Taiwan Restores Full Japanese Food Imports Amid Escalating Cross-Strait Tensions

Taiwan has removed the remaining restrictions on Japanese food products, signalling renewed political solidarity with Tokyo as its diplomatic rift with China deepens.

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Friday that all additional radiation-related controls introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster had been scrapped with immediate effect.

Authorities said more than 270,000 Japanese food consignments had undergone radiation screening since 2011 without a single failure, noting that scientific assessments placed the exposure risk at a “negligible” level.

The decision leaves China, Hong Kong, Macau, Russia and South Korea as the only jurisdictions still imposing tightened import rules on Japanese produce.

Taipei’s move followed heightened friction between Beijing and Tokyo after Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, suggested earlier this month that Japan could intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan. Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, criticised the remark sharply.

In a symbolic gesture of support for Japan, images of President Lai Ching-te eating sushi circulated across Taiwanese social media on Thursday.

Lai, a firm advocate of Taiwan’s self-rule, accused China of “severely” destabilising regional security amid the ongoing diplomatic row. Beijing dismissed his posts as a political “stunt”.