No ‘tit for tat’ moves by Japan if Hong Kong bans food imports over Fukushima water discharge, consul-general says
Hong Kong Free Press
Japan will not adopt “tit for tat” measures if Hong Kong imposes bans on its food imports after Fukushima nuclear wastewater is discharged, the country’s consul-general has said.
Kenichi Okada, who heads the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong, told Now TV in an interview published on Saturday that Hong Kong’s reputation in Japan has been poor since the protests and unrest in 2019.
“Japan is not a country which engages in illogical, nasty tit for tat. But what I’m worried very seriously [about] is the image of Hong Kong in Japan,” Okada said.
He added that many places around the world were not placing any bans, and over two dozen were even relaxing import rules.
“But Hong Kong, Macau [and] China is going to strengthen the restrictions. if you are a Japanese, how do you think?” Okada said.
“I’m very much worried that the possible action by [the] Hong Kong government may decisively damage the reputation of Hong Kong.”
Okada’s comments came ahead of Japan’s plan this month to release treated wastewater from a nuclear plant in Fukushima, on the country’s eastern coast. The plant was the site of an accident in 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck Japan and triggered a tsunami.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said in July that Japan’s plans were consistent with international safety standards. The discharge would have a negligible radiological impact, according to the agency.
‘We cannot compromise food safety’
Since Japan announced it would release its treated water, Hong Kong has said repeatedly that it would take “rigorous measures” to restrict food imports from Japan. The city announced last month it would ban imports from 10 Japanese prefectures.
In a blog post published on Monday, Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan defended the looming restrictions, calling them necessary to protect food safety in the city. Radioactive substances can accumulate in marine organisms and pose risks, Tse said.
“Hong Kong has all along attached great importance to maintaining good relationships with Japan, but we cannot compromise food safety and the health of our citizens,” Tse wrote in Chinese.
He added that Japan was the “instigator” and the “active party,” while Hong Kong was the “passive party.”
“Strengthening the control of Japanese seafood imports is a normal… thing to do for victims implementing measures to protect themselves,” Tse said. “Those who are objective can see clearly who is right and who is wrong.”
Hong Kong is a major importer of Japanese fishery products, and is the second biggest market for exports after mainland China, data from the Japanese government showed.
Japan has requested that Hong Kong not take regulatory measures and “called for action based on scientific evidence,” according to the country’s foreign ministry.
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