Hong Kong to ban some Japanese seafood: Row over radioactive water explained

Hong Kong's leader said that the city would "immediately activate" import controls on Japanese seafood as he strongly opposed Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. Japan will begin releasing more than a million tons of water from the plant. Tokyo has insisted that the water is safe and that the plant which was wrecked in a 2011 tsunami is mostly been used to cool damaged reactors.

Hong Kong said that its ban would take effect from August 24, the day Japan starts its release. The plan has been approved by the UN nuclear watchdog but dumping the water has faced opposition from counties including China, over worries about food safety.

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Hong Kong chief executive John Lee said the release was "irresponsible" and posed “impossible risks to food safety and the irreparable pollution and destruction of the marine environment” adding that he had told environment secretary Tse Chin-wan and relevant departments to immediately activate import controls in order to protect food safety and public health.

"There is no timetable at this point about how long the ban will last," Tse Chin-wan said. The decision would depend on data and information from the Japan after the discharge, he explained.

Macau will also implement the ban from Thursday, covering goods from the same 10 Japanese regions.

What does the ban mean?

In July, Hong Kong said the ban would cover imported aquatic products from the Japanese regions of Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama but exports from 13 other regions would still be allowed. The measure covers live, frozen, refrigerated, dried aquatic products, sea salt and seaweed.

What will be the impact of the ban?

Hong Kong is Japan's second largest market, after China, for agricultural and fisheries exports. Many restaurants will face a major challenge as some plan to add more meat to their menus as they anticipate losses of up to 40%.

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