The Iwate Prefectural Government has begun issuing certificates of origin for farm, fishery and processed food exports to comply with tougher rules adopted by Taiwan last week.
Iwate took the action Thursday to prevent local industries from being adversely affected by Taipei's decision to require that all food imports from Japan carry certificates of origin due to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Opposing the tougher restrictions as "scientifically groundless," the Japanese government has said it will not issue the new certification requested by Taipei.
The prefectural government said Iwate is the first in the Tohoku region to issue certificates of origin for items bound for Taiwan, which mainly imports processed sea urchins, scallops and soybeans from the prefecture facing the Pacific Ocean.
Iwate can issue the certificates in a few hours to producers who apply, officials said.
Since the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant disaster started, Taiwan has banned food imports from Fukushima and four nearby prefectures — Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba.
But under the new Taiwan rules, food imports from Japan's 42 other prefectures, including Iwate, must be accompanied by certificates of origin. The Japanese government has urged Taipei to retract the requirement.
Taiwan has said certificates of origin can be replaced with existing quarantine certificates, but they are not issued for processed goods.