Embargo on Japan

The Government of South Korea announced that it would prohibit import of all marine products from eight prefectures, including Fukushima, in Japan on Friday. Pushed by consumers worried about radioactive contamination in the products affected by leaked water from broken First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, the government decided to tighten the embargo on Japan. Although there is an argument that it would be based on a mean motivation to Japan’s candidacy for hosting Olympic Games in 2020, it should be the Government of Japan to be blamed, being incompetent in delivering correct information.

South Korea had already set embargo on fifty kinds of sea products from eight prefectures. However, it is now applied to all sea products, because contamination by leaking water from some tanks around First Fukushima site and through underground water stream would not be accurately detected. If radioactive Cesium are detected from sea products from rest of the prefectures in Japan, the government of South Korea will request Japanese exporters a document of guarantee to be free from all other radioactive materials, the measure which is actually an embargo.

In South Korea, the leakage of contaminated water has been reported everyday basis. While the officials of Tokyo Electric Power Company insisted on no broad pollution of sea water, people in South Korea would no longer believe in the words of that already incompetent failed company as Japanese do. The scandal has affected to fishery in South Korea, decreasing consumption of its own sea products.

Fishermen in Japan are furious about the Government of Japan lagging behind in dealing with the contaminated water leakage. Japan Fisheries Cooperatives submitted the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry a request to properly deal with this issue. But, it is Japan’s bureaucracy which is never taking responsibility. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries criticized South Korea’s decision of its lack of scientific evidence.

But, what South Korea is doing to Japan is what Japan had done to the United States on beef. Against the argument in U.S. that embargo should be set with scientific evidence, Japan dealt with the issue of possible Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy from the perspectives of consumers’ skepticisms on food safety. It rejected all U.S. beef, while World Organization of Animal Health guaranteed over 30 month-old cow would to be safe.

Some devious guys still argue that the intention of South Korea is to block Japan’s hosting of 2020 Olympic Games. This would be an attempt to diminish criticisms against TEPCO and the Government of Japan and excuse Japan’s possible failure in Olympic hosting race. It is wrong, actually. The reason of possible defeat will be other’s superiority, as always told in athletic games.