Legislature President Wang Jin-pyng says Taiwan will consider scientific data before deciding on whether to lift bans on food imports from five Japanese prefectures affected by the Fukushima disaster. Wang was speaking in Japan Wednesday during a meeting with Diet member Kishi Nobuo.
Kishi thanked Wang for his annual visits to Japan, beginning after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011. He said he hopes Wang will work to see Taiwan lift a ban on food imports from five Japanese prefectures put into effect after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Wang said he believes Taiwan’s government will use measurements and data to come to a decision. Wang told Kishi that he and the other members of his delegation will do all they can to see the ban lifted.
During a later meeting with Chiba Prefecture Governor Morita Kensaku, Wang also said the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee has asked the health ministry for a full report on the ban. Wang said the legislature will deliberate on the safety of food products covered by the ban after the report is delivered.
Chiba officials said that food from their prefecture has been shown to be safe when tested between April 2013 to March 2015. But lawmakers said due to the recent false labeling of products from Japan's banned regions, they suggest that their government certify products that are deemed safe.
Wang said that if the food products are proven to be safe for consumption, he is confident that the government will lift the ban.