Japan takes issue with Korea's food service center for Olympic athletes

Hwang Hee, center, the minister of culture, sports and tourism, visits Team Korea's meal service center, set up at the Henn na Hotel in Tokyo, on July 24. Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

Japan has reiterated its discontent over Korea's food service center set up near the Olympics venue for Korean athletes, in a political message of complaints directed at Korea.

According to reports from Kyodo News, Japan demanded that Korea take action on the issue, citing "reputational damage" on Fukushima's products. The city was the epicenter of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. The Olympic village catering service includes food ingredients from Fukushima in its meals for athletes from all around the world.

The Korean government has supplied food to Korean athletes by running its own meal center since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. There is no Olympic regulation against a country doing do so, according to the government.

Japan's complaints, however, are drawing criticism, as the country has not issued any message of dissatisfaction over the United States' similar setup of dining facilities for its athletes.

Earlier, the U.S. brought 32.7 tons of food to the country's athletes at the Olympics, but Japan has not raised any official voice against the move.

Hwang Hee, the minister of culture, sports and tourism of Korea, also refuted Japan's argument as biased.

The Korean government has never officially instructed athletes not to eat any food or ingredients from Fukushima, he said during his visit to the Tokyo Olympics' main press center last year.

"We run the food service center at every Olympics to help athletes maintain their condition," he said.

Korean athletes participating in the Olympics are free to visit other restaurants set up by the Olympics' organizing committee, so it is far from the truth that Korean athletes are officially or intentionally avoiding foods from Fukushima, according to the ministry.

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