The South Korean government on Sept. 6 announced a fisheries ban on eight Japanese prefectures due to concerns over leaks of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, on the eve of a crucial vote to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

A senior official at the Tokyo metropolitan government said the negative publicity generated by the ban may affect its bid to host the Games, which will be voted on Sept. 7 by the International Olympic Committee in Buenos Aires.

“Now is a very bad time,” the official said. “I am worried that the intense attention by overseas media could affect our effort for bidding.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference on Sept. 6 that contaminated water that leaked into the sea from the Fukushima plant remains within the bay surrounding the plant, and the radiation levels are far below those permitted. He said Seoul should “react based on scientific evidence.”

The fisheries industry in the affected prefectures are concerned about how publicity from the ban will affect their livelihoods. The eight prefectures are Fukushima, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Iwate, Tochigi, Chiba and Aomori, the South Korean government said.

The South Korean government said on Sept. 6 that it will extend the ban on 50 fisheries products at present to all fisheries products from those prefectures starting Sept. 9. South Korea imported about 40,000 tons of fisheries products from Japan in 2012, with some 5,000 tons coming from the eight prefectures.

In terms of fisheries products from other prefectures, the South Korean government decided it will request an export inspection certificate for additional radioactive substances when even a small amount of radioactive cesium is detected.

“Fisheries products from which any radioactivity is detected will be effectively blocked,” a South Korean government source said.

The government cited as reasons the sharp increase in concern among the South Korean public about the flow of contaminated water into the sea, and that the information the Japanese government has provided so far is not sufficient to predict future developments.

South Korean media have reported daily about the leakage of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, which has begun to affect consumption of fisheries products at home and sales of fishery products imported from Japan.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, such countries as South Korea, China, Russia, the United States and the European Union have restricted imports of seafood products following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant, which started in March 2011. While many countries enacted a blanket ban immediately after the accident, New Zealand, Canada and Malaysia completely lifted the ban between June 2011 and March this year. The United States also lifted the ban on the condition that it can inspect imported fisheries. The EU also eased restrictions in October 2012 by decreasing the number of target prefectures.

On the other hand, as of the end of July, China continued to ban fisheries products, regardless of radiation levels, from 10 prefectures, including Fukushima, Miyagi and Chiba. China demands submission of the Japanese government’s inspection certificate and certificates of origin.

South Korea’s latest decision came as a surprise and a concern to government officials and those in the fisheries industry.

“I don’t know why it was decided now,” said a senior official at the Fisheries Agency. “It has been a while since the contaminated water problem was found. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (the operator of the Fukushima plant) admitted to the leaks a month ago. We are now collecting information as to when the import ban takes effect.”

The agency has not received any information about Seoul’s ban.

Shinetsu Kikuchi, president of the Miyagi prefectural federation of fisheries cooperative associations, was outraged.

“This is a disaster," he said. "It is a result of the government’s measures (against radioactive water leaks) that are always late. I hope the government makes its utmost effort to rescue fishermen. I hope the ban will not lead to a boycott campaign among Japanese consumers.”

An official at Miyagi prefectural government’s fisheries promotion division said, “While the amount of (fisheries product) exported to South Korea is not great, I am worried false rumors will spread.”

Hiroyuki Sato, president of the Soma-Futaba fisheries cooperative association in Fukushima Prefecture, points out the political implications behind Seoul's move.

"This seems to be a problem of politics, not fisheries," Sato said. "I cannot help thinking the difficult relationship such as the shared history between Japan and South Korea is behind the ban."

-------------------

Writers: Seiko Sadakuni in Tokyo and Akihiko Kaise in Seoul contributed to this article.

This news was published on September 06, 2013.

Source: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/korean_peninsula/AJ201309060089