A few days ago Chinese officials said they had detected elevated radioactivity on a Japanese merchant vessel that had docked in southeast China and on two Japanese tourists who arrived earlier in the week were said to have emitted “abnormally high” levels of radiation. On the same day, China joined several other countries that have sought to limit potential radioactive contamination from Japan, by banning fish, vegetables and other food products from regions closest to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
In the two weeks since an earthquake and devastating tsunami hit the Fukushima plant, countries including the United States, Russia, Australia, Singapore and South Korea have banned specific Japanese products or announced strict monitoring of imports that could have been affected by radioactive emissions from the nuclear facility. Taiwan has also restricted imports.
The contamination of the Japanese tourists was neither a threat to the tourists nor to the public. The two tourists had been given iodine tablets and were released after their luggage and clothing had been “decontaminated." However, China’s anxiety over the possible effects of Japan’s nuclear crisis have heightened monitoring and banning of Japanese imports.
-Sarah