Japan Asks Hong Kong to Lift Food Import Ban

Hong Kong, Aug. 16 (Jiji Press)--Visiting Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Ken Saito called on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Wednesday to abolish the region's import ban on food from five eastern Japan prefectures. "I asked the Hong Kong leader to scrap the ban based on scientific grounds," Saito told reporters after holding talks with Lam. Following the triple reactor meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s 9501 Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant damaged in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Hong Kong banned imports of vegetables, fruits and dairy products from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba prefectures. Meanwhile, Saito said that people in Hong Kong are very interested in Japanese food. Hong Kong is a major importer of Japanese agriculture, forestry and fisheries products. Saito expressed confidence in expanding consumption of Japanese food in the region.Copyright JIJI PRESS LTD.