Japanese official to visit Seoul to protest import ban

A senior Japanese official is soon expected to take a trip to South Korea to demand the removal of Seoul's import ban on Japanese fisheries products, government sources said Sunday. The trip by the official from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries comes after South Korea placed an import ban on all fisheries products from Japan's Fukushima prefecture and seven other nearby prefectures, citing the possibility of radiation contamination from the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima. A devastating earthquake off the coast of Japan in 2011 and the subsequent and tsunami led to the meltdown of several nuclear reactors there. The Japanese official, Kenji Kagawa, is expected to demand an explanation for South Korea's action in a series of meetings with his South Korean counterparts, including officials from Seoul's foreign ministry, according to the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He will also likely demand an immediate removal of Seoul's import ban, they said. Earlier reports have said Tokyo's government was considering filing a legal suit against Seoul's import ban with the World Trade Organization.