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China-Japan relations
This Week in AsiaHealth & Environment

Radioactive rockfish caught near Fukushima nuclear plant prompts Japan to suspend shipments

  • Radiation in recent catch 14 times safe level for humans; adds to concerns there is still contamination more than a decade after the 2011 meltdown
  • News of the discovery coincides with Taiwan relaxing its ban on imports of agricultural products from areas of Japan affected by the disaster

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Buyers gather at a fish auction in Japan. Radioactive black rockfish 14 times the safe limit for human consumption were caught last month near Fukushima nuclear plant, leading to Japan suspending shipments. File photo: Bloomberg
Julian Ryall

Japan has ordered the suspension of shipments of black rockfish caught off Fukushima prefecture after tests on a haul late last month showed radiation levels above the legal limit for human consumption.

The ministry of health on Tuesday confirmed that a catch from south of the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that was brought ashore on January 26 contained 1,400 becquerels of radiation per kg, far higher than the national standard of 100 becquerels per kg set by the government as safe.

The ministry confirmed that the catch was not released for sale.

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Its announcement coincided with Taiwan relaxing a ban on imports of agricultural products from areas of northeast Japan affected by the fallout from three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant that were destroyed in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Fishing boats off South Korea parade to denounce the Japanese government’s decision to release treated radioactive Fukushima water. Tokyo said in April 2021 it would start releasing treated water from the wrecked nuclear plant into the ocean in two years, a move condemned by fishermen, residents and Japan’s neighbours. File photo: via AP
Fishing boats off South Korea parade to denounce the Japanese government’s decision to release treated radioactive Fukushima water. Tokyo said in April 2021 it would start releasing treated water from the wrecked nuclear plant into the ocean in two years, a move condemned by fishermen, residents and Japan’s neighbours. File photo: via AP
Environmental groups have expressed concern that high levels of radioactivity have been detected in fish caught off the prefecture nearly 11 years after the disaster and are calling on the government to cancel its plan to release around 1 million tonnes of radioactive water presently stored at the plant into the Pacific Ocean.
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