Japan wins in WTO fishery dispute with S. Korea

February 23, 2018

Tokyo- A World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel has ruled in favor of Japan in the case of South Korea's import ban on Japanese fishery products, introduced after the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011, Japanese officials said Thursday.

The WTO panel found that the import ban is arbitrary or amounts to unfair discrimination, according to the officials citing a WTO notification to the Japanese government.

The panel urged South Korea to correct the measure, noting it violates WTO rules.

The panel ruling is the first on such import restrictions imposed after the triple meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which was hit by a huge earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011.

Following the nuclear accident, the South Korean government prohibited imports of some fishery products from the prefectures of Aomori, Iwate, Fukushima, Miyagi, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba. In September 2013, it expanded the import ban to cover all fishery products from the eight prefectures.

Japanese exports of fishery products to South Korea decreased from 10.9 billion yen in the year through August 2013 to 8.4 billion yen in the following year.

In 2015, the Japanese government brought the case to the WTO, claiming that the blanket ban is an excessive and unfairly discriminatory measure.

"We welcome the WTO ruling, which reflects Japan's claims," a senior Japanese fishery ministry official said.

If South Korea appeals to a higher WTO committee against the decision, its judgment can be shown as early as this summer. Otherwise, the latest ruling will become final, the official added. Jiji Press