EU removes post-Fukushima curbs on Japan food imports

"We both need to de-risk our supply chains so one of our objectives is to reduce over reliance on a handful of suppliers, many of them based in China

…

So, Japan was rejecting EU produce to protect Japanese consumers?

But now, suddenly it’s ok if the EU accepts radioactive tainted Fukushima produce?

So, Japan is now free to export its radiation to Europe for consumption?

Amazing!

@kurisupusu

Read the article carefully. The EU is lifting restrictions on Japanese food products because they don’t think they are “radioactive tainted” any longer.

The European Union and Japan already have a free trade agreement and are united in opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

And this is connected to food exports to the EU from Fukushima how?

Good.

To all of the nay-sayers, that's why it's important for PM Kishida to get out of Japan more.

Only problem is Kishida doesn't have the political power to take on the agriculture industry. The EU is getting nothing I'm return. They should've lowered their guns at the same time.

So, Japan is now free to export its radiation to Europe for consumption?

Show us some study that backup your words!

Well then don't dump the Fukushima water into the ocean.

They.

Have.

To.

There is no way of expanding the existing space which is running out, there is no viable way of long term storage, there are no viable discharge alternatives that would make a significant change, and the discharge will be as inconsequential as the dozens of similar discharges done all over the world all the time. No amount of whinging -- from other countries, from fishermen, from opposition parties, from environmental groups, and from commenters here who think they discovered a brand new unique way noone ever considered before but they miraculously did -- will change anything about that.

The European Commission said these restrictions had been fully lifted, while noting Japan continued to monitor for radioactivity and stressing Japan should publish its findings.

Ring alarm bells much....hiding data is not the way to breed trust!

hiding data is not the way to breed trust!

They are not accusing Japan of hiding data.

Good for the EU. Unlike the South Korean and Chinese governments (and their blind anti-Japan followers). Both governments have released plant waste water with double the amounts of tritium than what is contained in the Fukushima waste waters. All this grandstanding and posturing against Japan is so childish.

FYI there's always always more than one solution to a dumping problem

Absolutely. And after you eliminate the ones that don't exist in practice, the ones that don't work, and the ones don't make a significant difference except being more complex for the sake of being more complex, you end up at the one solution you actually implement. Which is exactly what they did.

Not choosing a solution and ignoring the problem is not an option.

My dog, it seems like every day when I read this paper there is a picture of  Ursula von der Leyen. Is she now a resident in Japan? Just asking for my friends here in the EU, so if she is we can all cheer.

Unfortunately the Commission did a rather bad job here.

Some European products still require radioactive testing. Berries, jams, mushrooms etc. The Commission should have pushed for reciprocity.

Dors the Europeans eat Japanese food products?

Roy SophveasonToday  09:45 am JST

They are not accusing Japan of hiding data

while noting Japan continued to monitor for radioactivity and stressing Japan should publish its findings.

Ummmm yes they are! Not publishing data is different how?

@kurisupusu

Read the article carefully. The EU is lifting restrictions on Japanese food products because they don’t think they are “radioactive tainted” any longer.

Errr, no that is not the reason.

The reason is purely based on economic considerations

Radiation and contamination from nuclear plants doesn’t suddenly just disappear after 12 years

EU scientists are not stupid and ignorant of that fact.

The reason is that Kishida has given the EU a green light to export products here (Japan)

Food from Fukushima is an unknown and contaminated produce, debris, animals, tyres, green tea, building materials have already found their way all over Japan

The authorities in Japan have hardly been paragons in preventing the spread

However, the EU will ignore the inherent dangers of importing from Japan so that EU farmers can get into the EU markets where access has been arbitrarily blocked in the past

Greed wins!

:: They are not accusing Japan of hiding data

Ummmm yes they are! Not publishing data is different how?

They are neither saying nor implying that Japan has not been publishing data. They are asking that Japan monitor for radioactivity and publish the data in the future:

Now that the restrictions have been fully lifted, it is however important that the Japanese government continues to monitor domestic production for radioactivity. This includes in particular fish, fishery products and seaweed close to the release site of the contaminated cooling water. They should be monitored for the presence of radionuclides, including tritium. It is also important that the Japanese government makes all the results publicly available.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3781

Impeccable timing.

I wonder how the people of Europe feel about this.

Methinks they might be quite dubious not to mention angry especially with Japan about to release radioactive water into the sea.

The optics just don't seem right.

The reason is that Kishida has given the EU a green light to export products here (Japan)

Did he? When was that? And since when was it restricted, and why?

Food from Fukushima is an unknown and contaminated produce (...) However, the EU will ignore the inherent dangers of importing from Japan

The EU has been monitoring food imports from Japan since the accident in 2011. They have not found a single instance of non-compliance with radiation limits in twelve years. The last non-compliant sample exceeding codex and JML levels was found in green tea in June 2011.

Ooh well that's clever and just in time for the scheduled release of billions of gallons of contaminated radioactive water to be dumped in the ocean

You mean water treated to well beyond international standards, and verified independently by the IAEA?

