TOPICSOF THE DAY,
Troubled Waters’

una Exports

|

_ToBe Teested

With the Japanese staple diet”
relying so heavily on sea-foods,"

and due to the geographic Fact}
that Japan is an isiand nation, ;

Kyodo-UP

WASHIN GTON, Mar. 19—
The Food and Drug Administ.

it is redasly understandable that}
her fishermen are very active

rationsaidtoday it has ordered its West Coast inspectors to check for radioactive contamination all imports of tuna
-_and shark meat caught in the’
Pacific atomle test area.

and range to distant waters in
the ney er-ceasing quest for fish.

The
numerous
international
troubles that have recently beset the industry are, however,
very urusual.”
That the effects of ‘a nuclear
experiment on a lonely and

distant Pacifie atall. have been
velt in Japan is currently the
cause of nationwide surprise
and consternation. The Forefgn

Office will naturally take steps
toward solving the, problem of}

compensation, but it must not.
be forgotten that there hévebeen other incidents affecting the industry and conscquent:

problems that are yet unsolved. .
“One, outstanding ‘question’ is?

that of compensation for fish-!
ing vessels lost and crew mem-.
bers who have been apprehend.!
ed for alleged violations of the.

so-called “Rhee Line’,

Fifty-*

four Japcnese fishermen are
currently held in Korea on
these charges and it is hoped.
that negotiations with the ROK:
will ‘soon be reopened to enable,
these men to be repatriated int
the near fature,
5

a

days ago, a question:
din the Upper House’
he lack of payment of!
ensation to the captain of
small Sshing-craft who was

seriously injured by an Ament

pican bullet while off Kujikuri

"Beach,

The Government gave

assurance that | compensation
was forthcoming under the
terms of the U-S.Japan, Ad

ministrative

Agreement’ since

this case was- one of. injuries

suffered theough the perform-

ance of, official duties.
This case is a much closer-to-|

home matter than the Rhee!

Line or Bikini questions and)
should be settled lirirediately
-to avoid any possibility, however slight, of damaging friend
ly relations between, the na-

_Uons concerned,

:

It would be most urgrateful

for a nation depending so crittcally on the fishing industry
to fail in its respo
iNties
relating to the protection and

pvetfare of its fishermen,

nen

4

All tuna exportea to the U.S,

will be marked as safe to cat
after inspection,
Government
ard tuna expert representatives
'
t
!

decided -yesterday,.
Hight

ships carrying

frozen

‘tuna from Yokohama, Kobe and
Shimizu for U.S. ports today
and tormerrow will undergo ex‘amination to
ascertain com-

plete.

freedom

from

radjation damage,

Following

the

“_.

atomic

spread’ of

panie with the report of radioactive efects on the No. 5 Fu-

kuryu Maru, after fishing” in
the
Marshall
Islands
area,
importers of Japanese tuna
quested the Japan
Tuna Export Association to
guarantee all future tuna shipments are free from ‘suioacstivitve~

-American

The request was supplement-

ed by a request b, the Amer-

“jean Embassy in’ Tokyo -to the

, Foreign Office, Kyodo. reports.
—

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