Starting May 15, Japanese products exported to Taiwan, China must be accompanied by official certificates of origin detailing the prefecture
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a press conference today (the 14th) to clarify that it is not that Japanese food products will no longer be imported starting tomorrow (the 15th), but rather that more detailed certificates of origin are being required, and these must be mandatorily labeled down to the "prefecture" level; the certification documents issued must be issued by units authorized, designated, approved, or commissioned by the Japanese government, and can only be imported to Taiwan after confirmation by the FDA.
The FDA stated that the certificates of origin that importers are currently required to present must, starting tomorrow, mandatorily indicate the place of origin down to the "prefecture" level, and cannot simply be listed as "Japan." At the same time, the certificates issued must include quarantine certificates, free sale certificates, sanitary certificates, and so on.
The units that issue these certificates must be units authorized, designated, approved, or commissioned by Japan's central or local governments in order for the products to be imported, such as Japan's central government (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries), local chambers of commerce and industry, and farmers' and fishermen's associations.
In addition, the 5 Fukushima prefectures (Fukushima, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Chiba) are still prohibited from import, but for specific products from specific areas, radiation certificates are still required. For tea, these include Tokyo, Shizuoka, Aichi, and Osaka; for seafood, these include Miyagi, Iwate, Tokyo, and Ehime; for infant food, candy, and dairy products, these include Miyagi, Tokyo, Saitama, and other places.
If the above certification documents are not issued, for example if they are issued by Japanese businesses themselves, or if official certification is submitted by a private organization, the FDA stated that our country's representative office in Japan will go to confirm whether the content of the document is genuine, and only after confirmation can it be imported to Taiwan.
According to FDA data, in Year 103 of the Republic of China (2014), the top 10 categories of products imported from Japan were food utensils, biscuits, candy or chocolate, seasonings and sauces, other prepared foods, prepared fruits and vegetables, beverages, bread products, fresh chilled or frozen fruits and vegetables, and other prepared fish products.
Regarding media reports that the Japanese side believes our requirement for detailed certification violates the free trade spirit of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and that Japan may therefore file a complaint with the WTO, Food Division Chief Pan Chih-kuan said that regarding Japan's actions, we can only respect them.