The water is far cleaner than water being released by other nuclear power plants around the world.

@Roy

Don’t you ever go shopping?

What EU origin fruit and vegetables do you see?

Exactly!

Oh, try buying US apples too

That’s right there aren’t any-funny that!

Now you obviously know that it is impossible to monitor all foodstuffs (maybe you don’t) for contamination and only a small sample is ever tested.

It is also possible to mark Fukushima produce as having come from other prefectures and yes, that has been done before as well et al….

@Roy

The EU doesn’t test for all contamination from nuclear elements either-an unhealthy dose of strontium or pluntonium is basically ignored

Feeding babies and children especially with contaminated food is a major health risk

This is why food from the Chernobyl disaster found in Germany is still banned after several decades presently

Yet, Japan wants to export and the EU import contaminated food-unbelievable!

Europeans don't need Japanese food. Their cuisines are much better and flavourful than anything in Japanese cuisine.

Very much seems like the Japanese version of a middle finger to the regional opponents of the water release. Get over to Europe and get them to lift food import curbs and restrictions from the danger zone. That’s some nice politicking right there! Kishida looks absolutely chuffed with himself.

PS don’t think that the EU market for Japanese mushrooms or bamboo shoots is that huge either! All about the optics this one! Well played though. Kishida seems to do well outside of Japan!

swimming pool sized evaporation chambers and sunshine to evap the water and recover the elements in question

Tritium cannot be recovered this way, tritiated water would simply evaporate like regular water. The other "elements in question" have already been filtered to about a hundreth of the regulation limits.

Also, if you're talking about vacuum evaporation, mind sharing how you imagine such a chamber can be built in "swimming pool size"?

Don’t you ever go shopping?

What EU origin fruit and vegetables do you see?

That's not because of trade restrictions. Do you seriously expect Dutch tomatoes, Italian cucumbers and German potatoes to be shipped from the EU to Japan?

Again, when did Japan actually restrict imports from the EU? There must be some sort of official document or announcement that describes the restrictions, no?

A chemist would know you can't evaporate a million tons of water with Tritium.

for reference

https://dps.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2023/05/disposal-options-and-risks-may-2023.pdf

The EU doesn’t test for all contamination from nuclear elements either-an unhealthy dose of strontium or pluntonium is basically ignored

That is untrue. The EU tests for, and I quote Regulation 3954/87, "strontium, notably Sr-90", "Isotopes of iodine notably I-131", "plutonium and transplutonium, notably Pu-239, Am-241" as well as "all other nuclides of half-life greater than 10 days, notably Cs-134, Cs-137".

Now you obviously know that it is impossible to monitor all foodstuffs (maybe you don’t) for contamination and only a small sample is ever tested.

Of course not everything was tested on the EU side. But everything had to be tested and certified on the Japanese side, and a failed test sample would taint all other certificates issued by the respective laboratory and all consignmens by the respective exporter, something both would not be willing to risk just to smuggle in some "unsellable" food. The "small sample" is not so small, by the way: The EU tested at least 10% of all consignments from Japan.

Clearly someone is united in opposition to imported EU food products.

What a quasi alliance.

So, nothing to do with safety at all. Great.

Anyway, I 100% support it, as long as it is made clear the origin of the products being shipped to the EU. Let in cheaper, superior products to Japan, and let the EU decide if they want to eat food that will no doubt cost a fortune and is from irradiated areas.

The EU has been monitoring food imports from Japan since the accident in 2011. They have not found a single instance of non-compliance with radiation limits in twelve years. The last non-compliant sample exceeding codex and JML levels was found in green tea in June 2011.

Maybe because the regulations were too strict for Japan to navigate-Plenty of radiation was found in domestically produced food from the affected region in the following years

factcheckerToday  12:51 pm JST

Europeans don't need Japanese food. Their cuisines are much better and flavourful than anything in Japanese cuisine.

Remarkably crass comment. Must be why the French have become addicted to "surimi", ie; Kanikama.

Japanese food and restaurants are very popular in the UK.

This is proof that the EU has inspected the radioactivity content of agricultural products produced in Japan so far, but there have been no problems.

Unlike China's Hong Kong and South Korea, the EU only allowed imports if there were scientific grounds and results.

For Japanese farmers, the failure to export crops due to emotional rather than scientific refusal, as in China and South Korea, is nothing but reputational damage.

And most importantly, even if the EU permits imports, whether or not to actually purchase Japanese agricultural products is left to the decision of general EU companies.

Even the EU government cannot force private companies to purchase Japanese agricultural products. Koreans and others do not understand this.

The job of the Japanese government is to abolish import restrictions imposed by governments around the world that are not based on scientific grounds, and to reduce harmful rumors about Fukushima.

It does not matter whether each country imports Japanese agricultural products or not.

By the way, until now, rich Chinese people have preferred to buy Japanese agricultural products over Chinese agricultural products, even if they are more expensive.

Rich Chinese people are a good example of how dangerous Chinese agricultural products are.