Taiwan Lifts Import Ban on Japanese Foods

Taipei, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)--Taiwan on Wednesday eased import restrictions further on foods from five Japanese prefectures, making it possible for all Japanese food products to be shipped to Taiwan in principle.

The additional easing covers items including mushrooms, game meat and "koshiabura," a mountain vegetable, from Fukushima, which hosts the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., and nearby Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures.

Meanwhile, attaching inspection reports for radioactive materials and certificates of origin will remain mandatory.

Fishery products from Iwate and Miyagi prefectures and tea from Shizuoka Prefecture can now be imported to Taiwan without such inspection reports.

Taiwan had maintained stricter import restrictions than other economies do. Its health authority stated that the latest review of the import restrictions on Japanese food products was based on scientific grounds and international standards.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]