G/SPS/GEN/1233/Rev.1  
 
16 July 2019  
(19-4727) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
CURRENT STATUS AFTER  THE NUCLEAR POWER P LANT ACCIDENT  
COMMUNICATION FROM JAPAN  
Revision  
The following communication, received on 15 July 2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Japan . 
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  The purpose of this document is to update the situation of radioactivity surrounding Japanese 
food eight years after the accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi 
Nuclear Power Station (NPS) in March 2011. In particular to update t he risk management measures 
taken to secure food safety and to prevent environmental impacts from the NPS, and the resulting 
monitoring data, so that more objective assessment of risk and review of the import measures on 
Japanese food provisionally adopted  by the Members would be facilitated.  
2  FOOD SAFETY CONTROL AND STATUS OF SAFETY  IN JAPANESE FOOD  
2.1.  Japan, since soon after the accident, has started decontamination such as of the crop land and 
fruit trees, control over feeds and agricultural inputs and intro duced a risk -based food monitoring 
scheme.  
2.2.  The maximum levels for radioactive caesium in food were set to meet the intervention 
exemption level of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), 1mSv/year, a level considered as 
safe for the public, and in consi deration of the released nuclides and with highly conservative and 
hypothetical assumptions, including that 50% of the food intake is contaminated. Accordingly, the 
maximum level for food in general is set as 100 Bq/kg in Japan1, while the corresponding Co dex 
guideline level is 1,000 Bq/kg and even 10,000 Bq/kg can be adopted for food with small 
consumption (CXS 193 -1995).  
2.3.  Enforced by the national laws, food products that exceed this stringent maximum level are 
recalled and disposed of and depending on the geographic prevalence of the detections, their 
distributions are restricted on an area basis. Japan 's regulatory framework thus ensures that food 
products exceeding the maximum level is neither distributed in the Japanese market nor exported 
to third count ries' market.  
2.4.  As a result of these comprehensive approaches, food products exceeding the Japanese 
maximum level drastically decreased in a few years after the accident and detection rates remain 
low and stable for many years. The sampling is purposive to d etect the contamination or to remove 
the restrictions and the majority of detection s is limited to the wild harvest monitored at areas where 
distribution is already restricted.  
                                                
1 Provisionally 500 Bq/kg before  April 2012 . G/SPS/GEN/1233/Rev.1  
 
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  2.5.  Since early 2013  (the last case in April), none of the farm products and fisher y harvests have 
ever exceeded the Codex guideline level defined as safe for human consumption, and even the wild 
edible fungi, fern sprout and leaf buds have not exceeded the level for food with small consumption, 
similarly for almost six years2 (the last case in May 2013). The only harvests which still exceed the 
level is certain game meat, although the detection rate is very low, and those detected are neither 
distributed nor exported.  
2.6.  Above all, we need to look at the dose in terms of human health. While  food regulation is 
operationalized  through maximum levels in food, what matters is overall annual dose exposure from 
food. The biannual market basket surveys which have been conducted since September 2011 at 
plural study sites including Fukushima show tha t the estimated annual effective dose from 
radioactive caesium in food has been digits smaller than the intervention exemption level of 
1 mSv/year and is currently only detected at micro level.3 The effect is significantly lower for 
consumers in foreign countries, considering the committed share of Japanese food import s in the 
total food consumption.  
2.7.  The Joint FAO/IAEA Division stated on 6 June 2018, Japan 's "measures to monitor and respond 
to issues regarding radionuclide contamination of food are appropriate ", and "the food supply chain 
is controlled effectively by the relevant authorities ". 
3  IAEA 'S ASSESSMENT OF WATE R MANAGEMENT AT THE NPS AND THE MARINE 
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT   
3.1.  With a number of me asures in place, the impact on the surrounding environment has been 
greatly reduced. Japanese government and TEPCO under close consultation with the IAEA, have 
taken substantial measures to manage the contaminated water generated by groundwater and 
rainwat er flowing inside the unit 1 -4 buildings of NPS.  
3.2.  Recent IAEA Mission in November 2018 reported that:  
− TEPCO is implementing a comprehensive set of countermeasures to reduce the rate of arising 
of contaminated water, to prevent leakages and uncontrolled dis charges into the sea, and 
to process it and store it safely ; 
− The ingress of groundwater into the reactor and turbine buildings has significantly been 
reduced since the last IAEA Review Mission (in 2015) by stable operation of the groundwater 
bypass and the  sub-drain, by the installation of the frozen -soil impermeable wall around the 
reactor and turbine buildings of the Units 1 -4, and by paving the surfaces on the site to 
prevent ingress of rainwater into the soil ; 
− The highly contaminated water from the reactor and turbine buildings is continuously treated 
and purified, and the water level inside the buildings has successfully been maintained at 
levels ensuring prevention of leakage out of the buildings. The operation of the purification 
systems for conta minated water is stable and reliable ; 
− The construction of the impermeable sea wall and relocation of drainage channels has further 
improved the protection of the marine environment ; 
− Sampling of water and measurements of concentrations of several radionucli des are being 
regularly performed at the drainage channels, inside the harbour area and from the sea 
outside of the harbour;  
− Japan continued reporting sea area monitoring results and that there have been no 
significant changes since the last report (in 201 5). These monitoring results continue to be 
published regularly by NRA (Nuclear Regulation Authorities), TEPCO and Fukushima 
Prefecture.  
3.3.  IAEA monthly confirms the report on the groundwater discharge record and the seawater 
monitoring results at the NPS tha t "the radiation level of sampled water are substantially below the 
operational targets set by TEPCO ", lower than the legislative requirement in Japan. IAEA, on 
20 December 2013, assessed that "The monitoring results that have been provided for the 
surroun ding sea region and off shore areas indicated no rise in radionuclide concentrations and 
remain within the WHO guidelines for drinking water ". 
                                                
