Hong Kong’s restaurants are reshaping their supply chains after the government banned seafood from parts of Japan, bringing the financial hub’s curbs more in line with Beijing despite scientific reassurances the products are safe to eat.
The city will block purchases of seafood from 10 Japanese prefectures including Tokyo as the nation begins releasing treated wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. Violations of the ban are punishable by up to a year in jail.
The saga is yet another headache for the city’s restaurant industry, which is still suffering from the effects from pandemic curbs and a worker shortage. Some restaurants are now fretting about soaring import costs and potential supply delays, as they look to source ingredients for sushi, sashimi and other dishes from elsewhere in Japan or other parts of the world.
The ban is also emblematic of how the once freewheeling financial hub is increasingly fallen in line Beijing’s diplomatic stance. Japan’s proposal does have the support of scientists, with the International Atomic Energy Agency concluding after a two-year review that the strategy would have a negligible impact on people and the environment. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has insisted the country will meet safety standards, and that similar releases of wastewater are relatively commonplace.
The city said that travelers returning from the Japan with a couple of boxes of seafood for personal consumption won’t be penalized, adding that the ban is intended to curb commercial use of aquatic products, which includes “all live, frozen, chilled, dried, or otherwise preserved aquatic products, sea salt and unprocessed or processed seaweed.”
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