Meeting in London, the leaders confirmed a new defence agreement, which will allow British and Japanese forces to deploy together to carry out training, joint exercises and disaster relief activities.
Downing Street said that the Prime Minister “was pleased Great Britain would soon lift the remaining restrictions on Fukushima”.
The Fukushima nuclear disaster was the most severe nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. In 2011, active reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma shut down their fission reactions when the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami caused the power supply to fail. The Japanese government has enforced a strict regime on food from the Fukushima prefecture since the accident.
Japanese leaders have been calling on governments to lift all remaining bans. In 2019, the EU relaxed its rules as part of a wide-ranging trade deal. Brussels scrapped the need for radiation inspection certificates, apart from for certain fish products, mushrooms and wild vegetables. In exchange, the EU was allowed to sell limitless quantities of reduced tariff French champagne, foie gras, cognac, and wine in Japan. Britain agreed to mirror the food regulations during the Brexit transition period.
