Hong Kong urged to lift Japanese seafood import bans

Consul General Kenichi Okada, a Japanese diplomat, has urged the Hong Kong government to lift bans imposed on seafood imports from Japan. This plea came following G7 requesting an “immediate repeal” of the Fukushima restrictions imposed by China back in August 2023 – something instigated after Japan “releas[ed] treated radioactive water” from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to CNBC. South China Morning Post (SCMP), shared that the first release of wastewater from Fukushima began on 24 August and continued until 11 September, reportedly releasing a total of 7,800 tonnes of wastewater. Following that, a second release took place on 5 October and allegedly continued for 17 days. The ban put in place by Hong Kong government on 24 August included the importation of frozen, fresh, dried, processed and chilled seafood, seaweed and sea salt from Tokyo, Fukushima, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, however both G7 and Okada have shared their views ...