The South Korean’s government’s decision not to import Japanese seafood from eight of its prefectures amid concerns over radioactivity in the sea could mean a strong hit for the Japanese fisheries industry. And according to the newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, this measure also endangers the government's plans to double Japanese exports by the year 2020.
In a meeting with Toshimitsu Motegi, the minister of Economy, that took place on 6 September, the Head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, Hiroshi Kishi, publicly expressed his worries over the subject.
Kishi scheduled the meeting to tackle the issue of radioactive leaks from the Fukushima plant, where a massive meltdown took place in 2011, causing important environmental damage when three reactor cooling systems melted down into the sea contaminating the waters.
South Korea has serious doubts as to whether the Japanese government is actually telling it all regarding the issue of radioactive waters. The ban only casts another shadow of doubt about its credibility.
The South Korean government does not believe that seafood originating from the affected areas is radiation-free and safe to eat, despite the Japanese government’s reassurances to the contrary.
This issue affects the future of the Japanese fisheries industry as a whole. The South Korean government has been urged to take these drastic measures due to the increasing public concern over whether Japanese seafood from the contaminated areas is safe enough to eat. NGOs have been pressurizing the government to take action.
Some of the prefectures included in the ban were already affected even before the ban was implemented. Miyagi prefecture experienced a sharp drop in seafood exports falling to 2,000 for the period of January-July 2013 from 9,000 tonnes in 2010.
The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has requested Seoul to consider backing down on the decision. “The South Korean decision lacks an internationally accepted scientific basis," a high-ranking ministry official told The Asahi Shimbun.
A Fisheries Agency stressed the fact that there had been no recent reports of a sharp increase in (radiation) detection levels and that marine life had not been affected.