Taiwan Announces Plan to Lift Import Restrictions
Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on September 1, 2025, a draft to abolish the "Items of Japanese Food Products Subject to Import Inspection Suspension and Their Production/Manufacturing Regions." The draft sets a 60-day notice period and solicits opinions from various sectors.
Details of Restrictions to Be Lifted
Elimination of inspection requirements for 5 prefectures: The requirement to attach radioactivity inspection reports for food products from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, and Chiba prefectures will be eliminated.
Elimination of certificates for all Japanese food products: The requirement to attach certificates of origin for all Japanese food products will also be eliminated.
14 Years of Inspection Performance Data
Number of inspection lots: Since the March 11, 2011 Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, over 263,000 lots of radioactivity inspections were conducted for imports from Japan to Taiwan over 14 years.
100% compliance rate: All inspections confirmed compliance with both Taiwan and Japan standards, with a 0% failure rate.
International Trend of Regulatory Lifting
Global trend toward lifting: Of the 53 countries and regions that implemented control measures on Japanese food products, 49 countries and regions have completely lifted restrictions.
Countries continuing restrictions: Only 4 countries and regions continue import bans or require radioactivity and origin certificates. Taiwan's lifting of restrictions is expected to further advance international normalization.
Impact on Japan-Taiwan Trade
This lifting of restrictions is expected to significantly improve access to the Taiwan market for Japanese food-related companies, particularly promoting exports of agricultural products and processed foods from the five targeted prefectures. As a decision based on 14 years of scientific inspection data, it represents an important step toward normalizing food trade between Japan and Taiwan.