TOKYO, Mar. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Animal Quarantine Service, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of JAPAN (AQS) announced that a Taiwanese woman has been arrested for bringing animal products which is prohibited by law from Taiwan into Japan.
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Since August 2018, AQS has been strengthening control measures against illegal imports by baggage of passengers from overseas in response to the prevalence of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Asian countries. Although ASF has not been detected in Taiwan, Taiwan is regarded as a country where malignant infectious diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease has occurred, and Japan prohibits imports of meat and meat products from Taiwan.
This is the first case that a Taiwanese national has been arrested for violating the Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control Law. She tried to smuggle pork and chicken blood from Taiwan. AQS at Chubu International Airport filed a complaint with the police, which led to the arrest.
The number of illegally imported meat product cases from Taiwan in 2019 was 5,972, ranking 4th after China, Thailand and South Korea. Since many tourists come from Taiwan, it is a serious problem for them to illegally bringing meat products into Japan.
Illegal imports of meat products are subject to "imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 1 million yen." Eight people have so far been arrested in five cases, including this case.
Animal Quarantine Service of Japan:
https://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/languages/info.html (English)
https://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/languages/bring_meat_cn_han.html (traditional Chinese)
