Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu welcomed on Thursday the Philippine government's decision to allow again food importation from Fukushima after the 2011 nuclear disaster.

In a joint press statement after his bilateral meeting with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. in Makati City, Motegi said the Philippines lifted the import ban on Wednesday.

"Japan welcomes the lifting of the import ban of food products from Japan by the government of the Philippines yesterday," he said, noting that the ban was introduced after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.

"With this lifting, we hope that safe food from Fukushima as well as other parts of Japan will reach many people in the Philippines," he added.

In May last year, the Philippine government initially lifted the import ban on some fish species from Fukushima prefecture as a sign of goodwill.

The move coincided with President Rodrigo Duterte's visit to Japan where he attended the Nikkei's 25th International Conference on the Future of Asia. Celerina Monte/DMS