Japanese Official Inspects S. Korean Fishery Facility

   Tokyo, Aug. 26 (Jiji Press)--Japanese state minister of fisheries Hiroyoshi Sasagawa visited Busan, South Korea, which has a key port for importing Japanese fishery goods, for two days from Monday to inspect a fishery company facility in the city.
   "I have confirmed that there is very strong demand for Japanese fishery products (in South Korea)," Sasagawa said in an online interview with Jiji Press on Tuesday.
   Seoul has suspended imports of fishery goods from eight Japanese prefectures, including Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima in the northeast of the country, following the March 2011 nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
   At their meeting in Tokyo on Saturday, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called on South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to ease the import restrictions. But the two leaders did not have specific talks on the matter, according to sources with access to the bilateral summit.
   In the interview, Sasagawa said: "Political dialogue between Japan and South Korea is very difficult. But if South Korean consumers deepen their understanding through private-sector exchanges, that could lead to the lifting of the (import suspension)."

(2025/08/26-18:48)

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