The government may lift the ban on shipments of vegetables and raw milk from near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant if they prove free of radioactive contamination in three consecutive tests, senior vice farm minister Nobutaka Tsutsui said.
The government came up with the idea in response to requests from farmers and local governments.
"Given three times in a row, we can probably say contamination levels will remain below legal limits in a stable manner," Tsutsui said Thursday.
The government plans to lift the ban on a regional rather than prefectural basis, and to set intervals of less than a week for each test, officials said.
The ban would be reimposed if radioactive materials are subsequently found in excess of legal levels, they said.
The government has banned shipments of leafy vegetables and raw milk from Fukushima Prefecture, and spinach and other vegetables from Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures since radioactive materials were detected exceeding levels set under the food sanitation law.
