The first shipment of fresh fish from Fukushima prefecture, the site of the 2011 nuclear fallout, arrived in Thailand this week, a 110-kg shipment of flounder that is to be served in Japanese restaurants in Bangkok.
The export is the first shipment of fish since the March 2011 nuclear disaster following a deadly tsunami that swept through Japan’s coastline, killing more than 15,000 people. The magnitude 9 quake which triggered the tsunami hit three reactors at Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima plant. The nuclear meltdown forced 160,000 people to flee their homes as explosions of radioactive materials were released.
Before the nuclear disaster, flouder was a highly-sought after fish in Fukushima, according to a report by Asahi Shimbun.
But after the radioactive release, Japan suspended some agriculture and fisheries export. A month and a year after the tsunami, fishermen went back to work in Fukushima on a trial basis.
Officials say no seafood has been found exceeding safety standards in Japan since April 2015.
h/t: Strait Times
