South Korea to fight WTO ruling on Fukushima seafood ban

A lab technician at the Fukushima Agricultural Technology Center, which monitors safety in farm and fisheries products from across the prefecture, fills mashed-up fish meat with a plastic cup to measure radiation levels in Koriyama city, in this October 2017 photo. (AP)

SEOUL: South Korea says it will appeal the World Trade Organization’s decision against Seoul’s import bans on Japanese fishery products imposed in the wake of Fukushima nuclear meltdowns.
South Korea’s government said Friday that the appeal is aimed at protecting public health and safety. It said it will maintain its existing import bans and regulations on Japanese seafood.
The WTO accepted Japan’s complaint saying that South Korea’s trade move was inconsistent with the trade body’s rules, discriminatory and served as a trade barrier.
In 2013, South Korea banned import of all fishery products from eight Japanese provinces near Fukushima after the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011. It also required radioactive certificates on food products from Japan. Japan filed a complaint against the move in 2015.