Macau Bans Seafood From Japan as Fukushima Wastewater Released Into Ocean

Macau has banned all types of live and fresh food products, sea salt, seaweed, fruits, aquatic products and their derivatives, eggs, meat, and meat products from 10 prefectures and regions of Japan as the latter began releasing contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean yesterday, Aug. 24.

The 10 prefectures and regions are Fukushima Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Niigata Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, and Tokyo.

The ban began yesterday, coinciding with the wastewater's release, according to Macau's Government Information Bureau (GCS) on Aug. 23. Macau has strongly opposed the water release and expressed its grave concern about it. The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) is now tasked to monitor imported Japanese food products for radioactive substances and safeguard public health in the region.

Some neighbouring countries of Japan have also criticised the Japanese government's plan to release over one million metric tons of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. According to a Reuters report on Aug. 22, some of Japan’s biggest critics were Beijing and Hong Kong.

Japan, on the other hand, has assured that the water being released into the Pacific is safe, with the International Atomic Energy Agency approving the plan back in July.