TOKYO, Japan – Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol on Wednesday (May 29) announced that the Philippines officially lifted the ban imposed seven years ago on the importation of several fish species from Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture.
Piñol noted that the move was a ‘gesture of goodwill’ during the visit of President Rodrigo Duterte and his Cabinet members in the island nation.
“The lifting of the ban which covers such species as Cherry Salmon, Sand Lance, Japanese Dace, and Ayu from Fukushima ends a 7-year issue which strained PH-Japan Agriculture and Fisheries Trade,” Piñol said on his social media account.
He called the ban, issued during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III, as a ‘ridiculous bureaucratic exercise’ because the fish species included in the ban are not even imported by the Philippines.
“I consider the ban as just bureaucratic gobbledygook and an over-reaction to an issue which did not really affect the Philippines,” he said.
The Agriculture Secretary confirmed that he signed the order lifting the importation ban on May 27.
It will be officially presented to Japanese Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Yoshikawa Takamori during the four-day visit, according to the Secretary.
“With this move, the Duterte Administration is showing goodwill to the Japanese government as it moves to promote the entry of more Philippine agriculture products to the Philippines,” he concluded.
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