Japan asks WTO to intervene on South Korea's atomic fish ban
Tokyo is unhappy at South Korea's decision to extend its ban on catches made in waters near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant
Japan has asked the World Trade Organisation to step into a row over Seoul's ban on fish caught in waters near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
South Korea last month expanded a ban on Japanese fisheries products over fears of contamination from broken reactors at Fukushima after the plant operator admitted highly toxic water may have made its way into the Pacific Ocean.
"We will explain in the committee that Japanese aquatic products are under strict safety controls based on international standards and that the South Korean ban lacks a scientific basis," a fisheries agency official said. "We've decided to register the issue as part of the agenda to be discussed at the committee after we'd asked South Korea to lift the ban."
Although the committee had no power to impose compulsory orders, "it is better for us to see Seoul voluntarily repeal the ban than to file a suit because it could take years to have a settlement in a formal WTO suit", the fisheries official said.
South Korea is the only country that has expanded the scope of its ban on Japanese fisheries products after the toxic water leaks of recent months, according to Japanese officials. Apart from a small area close to the plant, scientists say there has been no significant rise in the radiation level of Pacific waters.