MANILA (Sputnik) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in his opening remarks at the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Commemorative Summit in Manila on Tuesday requested ASEAN nations to lift the ban on food import from the country.
"Incidentally, it has been six years since the Great East Japan Earthquake. I strongly request that import controls on Japanese food to be lifted, based on scientific grounds," Abe said.
Following the devastating Fukushima nuclear accident caused by a massive earthquake in 2011, many countries around the world, including ASEAN nations, introduced various import restrictions on food produced in certain Japanese prefectures. Some countries have eased such restrictions in recent years.
During his previous remarks at APT summits in recent years, Abe brought up the issue of easing import restrictions on food produced in Japan consistently.
