More than 150 companies and other organizations from Japan are promoting the country's food at a trade fair in Hong Kong.

A pavilion for Japan has been set up for the first time in four years at the international event that opened on Thursday.

As food tasting is allowed this year, the exhibitors encouraged buyers to try their products, while explaining their features.

Hong Kong is a major importer of Japanese agricultural, forestry and fishery products. Those exports from Japan to Hong Kong came to around 1.4 billion dollars last year. It is the second-largest export market for Japan in the category. The biggest is mainland China.

Japan plans to release treated and diluted water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the ocean. The Hong Kong government has suggested that if the plan is carried out, it will ban imports of marine products from 10 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima and Tokyo.

A woman from Hong Kong who visited the trade fair says she often used to eat sashimi, but she avoids Japanese food as much as possible now.

But another woman says she trusts Japanese people and she thinks Japanese officials carry out thorough quality checks. She says she eats Japanese food three or four times a month.

Miyashita Masami, a senior official at Japan's trade ministry, says a comprehensive report by the International Atomic Energy Agency concluded that the planned release would have a negligible impact on people and the environment. He also says the ministry hopes the Hong Kong government will adopt a stance based on scientific evidence.

Water used to cool molten fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi plant mixes with rain and groundwater. The accumulated water is treated to remove most radioactive substances, but still contains tritium.

Japan's government plans to dilute the treated water to about one-seventh of the World Health Organization's guidelines for drinking water quality before releasing it into the sea.