2 None of them have exceeded the guideline level since the last case in Sep 2016.  
3 Maximum 0.0011mSv/year in early 2018, 1/1000 of the intervention exemption level.  G/SPS/GEN/1233/Rev.1  
 
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  3.4.  It is well established that when the radioactive caesium in seawater decreases due to dispersal 
and dilution, the  concentration of caesium in marine fish also decreases gradually, and that clay in 
marine soil absorbs and taps the caesium in water. Therefore the caesium in soil has no significant 
effect on fish, even demersal fish living at the bottom of the sea. This  is proved by the monitoring 
results and even fish exceeding the Japanese maximum level is only rarely detected nowadays, at 
the level which gives no significant effect to the human health.  
4  TRANSPARENCY  
4.1.  Japan has been publishing food and environmental moni toring data, as well as relevant 
information and data concerning on the NPS, through our English websites described in the 
"references ". The status of seawater around the NPS can be viewed in real -time through TEPCO 
website and weekly at NRA website.  
4.2.  In addition, on 26 March 2019, the Japanese government have co -organi zed with OECD Nuclear 
Energy Agency a joint symposium "Decommissioning, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Food 
Safety: Rebuilding Post ‑Accident Confidence ", to help foster an accurate and common understanding 
of the situation in the Fukushima prefecture, which can be viewed at http://www.oecd -
nea.org/rp/webinars/2019/food -safety/ . 
5  CONCLUSI ON 
5.1.  In summary, the evidence shows that Japanese food has been safe for the public for many 
years and we have very rigid control system in place which guarantees trade of safe food for both 
domestic and international market. Risk of water contamination at N PS is constructively managed 
and there has been no detectable change of marine environment. The health risk should be evaluated 
by the dose of exposure by food intake, and as previously explained, from the accumulated 
chronological data obtained in the pas t eight years, there is no detectable potential of food 
contamination which raise concerns on food safety, attributable to the environmental changes 
caused by the nuclear accident.  
5.2.  In response to the accident, 54 countries and regions introduced import mea sures on Japanese 
food, and 32 have completely lifted them based on an objective assessment. However, 22 still 
maintain the measures, such as import bans, additional test requirement and certificates, and even 
set ZERO (non -detectable) level tolerance at b order inspection. Given  the above -mentioned scientific 
evidence, there is no need to impose extra import control measures on Japanese food and Japan 
requests Members to remove their measures.  
References  
1) One stop "Reference ", Ministry of Agriculture, Forest ry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan  
http://www.maff.go.jp/e/export/reference.html  (To be uploaded by 12 July)  
Presentations  
a. Request and justification for lifting the import measures on Japanese food regarding 
radionuclides, Food Industry Affairs Bureau, MAFF  
b. Management of contaminated water at the TEPCO 's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power 
Station, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and 
Industry  
c. Status of water environment around the NPS and the impact to the marine fish, Fisheries 
Agency, MAFF  
Links - Japan  
a. Information on the Great East Japan Earthquake – Food, Ministry of Health, Labour and 
Welfare ( https:// www.mhlw.go.jp/english/topics/2011eq/index_food.html ) 
b. Mid-and-Long-Term Roadmap towards the Decommissioning of TEPCO's Fukushima 
Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Units 1 -4 
(https://www.meti.go.jp/english/earthquake/nuclear/decommissioning/index.html ) 
c. BOOKLET to Provide Basic Information Regarding Health Effects of Radiation, Chapter 7 
Environmental Monitoring, Ministry of Environment  
(http://www.env.go.jp/en/chemi/rhm/basic -info/index.html ) G/SPS/GEN/1233/Rev.1  
 
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  d. Monitoring information of environmental radioactivity level, Nuclear Regulatio n 
Authorities  
(https://radioactivity.nsr.go.jp/en/ ) 
e. Radioactive Concentration measured by Seawater Radiation Monitor near Fukushima 
Daiichi Nuclear Power Station  
(http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima -np/f1/seawater/index -e.html ) 
Links - International organizations  
2) GENERAL STANDARD FOR CONTAMINANTS AND TOXINS IN FOOD AND FEED (CXS 193 -
1995)  
http://www.fao.org/fao -who-codexalimentarius/codex -texts/list -standards/en/  
3) Fukushima Daiichi Status Updates  
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/fukushima/status -update  
a. IAEA assessment on aspects presented in the June 2018 report "Events and highlights 
on the progress related to recovery operations at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power 
Station ", p35 
https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/18/06/events -and-highlights -june-2018.pdf  
b. IAEA assessment on aspects presented in the December 2013 report "Events and  
highlights on the progress related to recovery operations at Fukushima Daiichi NPS ", 
pp34-35 
https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/recoveryoperations201213.pdf  
4) IAEA I NTERNATIONAL PEER REVIEW MISSION ON MID -AND-LONG -TERM ROADMAP 
TOWARDS THE DECOMMISSIONING OF TEPCO 'S FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER 
STATION (Fourth Mission) Tokyo and Fukushima Daiichi NPS, Japan 5 -13 November 2018  
https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/19/01/missionreport -310119.pdf  
5) Interlaboratory Comparisons 2014 –2016: Determination of Radionuclides in Sea Water, 
Sediment and Fish, IAEA Analytical Quality in Nucle ar Applications Series No. 59, 2019  
https://www.iaea.org/publications/13470/interlaboratory -comparis ons-2014-2016-
determination -of-radionuclides -in-sea-water -sediment -and-fish 
6) Decommissioning, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Food Safety: Rebuilding Post ‑Accident 
Confidence, OECD Nuclear Energy Agency  
http://www.oecd -nea.org/rp/webinars/2019/food -safety/  
 
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