Yuji Yamamoto, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, told the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of the House of Representatives on March 29 that he is ready to bring a complain at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against countries and regions imposing import restrictions on Japanese foods following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant of TEPCO that occurred subsequent to the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011.
“We will consider filing a complaint at WTO against governments of foreign countries restricting imports of Japanese foods on the basis of non-scientific grounds,” Minister Yamamoto said.
The Agricultural Minister told the Committee members that his Ministry has been persuading China, Taiwan, South Korea and other countries to remove a restriction banning imports of foods produced at Tohoku and Kanto Regions in Japan since the outbreak of the nuclear power plant accident, by providing these countries with scientific data showing safety of Japanese foods, which includes experimental results for radiation substances.
The Minister added that he has expressed his concern to WTO’s officials that the import restrictions of these countries would be regarded as non-tariff trade barriers violating WTO rules.
Japan filed the dispute against South Korea over the import restrictions in 2015. Minister Yamamoto pointed out that WTO established a panel last September to settle the dispute.