Some produce near nuclear plant to be cleared for shipment

TOKYO, April 8 Kyodo -
The government will allow shipments of some produce from areas near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant as they have proven safe enough to consume, its top spokesman said Friday.
The restrictions on raw milk from Kitakata and six other towns in Fukushima Prefecture, and spinach and ''kakina'' leafy vegetable in Gunma Prefecture will be lifted, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference.
The six towns are Bandai, Inawashiro, Mishima, Aizumisato, Shimogo and Minamiaizu.
The government had restricted shipments of some farm products from four prefectures -- Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki and Tochigi -- following the release of radioactive particles from the tsunami-stricken nuclear plant.
The government, however, changed the way in which it applies such restrictions earlier this week, now imposing them on a town-by-town basis and making it a condition that each product will not be banned from being shipped if radioactivity data stays below safety limits for a third straight week.
The government, meanwhile, will restrict farmers from planting rice near the nuclear complex, which has been facing the emergency situation since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The farm ministry said rice should not be grown if one kilogram of soil in a paddy field contains more than 5,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium.
If radioactivity levels higher than tentative safe limits set by the health ministry are detected in their rice, Edano said farmers will be eligible to receive compensation.
Farm minister Michihiko Kano told a news conference that the government will discuss with prefectural officials whether to impose similar restrictions on vegetables.