Chinese authorities rejected a container ship operated by MOL, Japan's second-largest shipping line, saying they had detected high levels of radiation.
The MOL Presence originated in California, stopped in Tokyo for only a few hours on March 17, and arrived in China on the night of March 21. The vessel was forced to stay off the Chinese port of Xiamen. It is now heading back to Japan. The MOL Presence is being expected back at the Port of Kobe, western Japan, mid last week.
Chinese authorities rejected a container ship operated by MOL, Japan's second-largest shipping line, saying they had detected high levels of radiation.
The MOL Presence originated in California, stopped in Tokyo for only a few hours on March 17, and arrived in China on the night of March 21. The vessel was forced to stay off the Chinese port of Xiamen. It is now heading back to Japan. The MOL Presence is being expected back at the Port of Kobe, western Japan, mid last week.
Japan has asked China to carry out a radiation check on ships and airplanes arriving from Japan in a "rational" manner, the Japanese government said on Tuesday.
"We have asked the Chinese government to handle the matter based on a rational judgment," an official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said.
"We have also asked the Chinese government to provide specific figures, such as radiation levels found in tests and standard levels. Unless we have such figures, we cannot cope with (the situation)," the official told the Journal of Commerce, asking not to be named.
Japan has conveyed these requests to China through diplomatic channels, but it has not yet received any formal reply, the official said.
Earlier this month, China also turned away a Japanese cargo plane operated by All Nippon Airways at Dalian airport because Chinese authorities said its loads had radiation levels that exceeded limits. The plane had departed from Narita Airport.
Japan has been releasing radiation levels around main international ports and airports in and near Tokyo in both Japanese and English in a bid to combat what it calls "harmful rumors."
Measurements of radiation doses around the Port of Tokyo, the Port of Yokohama, Narita Airport and Haneda Airport are available on the Web site of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
These ports and airports have not been affected directly by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeastern part of the country on March 11. The Port of Tokyo and the Port of Yokohama are Japan's largest and second-largest container ports.
But "harmful rumors" about the level of danger posed by the heavily damaged Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant have had some impact on shipping and aviation involving the ports and airports, the ministry said.
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