Hong Kong's Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said Wednesday the city will ban seafood imports from 10 Japanese prefectures if the country goes through with a plan to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.
Tse told reporters the city government would immediately ban Japanese seafood imports, including frozen, refrigerated, dried, or otherwise preserved aquatic products, as well as seaweed and sea salt, once the Fukushima water discharge begins.
Hong Kong is Japan's second-largest market for agricultural and fisheries exports, with mainland China being the largest. The 10 prefectures are Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee emphasized the importance of maintaining food safety in the city, saying the semiautonomous territory's government would take "decisive action" to protect public health.
"The catering industry will be affected, but I'm sure that they will understand that we are forced to make a decision because of this unprecedented exercise," he added.
Mainland China has banned food imports from Fukushima and nine other prefectures since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
