Japan has objected to new Taiwanese regulations on Japanese food imports set to take effect on Friday.
Taiwan has banned food imports from five Japanese prefectures affected by the Fukushima disaster since 2011. Starting Friday, it will require all food imports from Japan to come with proofs of origin and radiation inspection certificates. Japanese officials have said they may take their objections to the new rules to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In response, Health Minister Chiang Been-huang said Wednesday that these new requirements are due to recent cases of falsified place of origin labels on imported Japanese foodstuffs.
"This is because of the false labeling, so there is a rationale for our decision," said Chiang. "We are continuing to talk with Japan about the matter. We don’t want our relations with Japan to worsen over this. But in this matter, we need to make announcements on two policies on May 15."
The Food and Drug Administration says that government agencies are discussing the issue with Japanese officials.