A World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel has sided with Japan over South Korea's restrictions on fishery products imported from Japan, releasing on Friday a report that calls on South Korea to correct such measures.
Japan filed the case, claiming that the measures taken by South Korea in the wake of the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant were inconsistent with WTO agreement rules.
The panel's decision is equivalent to a ruling by a court of first instance.
The latest decision could affect other countries and regions that continue to restrict imports of Japanese products.
South Korea has imposed an import ban on all fishery products from eight prefectures in Japan, including Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate, since September 2013, citing the 2011 nuclear accident as a reason.
The Japanese government filed complaints in 2015, claiming the ban was not based on scientific grounds and hampered free trade. In particular, Japan called for the ban to be lifted on 28 kinds of fishery products it expected to be able to export to South Korea, including bonito, saury and abalone.
The report recommended South Korea lift its ban because it amounts to "arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination" and violates WTO rules.
"The decision reflects Japan's claims," a source connected to the Japanese government said.
The WTO has a two-tier dispute settlement system. If South Korea is dissatisfied with the panel's decision, it can appeal to a higher panel, which is equivalent to a court of second instance. If South Korea does not file an appeal within 60 days, the panel's corrective recommendation will become final.
South Korea must lift the import ban within 15 months, in principle, if the panel's recommendation becomes final or if the higher panel also ruled against it. Japan would be able to take countermeasures if South Korea did not lift the ban, such as raising tariffs on products imported from South Korea.
Following the nuclear accident, a number of countries and regions adopted import restrictions on Japanese food products, such as partial bans and requiring exporters to submit radiation testing certificates.
South Korea has imposed particularly strict measures on Japanese food imports.
Seoul will appeal ruling
By Sho Mizuno / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
SEOUL -- The South Korean government will appeal the World Trade Organization's ruling on the import restrictions it imposed on Japanese fishery products from eight prefectures, including Fukushima, Seoul's trade ministry announced Friday.
A report released by a WTO dispute panel early Friday Japan time calls on South Korea to correct the bans it imposed on Japanese fishery products following the nuclear accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in 2011.
The South Korean Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry and other institutions said in a press release that Seoul will argue in its appeal that the ruling is problematic, taking into account the current situation at the nuclear power plant and the importance of food safety.
South Korea also expressed its intention to contest Japan's arguments and do its utmost to prevent contaminated foods from entering South Korea by taking multifaceted measures, including strengthening import and distribution safety control.
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