The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, is set to ease restrictions on Japanese food imports beginning 1 November 2012.
Import restrictions were imposed following an accident at the nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture, which was caused due to the earthquake and tsunami that stuck the island nation on 11 March 2011.
In line with the latest regulations, the EU will lower the frequency of sample testing on Japanese food imports to 5% of the total volume.
Earlier, the EU required several prefectures and Tokyo to test food products before they were shipped; however, under the new regulations, the 12 prefectures excluding Fukushima , need to conduct tests only on certain items that are considered to pose safety risks, such as tea leaves and some varieties of mushrooms.
Meanwhile, Japan's Environment Minister Hiroyuki Nagahama has announced a 10-item package of measures in order to accelerate the decontamination efforts.
