Hong Kong bans import of aquatic products from 10 Japanese prefectures

Non-prohibited aquatic products from Japan also undergo radiological tests.

The government has prohibited the import of all aquatic products, sea salt, and seaweeds from 10 Japanese metropolises/prefectures,

The 10 prefectures are Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano, and Saitama.

The move was the government's response to Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station.

The government will conduct comprehensive radiological tests on other aquatic products not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels.

The government said it is also open to commencing an import ban should anomalies be detected.

The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far.   

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) and the Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) have also conducted tests on food samples from Japan. All samples passed the test.