No more Sushi for Japanese

Swap fish for meat burgers and soy milk, fearing radiation contamination

Swap fish for meat burgers and soy milk, fearing radiation contamination

Resident Namiko Murata's children are no longer getting their favourite salmon, saury and mackerel for dinner.
"I'm really paying attention to food because of the radiation problems," said Murata, a mother of three.
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"We gave up eating fish even though my family likes it very much. Now, for protein, we drink three cups of soy milk a day."


A mother holding her baby receives bottles of water at a Tokyo ward office yesterday

The detection of cobalt, iodine and cesium in the sea near the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant north of Tokyo this week hurt fish sales in the world's second-biggest seafood market.

Shoppers ignored government reassurances that their food and water supplies were safe even.

Ryoko Mizumoto, a 27-year-old mother of two, said she stopped buying dried Shirasu fish and horse mackerel.
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"I gave up buying maritime products and started buying cheap meat," she said while lining up to buy bottled water at a store in Tokyo. "I make hamburger steak to replace the fish."

Fishing in the northeastern prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate has been halted since the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that engulfed towns in northeastern Japan, damaged the Fukushima nuclear facility and shook buildings in Tokyo.

The suspension lowered the risk that "tainted fish will be in the market," said Yasuo Sasaki, senior press counselor at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
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"We don't see fish at a high risk of contamination because of radiation dilution,"

Kazuko Nishihara said she isn't convinced. "We don't trust the government," said the 41-year-old mother of two who left Tokyo for Hiroshima on March 18, where she said food supplies are safe.

"It hasn't disclosed enough information. When we get back to Tokyo, I won't eat vegetables produced in the Kanto region and will only eat fish from the western part of Japan."

Workers injured

Meanwhile,u00a0 workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant were being treated at a hospital yesterday after stepping into contaminated water while laying electrical cables in one unit, nuclear and government officials said.
The two workers likely suffered "beta ray burns," said officials at plant owner Tokyo Electric Power Co, citing doctors. They tested at radiation levels between 170 to 180 millisieverts, well below the maximum 250 millisieverts allowed for workers, said Fumio Matsuda, a spokesman for the Nuclear and Industry Safety.
More than two dozen people have been injured trying to bring the Fukushima Daiichi plant under control.

9,800
Number of people who have died and another 17,500 are missing

Dolphin Saved
A baby dolphin has been saved after being dumped in a rice field by the tsunami which hit Japan's coast. The dolphin was spotted by Ryo Taira, who has been rescuing animals.

Food fear
The US and Australia were halting imports of Japanese dairy and produce from the region, Hong Kong said it would require that Japan perform safety checks on meat, eggs and seafood, and Canada said it would upgrade controls on imports of Japanese food products.