The European Union has expressed to the Japanese government its intention to ease restrictions on imports of agricultural and other food products from Japan imposed after the disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant as early as within this year, it was learned Saturday.
The EU has maintained restrictions such as requiring inspection certificates showing no radioactive contamination over the EU's regulatory value on some agriculture and food products from the devastated areas, including Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, and other adjacent areas.
According to government officials, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker conveyed to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe his view on lifting the restrictions at an early date in talks they held in September.
The EU has required radioactive contamination inspection certificates on items such as fishery goods and soybeans produced in Fukushima, fishery goods from Miyagi and mushrooms from Iwate and Ibaraki prefectures. Japan has considered the procedures as controls on its exports.
Once the inspection certificate requirements are eliminated, domestic merchants can export goods to the EU more easily and those sales channels will expand.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
