Thai nabbed for bringing pork sausages to Japan
A Thai national has been arrested for bringing sausages containing pork from Thailand into Japan, said the Animal Quarantine Service under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (AQS). Import of food products with pork as an ingredient is prohibited in Japan, in response to the prevalence of African swine fever (ASF) in several Asian countries.
Since 2018, the AQS has been strengthening control measures against foreigners bringing in these products. The measures were further tightened last year, in light of the upcoming Olympics Games in Tokyo .
The latest case is the fifth violation of the Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control Law and the second involving the same Thai national. .
The Thai was given a written warning on November 10, 2019 for illegally bringing sausages containing pork from Thailand. Despite the warning, he was arrested again at Narita International Airport for attempting to smuggle in 10.45 kg of sausages on November 25, 2019. AQS at Narita International Airport filed a complaint with police, which led to this arrest.
Illegal imports of meat products are subject to "imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 1 million yen." Eight people have so far been arrested in five cases.