People worried about radioactivity in their food

Survey: 30% worry about radioactive substances in food production areas

March 12, 2013

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201303120083

Nearly 30 percent of Japanese consumers check production locations to avoid food possibly contaminated by radioactive substances, while 19 percent are reluctant to buy food products from Fukushima Prefecture, a government survey showed.

The Consumer Affairs Agency’s online survey, conducted in the middle of February, covered people living in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, the three prefectures hardest hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, as well as in the densely populated areas in and around Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

The survey was conducted to counter negative publicity about food in the Tohoku region in light of the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. About 5,000 people responded.

The agency asked: “Are you concerned about the production area when buying food?”

Some 68 percent of the respondents said “I am” or “I am to some extent.”

Among them, 41 percent--or 28 percent of all respondents--said the reason for their concern is: “I want to buy food uncontaminated by radioactive materials.”

Nineteen percent of all respondents avoid food from Fukushima Prefecture, while 15 percent are hesitant to buy food products from the three heavily hit prefectures, according to the survey.

Four percent said they try not to buy food from any area of eastern Japan.

The survey also revealed a lack of knowledge about tests conducted for radioactive substances to ensure food is safe to consume.

Twenty-two percent of the respondents said, “I did not know such tests have been carried out.”

Government lender says more people eager to buy food from radiation-tainted areas

JIJI

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/12/national/government-lender-says-more-people-eager-to-buy-food-from-radiation-tainted-areas/#.UT71qjdD-jQ

More people are willing to buy fresh food produced in areas endangered by the Fukushima nuclear crisis, an online survey by a government-owned lender said Monday.

The survey was conducted by Japan Finance Corp., a policy-based lender owned by the Japanese government.

According to JFC’s website, its Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Food Business Unit had ¥2.63 trillion in loans outstanding to such businesses as of March 31, 2012.

JFC’s finding was based on a difference of 0.2 in the ratio of respondents who don’t buy at-risk food (31.8 percent) and those who say they do or aren’t concerned about the impact of radiation on food (32 percent), the survey shows. No margin of error was given.

It is the first time since the Fukushima crisis began that the former figure, logged in January 2012, has been eclipsed, the survey said.

The portion of those who buy such food or don’t care about the impact of radiation rose 2.0 points compared with the previous survey, while the portion of those who avoid such food fell 6.0 points, the survey said.

“Two years after the disaster, wariness about safety is receding gradually,” a Japan Finance official said.

Of those respondents willing to buy at-risk food, 38.3 percent said there were no safety problems, up 6.4 points from the previous survey.

Those who hope to support disaster-hit areas came to 27.8 percent, up 5.8 points.

The survey, conducted in January, logged 2,000 valid responses.

JFC employs more than 7,460 people, its website says.