Korea’s food imports from Japan up 14.1% despite safety woes

[Photo by Yonhap]

South Korea’s agricultural product and food imports from Japan rose by more than 14 percent in 2023 despite safety concerns over Tokyo’s discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

According to data from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Wednesday, Korea imported 76.1 billion yen ($516.1 million) worth of agricultural products and foods from Japan in 2023, up 14.1 percent from the previous year.

Korea was Japan’s fifth-largest export destination, following China (237.6 billion yen), Hong Kong (236.5 billion yen), the United States (206.2 billion yen), and Taiwan (153.2 billion yen)

Among Japanese food, beer imports increased sharply in Korea.

According to data from the Korea Customs Service, the country’s beer imports from Japan soared 283.3 percent on year to $55.5 million in 2023.

Japanese beer imports peaked in 2018 before falling afterwards due to the diplomatic row between the two countries, which led Korean consumers to boycott Japanese items.

Imports, however, began to pick up last year as Seoul and Tokyo rushed to improve ties with a series of summits.