The latest on the release of contaminated먹튀검증 water from Fukushima, Japan. Hong Kong has announced a hardline response: if Japan releases Fukushima contaminated water into the sea, it will stop all imports of Japanese seafood. This is the first time Hong Kong has said it will stop all imports of seafood.
Correspondent Park Sung-hoon reports from Beijing.
[Reporter]
Hong Kong authorities have issued a stern warning about plans to discharge Fukushima contaminated water.
[Tsu Chin-wan/Hong Kong’s Secretary for Environment and Ecology: If Japan really does discharge radioactive contaminated water, the Hong Kong government will ban the import of seafood from the dangerous area].
Hong Kong already has import restrictions on some seafood products, and he’s talking about extending them to all Japanese products.
Tsu Chin-wan pointed out that cesium exceeding 180 times the standard was detected in rockfish caught off the coast of Fukushima last month, which is a very serious problem.
He also criticized how Japan can guarantee that the discharge will not pose a risk to food safety and marine ecosystems when it lasts for 30 years.
Hong Kong is one of the largest importers of Japanese seafood, importing about $2 trillion worth last year.
If Hong Kong were to suspend all imports, the Japanese fishing industry would suffer.
“If the Japanese government is confident that the radioactive contaminated water is safe, it should use it for agriculture or other purposes in its own country,” Hong Kong authorities wrote in a media op-ed.
China has also previously criticized Japan, saying that if the contaminated water is safe, why doesn’t Japan recycle it domestically?