Brazil Lifts Import Restrictions on Fukushima Products

August 22, 2018

Sao Paulo- The Brazilian government said Tuesday it has lifted its import restrictions on agricultural products and food from Fukushima Prefecture introduced after the 2011 nuclear accident in the northeastern Japan prefecture.

The removal was requested by the Japanese government and the prefectural government of Fukushima, where Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant suffered a triple meltdown following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The Brazilian government decided on the move when Mitsuhiro Miyakoshi, special adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, visited the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency on Monday.

Brazil introduced import restrictions on Japanese food products soon after the nuclear accident began.

The South American country relaxed the regulations drastically in December 2012.

But products from Fukushima remained under restrictions, including mandatory submission of certificates of origin and official documents on radiation test results.

During a visit to Brazil in October last year, Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori expressed his wish to restore trust in Japanese agricultural products by clearing misunderstandings and wiping out negative rumors. Jiji Press