Unable to export seafood to China because of the ban following Fukushima’s wastewater release, Japan is to provide 100,000 servings of scallops as free school lunches to school children across the country.
Japan’s fishing industry is dealing with falling prices, unpredictability, and leftover seafood cargo that can’t be exported to China.
The Chinese government has imposed a ban on seafood products from Japan, following Japan’s release of wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Plant into the Pacific Ocean. It cited health safety concerns as reasons for the ban.
And amidst the impact the embargo is having in many areas, Mori, a town in Hokkaido island, where scallop farming is popular, has decided to provide approximately 100,000 servings of scallops that cannot be exported and will be used for free school lunches across the country.
To support the industry, the municipality of Mori purchased scallops that could not be exported and were being stored in the freezers of seafood companies. It offered them free of charge so that they could be eaten in school lunches across the country.
At Kanekichi Sawada Suisan, a seafood processing company in Mori, the president of the company, Hikaru Sawada, said that there used to be about 1 billion yen (6.7 million dollars) worth of scallops exported to China every year.
On September 22, the mayor of Mori, Kosuke Okajima, visited the local company and announced that they would be providing free scallops in school lunches across the country. On September 27, scallops were served at a high school marathon event in Kitami, Hokkaido in an effort to support the local fisheries.
The city of Mori uses the government’s 30 billion yen (200 million dollars) fund to counter reputational damage caused by the seafood import ban. The Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, notably ate oysters in front of the cameras to reassure people of the quality of Japanese products.
In July, the International Atomic Energy Agency found that Japan’s plan to release the treated Fukushima Power Plant water was consistent with international safety standards. The IAEA conducted reviews and has said that the gradual release of the treated water would not have negative impacts on people and the environment.
September 24 marked one month since measures were taken by China to ban imports of Japanese marine produce. China was Japan’s largest single market for seafood exports at 87.1 billion yen (584 million dollars) last year. Among the most popular products are scallops, tuna, sea urchins, snapper and sea cucumbers, also called namako.
Japan is now also concerned that Russia will join China in the import ban. Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision, is considering the possibility of joining with Chinese restrictions on supplies of fish products from Japan, and that will be decided after discussions with Japanese officials. Russia is one of China’s biggest marine product suppliers and is seeking to increase its market share.
Top Japanese government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno said, “We strongly ask Russia to act based on scientific evidence,” adding that Russia was a member of the IAEA’s Fukushima expert team, which approved the water release plan.
For Gen Komori, the president of House, a Tokyo-based trading company specializing in fish products, the company must shift its attention to markets in Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia because of the Chinese trade embargo.
