze on its unused tennis courts in a move that they hope will help get guests to come back.
“Even in the novel coronavirus crisis, people can enjoy [the maze] while avoiding crowds,” said Akira Nagai, the 61-yearold president of Ayabe Onsen’s operating company.
Since November, more than 90 volunteers using cedar partition boards commonly used in evacuation centers during times of crisis have been transmogrifying the two tennis courts on the about 1,600-square-meter premises.
“We want to use this as a catalyst to bring back guests,” Nagai said.
The maze is scheduled to open on March 28. (March 9)
BEIJING — Tam Yiu-chung, a pro-Beijing heavyweight in Hong Kong and a member of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress, said Saturday that an overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system is aimed at allowing only “patriots” to run for public office.
The city’s electoral reform will be deliberated at China’s national legislature, which is currently in session.
Beijing, which regards pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong as “anti-China forces,” is calling for “Hong Kong’s governance by patriots.” To that end, China has made clear its stance to exclude pro-democracy forces from elections for Hong Kong’s chief executive and Legislative Council.
Asked if people in Hong Kong besides “patriots” will be barred from running for these elections, Tam told The Yomiuri Shimbun and other news outlets, “In principle, that’s what will happen.”
He added, “We hope to complete the process [of reviewing the system] by the end of this year.”
Tam said that if the overhaul cannot be carried out before a Legislative Council election in September, the election could be postponed.
After the electoral system is overhauled, a screening body will be newly established to determine the eligibility of candidates. As screening criteria, Tam said candidates must uphold Hong Kong’s Basic Law, which is equivalent to the city’s Constitution, in addition to being “patriots.” (March 8)