Japanese food products are safe to eat, the All Japan Taiwanese Union (AJTU) said in a statement yesterday in response to China’s claim that Japanese food carries radiation risks.
Japan began releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant on Thursday in compliance with international safety standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the statement said.
Despite sufficient safety guarantees, China banned imports of Japanese aquatic products and related processed food, and it organized protests on various social media, it said.
Photo: AP
A group of Taiwanese living in Japan have shown their support of Japanese fishermen and seafood processors by buying large quantities of products.
It also urged Taiwanese around the world to spread information on social media to support Japan.
Meanwhile, Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) caused controversy by saying in a Facebook post on Saturday that “traces of radioactive elements are actually beneficial to body.”
Hsieh said yesterday that he was actually referring to radium found in hot springs in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) and Tamagawa Hot Spring in Japan rather than treated radioactive water.
Low levels of radiation are good for health, according to US professor Thomas Donnell Luckey’s NASA-commissioned study on radioactivity’s influence on astronauts, Hsieh said.
Japan should handle its treated radioactive water based on science and the judgement of the IAEA, which is the consensus across party lines in Taiwan and in other developed countries, he said.
China, Hong Kong and Macau’s boycotts and protests are politically motivated, he said, adding that it was not surprising that pro-China groups in Taiwan followed them.
In related news, Taiwan’s largest common salt producer yesterday said people do not need to panic, after Japan’s release of treated radioactive wastewater sparked panic buying of salt in China and South Korea.
Taiyen Biotech Co said its supply is ample and panic buying is unnecessary.
Additional reporting by CNA
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