Abe asks Xi to lift Japan food import ban imposed due to Fukushima nuclear disaster

BUENOS AIRES –

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to lift a ban on Japanese food imports introduced following the triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in 2011, a senior government official said.

Abe's request came after the farm ministry said Thursday that Beijing has allowed rice produced in Niigata Prefecture, more than 200 km away from the crippled nuclear plant, to be shipped to China.