SINGAPORE (Kyodo) -- Singapore has decided to lift a ban on food imports from Japan's Fukushima Prefecture, which hosts the crisis-hit nuclear plant, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Saturday at a meeting with his visiting Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.
In response, Abe expressed his gratitude to Lee and said, "It gives Fukushima great courage," Japanese government officials said.
Singapore stopped importing Fukushima-made food products after the massive earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 triggered one of the world's worst nuclear disasters at the Fukushima Daiichi complex in northeastern Japan.
Abe and Lee, meeting on the sidelines of an Asia security conference in the city state, agreed on the need to resolve international disputes peacefully amid China's territorial claims against neighboring countries in the South China Sea.
The two prime ministers also confirmed a plan to revise a bilateral economic partnership agreement that took effect in 2002 with the aim of further promoting trade and investment between the two nations.
Abe announced the EPA review plan at a joint press conference with Lee, following their summit talks.
Japan and Singapore have strong economic ties. Singapore was the first country with which Japan put into force a bilateral free trade agreement.
