China has tightened inspections at local retailers and eateries to check whether they are strictly observing a ban on all marine product imports from Japan as well as food imports from 10 of its prefectures over the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.
The strict checks, some of which are carried out without prior notice following Tokyo's release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant last week, have prompted some outlets in China to publicly declare they do not sell imports from Japan.
Market regulation authorities in various areas in China have released images showing how they ensure banned Japanese food imports are not sold at supermarkets and Japanese restaurants to "protect the health of consumers," with one picture showing officials checking sake bottles at a retailer.
Such checks have been conducted in areas including the Chinese provinces of Hainan, Anhui and Fujian as well as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Chinese media have released the list of businesses that have been slapped with fines for selling banned Japanese food imports. A company in eastern China's Zhejiang Province was recently fined 17,000 yuan ($2,330) for selling candy produced in Saitama, one of the 10 prefectures involved, according to reports.
A Shanghai sushi restaurant put up a notice Monday that said it had stopped the use of seafood imports from Japan and covered up images of fish and other marine product sushi items originating from Japan on its menu board.
A worker at the sushi restaurant, which has seen its sales halved since the Fukushima water release began, said, "There are customers who are concerned about the ocean discharge. We fear that many diners will stay away from us."
==Kyodo
