Japan asks lifting of food import restrictions

The Japanese government is asking the Philippines to lift the restrictions it imposed on the importation of agricultural and other food products coming from areas affected by the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown.

Mitsuhiro Miyakoshi, Special Advisor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and in charge of promoting the export of Japanese agricultural products, relayed this message to the Philippine government during a three-day official visit in Manila last week.

In his meeting with Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, Miyakoshi noted that the European Union has already lifted some regulations on certain products that include agricultural and fisheries, “based on comprehensive scientific data and analyses.”

Citing the increasing demand for consumption of Japanese products in the country, the government of Japan is eyeing a total of ¥1 trillion (R47 billion) annual exports to the Philippines until the end of 2019.

In a statement, the Japanese Embassy in Manila said both the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) are working on several policies related to export promotion in order to facilitate the free flow of Japanese products to the Philippines.

At the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila last November, Prime Minister Abe also asked the countries in the region to consider accepting imports of food from the affected areas, noting that sufficient time had passed since the earthquake and the food are widely considered safe.

Some countries and regions have since then eased the restrictions following widespread clean-up and decontamination conducted by Japan.