After months of being declared unsafe for travellers, Iwate, Miyagi and Ibaraki Prefectures in Japan were taken off the red travel alert list by the Security Bureau of Hong Kong at 1430 today.
A spokesperson from the government department said that essentials such as transport and electricity have resumed to normal in these areas severely affected by last year's earthquake and tsunami, and international authorities such as World Health Organization have also declared the three prefectures free of harmful levels of ambient radiation.
But it may take a little longer for these prefectures to regain consumer confidence. There are still concerns being voiced about possibly contaminated food from the country's northeastern regions. According to a report by The Japan Times, The Japanese Consumers' Cooperative Union has announced plans to monitor the amount of radioactive material contained in household meals to help ease worries, with the outcome due to be announced in April.
Fukushima Prefecture is the last remaining region in Japan still billed as dangerous for travellers, especially within 20km of the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Reggie Ho
