Fourteen years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, Taiwan has gradually relaxed import controls on food from Fukushima. As early as the end of this year, Taiwan will stop inspecting each individual batch of food from five affected prefectures in Japan, instead shifting to source management and border control in line with import rules for other countries and regions. The change could be implemented as soon as the end of the year. Food items still banned from domestic circulation in Japan will continue to be prohibited from entering Taiwan.
On August 29, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced a draft to abolish the “List of Japanese Food Items and Production Regions Subject to Import Suspension and Inspection,” returning to source management and border control. Under this new system, the Japanese government will control items that are restricted from circulation, while Taiwanese authorities will conduct risk-based radiation sampling inspections at the border to ensure food safety. The draft will be open for a 60-day public comment period to gather opinions from various sectors.
This is the second easing of restrictions by Taiwan following last year's measures. After the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident on March 11, 2011, Taiwan banned food imports from five prefectures — Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, and Chiba — for nearly 11 years.
According to Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration statistics, from February 21, 2022 to July 31 this year, Taiwan inspected a total of 21,717 batches of imported food from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, and Chiba. Over the past 14 years, more than 263,000 batches have been inspected at the border, with all test results meeting both Taiwanese and Japanese standards and a non-compliance rate of 0. Based on Taiwan’s risk assessment of Japanese food, the extra risk from radiation exposure is considered negligible.
Jiang Zhigang, Director of the Food and Drug Administration, noted that last year, more than six million Taiwanese people traveled to Japan to enjoy the food and culture, making Japanese food familiar to the public. He emphasized that food items not circulated within Japan will still not be imported into Taiwan.