Japan scrutinises pork imports

Japan’s customs authorities have introduced stricter screenings on pork imports as the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office rearrested two men for evading 13.6 billion yen (€128.5 million) in pork tariffs.

Japan is redoubling its efforts to clamp down on importers employing the illegal practice of declaring fraudulent prices to dodge tariffs, as the two men are accused of doing.

The criminal practise is that pork importers pad the import price, which they then report to the customs, thereby avoiding a tariff in place that skims the difference between the import price and the government set standard.

The current system of import tariffs was introduced in 1971 to protect domestic farmers following the liberalization of the country’s pork market.