Besides, the tea leaves may not be from Shizuoka anyway, says his government.
The Oxford PhD (in comparative economic history) governor of Shizuoka strikes again, responding to the news that the French authorities confiscated the radioactive tea from Shizuoka Prefecture at the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris for the high radioactive cesium count (1038 becquerels per kilogram), more than twice the safety limit for the EU. (I'm rather surprised that it's that high in the EU.)
From Asahi Shinbun (10:43PM JST 6/18/2011):
「静岡」の茶から基準を超える放射性物質が検出されたとのフランス政府の発表を受け、静岡県の川勝平太知事はコメントを発表し、「仮に製茶の数値が １千ベクレルだとしても飲用茶にすれば１０ベクレル程度になる。飲んでもまったく問題ないと考える」と県の独自調査の結果を示して安全性を強調。その上で 「情報を確認し、早急に輸出ルートを調査する」とした。
Governor Heita Kawakatsu of Shizuoka Prefecture issued a comment in response to the French government's announcement that the radioactive materials have been detected in Shizuoka tea in excess of the safety limit, and said "Even if the final blend tea measured 1,000 becquerels/kilogram, when you brew it the number will go down to about 10 becquerels. I don't think there's any problem at all if you drink the tea." He emphasized the safety of Shizuoka tea showing the survey done by the prefecture. He added that his government "will verify the French information, and investigate the export route."茶の輸出手続きを担当する同県経済産業部によると、フランスで検査対象となった茶の最終加工地が「静岡」だった可能性はあるものの、県内では他県産や海外産の茶葉を加工して出荷する場合もあり、茶葉自体がどこで生産されたものかはまだ分からないという。
The Economy and Industry Division of the Shizuoka prefectural government, who is in charge of export control of the teas from Shizuoka, said it was possible that the tea tested in France was final-blended in Shizuoka, but that didn't mean the tea leaves themselves were grown and harvested in Shizuoka. The division said the tea leaves from other prefectures and even from overseas are processed in Shizuoka and then shipped.
I don't have a PhD so I defer to the expert judgment of the governor, who must know more than we the mere non-PhD mortals do.