Korea says it will bring its own food to avoid ingredients contaminated by Fukushima disaster

• South Korea has a separate food program for its athletes and delegates to the Tokyo Olympics.
• The country fears its athletes may be fed contaminated food grown in Fukushima prefecture, which was hit by a nuclear disaster in 2011.
• The Japanese criticized the decision online, and a politician said it “stomped on the hearts of Fukushima residents.”
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South Korea is launching its own separate food program for its athletes and delegates to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, fearing they will be served contaminated ingredients, Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

The country is concerned about the possibility of its delegation eating food from Fukushima Prefecture, which was hit by a nuclear disaster in 2011.

Japanese officials have maintained that foods made with ingredients sourced from the prefecture will be safe when served at the Olympics, but the Korean Olympic Committee said last year it will still import local ingredients and use detectors. radiation to check food.

The country seems ready to follow through on its plans. He has already sent 14 cooks to Japan to prepare 420 meals a day for his Olympians and staff, and brought in foods like Korean pickles, according to the Japan Times.

As promised, South Korea also plans to conduct radiation checks on locally sourced ingredients, according to the Times.

Masahisa Sato, a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan, told Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun that South Korea’s food program “is trampling the hearts of the people of Fukushima”.

Japanese commenting online criticized South Korea’s move, calling it “disappointing” and “unpleasant.”

Tomohisa Ishikawa, director of the Center for Macroeconomic Research at the Japan Research Institute, feared Korea’s move could damage the brand’s reputation in Japanese agriculture.

“Farmers in Fukushima are making great efforts for safety and should protest properly. In fact, we make a lot of high quality products,” he wrote.

Shinichi Hen, editor of the Japanese magazine Korea Report, wrote that these recent developments are “unpleasant” not only for Fukushima, but for all of Japan.

Japan’s Olympic woes this year with South Korea go beyond food. The South Korean team was recently tasked with removing banners referring to past conflicts with Japan from their balconies in the Olympic Village, Reuters reported on Saturday.