IWAKI, Fukushima – Shipping restrictions are still in place on log-grown shiitake mushrooms cultivated in open fields in Japan’s Tohoku and Kanto regions due to the spread of radioactive substances following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in 2011.

Yoshiyuki Kudo, 81, a farmer in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, one of the areas affected by the disaster, continues to grow mushrooms using logs from both inside and outside the prefecture to verify their safety.

In September, he became the only farmer in the city to have shipping restriction lifted. He is working to eventually have the entire country taste “authentic” mushrooms grown on Fukushima Prefecture logs.

In late June, Kudo was walking through a forest in Soma’s Tamano district, which is located in the Abukuma Mountains about 50km north-west of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

On a slope, 2,150 logs – each about 15cm in diameter and 90cm long — were lined up. The logs were placed on black sheets to prevent soil containing radioactive substances from adhering to them. Kudo expects to be able to harvest about 20kg of shiitake in the autumn.

“It’s precisely because we harness the power of nature that we can produce such delicious mushrooms,” Kudo said.

Following the nuclear accident, shipping restrictions were imposed on many agricultural products from various areas in eastern Japan. More than 15 years later, these restrictions are still in place for some products, including shiitake grown on logs in open fields.

According to the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, as of July 1, restrictions remained in place in 93 municipalities across Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Chiba prefectures, except for a few producers.

Fukushima Prefecture was one of the leading production sites in the country prior to the accident. But with 17 municipalities in the prefecture subject to restrictions, many farmers have given up production.

The number of producer...