Korea: "No Imports of Fukushima Seafood"... Japan: "We Will Strive to Gain Understanding"

The South Korean presidential office stated that it will not import seafood from Fukushima, to which the Japanese government responded on the 30th, saying, "We will strive to gain understanding from the international community, including South Korea, through highly transparent information disclosure."

At a press conference that day, Hirokazu Matsuno, Chief Cabinet Secretary and spokesperson for the Japanese government, mentioned this. Secretary Matsuno said, "We are undergoing an IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) review with participation from South Korean international experts, and Japan is politely explaining the safety of the treated water discharge facility and the evaluation of the radiation environmental impact," adding, "We are also providing polite explanations through director-general level meetings with South Korea."

Secretary Matsuno added that Japan has been transparently explaining the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant contaminated water issue to the international community based on scientific evidence and has disclosed safety-related information on its website.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is shaking hands while taking a commemorative photo with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida before a small-scale Korea-Japan summit at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo, Japan, on the afternoon of the 16th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier, Japanese media reported that during the Korea-Japan summit held in Tokyo on the 16th, the Japanese side requested the lifting of import restrictions on seafood from Fukushima.

In response, the South Korean presidential office, through a press release issued by the spokesperson's office that morning, stated, "The government's position that the health and safety of the public regarding imports of Japanese seafood is the top priority remains unchanged," and emphasized, "Seafood from Fukushima will never enter the country."