NEW YORK, Dec. 1 (Kyodo) — Internationally active Japanese companies Thursday advised Fukushima Prefecture firms to put labels on food and other products to show they had passed safety tests to reassure overseas consumers worried by the impact of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The advice came as Fukushima business leaders met with representatives of Japanese companies operating in the United States at the Japanese Consulate-General in New York to discuss how best to cope with the impact of the nuclear crisis on Fukushima products, meeting participants said.
Fukushima products ranging from food to screws were initially subject to import restrictions overseas due to radioactive contamination fears after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The safety labels would be put on products that clear radiation tests, recognizing them as free from radioactive contamination.
"I thought that the safety label proposal was a good idea," said Kenichi Shishido, who runs an insurance agency in Koriyama in the prefecture. "I would like to tell my business colleagues in Fukushima that we should positively sell our products in the world."
The companies also recommended Fukushima business leaders consider investment in wind and other non-nuclear electricity generation projects as well as advanced medical technology and other areas to create employment in the prefecture.
