Current law ‘Release if there is no harm’

Amended to ‘ban if concerned’

Rep. Lee So-young scheduled to propose on the 28th

Applicable to all aquatic products

Solidarity with Japanese citizens… Condemn with one voice Opposition lawmakers, including the Democratic Party of Korea Won-shik Woo and Won-young Yang Yi, the Justice Party Kang Eun-mi, and independent lawmaker Jeong-sook Yang, hold a rally to condemn the discharge of contaminated water in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan on the 27th. Provided by the Democratic Party

The opposition party is promoting legislation to prevent the government from lifting the ban on imports of agricultural and marine products produced in Fukushima, Japan, where a nuclear power plant explosion occurred. As the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant began on the 24th, the opposition party is proposing a bill to ban the import of seafood affected by the discharge of contaminated water.

According to the National Assembly on the 27th, Rep. Lee So-young, who worked in the Fukushima contaminated water in-hospital countermeasures group of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposes an amendment to the Food Sanitation Act on the 28th. The Food Sanitation Act is the basis for the government’s current ban on imports of all marine products from Japan’s eight prefectures, including Fukushima, and 27 agricultural products from Japan’s 15 prefectures.

The amendment stipulates that if there is a risk of harm to food produced, used, or cooked in the area where the nuclear accident occurred, the import must be banned. The current law makes it possible to ‘ban’ the import of food that poses a risk, and to ‘lift’ the ban if there is no risk. In contrast, in effect, it was specified that the import of Fukushima-produced food was strictly prohibited.

This can be summarized as an obligatory import ban to prevent the government from lifting the ban on imports of marine products from Fukushima in the future. The government maintains the ban on imports regardless of the discharge of contaminated water into the sea, but concerns are being raised that the ban on imports may be lifted in the future while tolerating the discharge of contaminated water without opposing it.

In response to the discharge of contaminated water into the sea, a new provision has been added to ban the import of all Japanese marine products. The purpose is to specifically grant the government the authority to ban imports related to the discharge of contaminated water. China has completely banned imports of Japanese aquatic products after the discharge of contaminated water began.

The Democratic Party, which opposes the discharge of contaminated water, is pushing for legislation specifying a ban on imports of marine products from Fukushima at the party level. On the day the discharge of contaminated water began, all 168 members of the Democratic Party jointly initiated the ‘Special Act on the Prohibition of Import of Marine Products Exposed to Radioactive Contaminated Water from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant and the Promotion of the Fisheries Industry, etc.’ .

Rep. Lee So-young said, “As the government virtually agreed to the discharge of contaminated water, the basis and justification for the current ban on imports of marine products from Fukushima that ‘Japanese waters are not safe’ has weakened.” must do,” he said. At the same time, she said, “Especially in the situation where radioactive materials have been released into the ocean, it is urgent to prepare a legal basis to extend the ban on imports to all Japanese marine products.”

2023-08-27 11:57:00
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