Crystal Dike
Taiwan lifted all restrictions on Japanese food imports on Friday, signaling support for Tokyo amid reports that China may halt purchases over a dispute with Japan’s new prime minister.
Since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Taiwan had imposed a blanket ban on food imports from five Japanese regions. Some restrictions were eased in 2022 and 2024. On Friday, Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) announced that “Japanese food safety management measures return to normal,” effective immediately.
“Since 2011, Taiwan has conducted border inspections on over 270,000 batches of Japanese food for radiation testing, with a failure rate of 0 percent,” the agency said. It added that the risk of additional radiation exposure from Japanese food is “negligible,” citing scientific data.
Following Taiwan’s move, only China, Hong Kong, Macau, Russia, and South Korea maintain specific import controls on Japanese food products.
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between Japan and China after Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, suggested earlier this month that Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of an attack on Taiwan. China claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under control.
In a public show of support for Japan, images of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te holding a plate of sushi were posted on social media on Thursday. Lai, a vocal defender of Taiwan’s sovereignty, accused Beijing of “severely” affecting regional peace. China’s foreign ministry dismissed the posts as a “stunt.”