Days after Hong Kong banned seafood imports from 10 Japanese prefectures when the Fukushima nuclear plant began discharging treated wastewater, many Hongkongers appear unfazed and some are doubtful about whether the ban was necessary.
But restaurants, try as they might to reassure sceptical customers, have still noticed a drop in business. One manager of a Japanese restaurant said Japan’s filtration system for the wastewater discharged into the ocean was a “relatively safe, feasible, and acceptable practice, though not completely risk-free.”
“Our restaurant mainly uses fish caught in Hokkaido and Fukuoka, so our supply is not affected by the ban, and the menu doesn’t have to be changed,” the manager told HKFP in a text message. “The only issue is customer confidence.”
Experts say Japan’s release of treated wastewater from the nuclear power plant does not pose health risks. Early last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) granted Tokyo approval to release the treated water stored at the disabled power station. But Beijing and Hong Kong have expressed “strong opposition” to the discharge.
Japan’s Fisheries Agency tested fish near the release pipe last week, with its trade minister saying data would be published every day “in a highly transparent fashion.”
Tests by Hong Kong authorities found that 1,288 Japanese food samples examined a week after the import ban last Thursday – over half of which were aquatic products, seaweed, and sea salt – were all satisfactory.
The restaurant manager said business improved in the two days before the import ban, but fell thereafter.
“It should be left to our visionary officials to comment on whether the import ban is necessary or reasonable. In the current socioeconomic situation, businesses and ordinary people can only focus on their own survival,” the manager said.
Several Hongkongers who spoke to HKFP said they were not entirely convinced by the IAEA reports but would continue to eat Japanese seafood anyway.