TOKYO: Japan has refused to resume negotiations over an economic partnership agreement until Taipei lifts a ban on food imports from five Japanese prefectures, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.
Japan is dissatisfied with the ban, as most developed nations have eased restrictions on Japanese food imports and because Taiwan has not found unacceptable levels of radiation during inspections of Japanese food products, the ministry said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. Due to the ban, Japan is unwilling to resume the operation of the Taiwan-Japan Economic Partnership Committee, which is the framework for discussing the agreement, it said.
Japan believes that Taiwan, as a WTO member, should base its restrictions on scientific evidence and those restrictions should align with WTO regulations, the ministry said. Taiwan should seek economic partnership agreements with important trade partners, such as Japan and the US, especially at a time when the fate of the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership is uncertain, to avoid being marginalized in the international economic arena, it said.
Taiwan banned food imports from Japan’s Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba prefectures in the wake of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster following a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. According to the ban, even food products that test negative for radiation are restricted from entering Taiwan if they come from one of the five prefectures. The government is considering lifting the ban on food imports from at least some of the prefectures, but has encountered heavy opposition from the public, due to food safety concerns.
