At a conference on Thursday in Brussels, the European Union is anticipated to announce the removal of import restrictions placed on Japanese food following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear tragedy.

Japanese authorities stated that they anticipated the announcement to occur following a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, European Council President Charles Michel, and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

“That would be a great sign of solidarity from the EU side,” foreign affairs press secretary Hikariko Ono told a small group of journalists ahead of the summit.

The restrictions have been in place since an earthquake and tsunami wrecked the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant on Japan’s east coast north of Tokyo, triggering multiple meltdowns.

Some food consignments can only come into the EU with an accompanying certificate showing that they do not exceed maximum levels of radioactive caesium isotopes.

This applies to wild mushrooms, some fish and fishery products from Fukushima and nine other prefectures. Bamboo shoots from Miyagi province, for example, are also included.

Products from elsewhere must be able to prove that they are not from the specified areas.