ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi -- An increasing number of countries have lifted or eased import bans and restrictions on Japanese agricultural and fishery products that were imposed following the disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant nine years ago.
The move serves as a tailwind to boost exports of products from the disaster-hit areas and provide new opportunities for recovery.
The Ushichan Farm in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, exports low-fat red meat and other products mainly to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore. The company raises wagyu beef in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, along with agricultural goods. Of its annual sales of more than 2 billion yen, 50 million yen come from exports.
The company did not export its products prior to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, but found new opportunities overseas just as domestic demand decreased due to a declining population.
With both Vietnam and Thailand lifting import restrictions by 2015, the company gained a tailwind for its efforts.
Sean McEniry, an employee in charge of overseas operations, welcomed the steps taken by Asian nations, saying that with Japanese wagyu beef becoming more well-known overseas, the abolishing and relaxing of import regulations will lead to expanded exports.
At its peak, the number of countries and regions that had imposed import restrictions reached 54 following the 2011 disaster. It has since declined to 20 as of February this year. Since March 2019, Bahrain, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Brunei and the Philippines have abolished regulatory measures, citing safety assurances and other reasons.
Returning to FY09 levels
In November 2019, the European Union decided to no longer require submission of certificates of radiation inspections for fishery products from six prefectures, including Iwate, Miyagi, Tochigi and Ibaraki, and soybeans from Fukushima Prefecture.
Fukushima has been the prefecture that has had the largest number of countries and regions impose restrictions on its products. The prefecture is now expanding exports of its specialty peaches to Southeast Asia, where many counties have eased restrictions on the fruit. Exports of peaches in fiscal 2019 increased 67% from the previous year to 54.1 tons, about the same level as that in fiscal 2009 before the disaster.
According to JA Zen-Noh Fukushima, a prefectural federation of agricultural cooperatives based in Fukushima city, peach exports were initially limited to small amounts sent mainly by air. But the federation focused also on large-scale exports at low prices using sea transport, which led to an expansion of the market.
As part of a promotional campaign, various activities are planned, such as the trip that Vice Gov. Takatoshi Ide and other Fukushima prefectural government officials, along with JA staff, took to Thailand to visit supermarkets and personally promote the fruit.
"By increasing exports to various countries, we hope to gain acknowledgement of the safety of Fukushima products [in countries that still restrict them]," a JA official said.
Neighbors remain cautious
Conversely, a large number of agricultural and fishery products from the Tohoku and Kanto regions, especially those from Fukushima Prefecture, remain banned from some of Japan's closest neighbors, such as Taiwan, China, South Korea and Hong Kong.
Those four countries and regions alone accounted for about 55% of the value of Japanese exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in 2019. In April 2019, the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization approved South Korea's import ban on Japanese fishery products, casting a further shadow over the situation.
Next month, the government will establish a special headquarters on exports of agriculture, forestry and fishery products and foods within the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.
The government views the abolishing and lifting of restrictions on agricultural products from the disaster-hit areas as the key to expanding Japanese exports as a whole, and aims to reinforce efforts across ministries and agencies to realize lifting of the restrictions.
"We'd like to present the scientific evidence [that the products are safe] and proactively approach the remaining countries and regions [that restrict the products]," said Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Taku Eto.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
