July 23, 2014
Japan demands that South Korea lift seafood import ban
Japan will file a complaint against South Korea with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) unless it lifts an import ban on Japanese seafood in the next few months, Chosun Ilbo reports.
In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, South Korea imposed the ban on eight prefectures in September last year.
A government official of South Korea said concerned ministries reached a tentative conclusion that there is no scientific basis for the import ban. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy informed that it would be impossible for Korea to put up a legal defence should Japan take the matter to the WTO.
The WTO allows countries to impose temporary import bans on foreign products without scientific grounds in certain circumstances, such as concerns for public safety. However, it can only stand for a reasonable period of time.
