Chris Loew

DHA, a type of omega-3 acid, is becoming a profit driver for both Maruha Nichiro and rival seafood company Nissui – along with other chemicals derived from marine sources, including EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), chondroitin, and squalene – helping add to the bottom lines of two of the world’s largest seafood companies, both based in Tokyo, Japan.

The signs of the chemicals becoming increasingly important are highlighted in

The United Kingdom officially lifted import restrictions on Japanese food products related to radionuclides on 29 June, 2022.

The restrictions on products were introduced after the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which released radiation into the surrounding environment after the East Japan Earthquake. 

The restrictions were originally introduced as a

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries kicked off a campaign on 1 June to attract foreign visitors to rural villages.

According to a press release from the ministry, the program aims to attract inbound tourist to farming, mountain, and fishing villages by promoting the regions’ local foods and food culture overseas, under the "Savor Japan" brand.

Recruitment began for villages to apply to be designated as a 2022

Japan’s Fisheries Agency recently released its annual Fisheries Whitepaper examining the country’s seafood trends in 2021 – while also setting new policies for 2022.

The whitepaper covers a huge range of data on the seafood industry in Japan from 2021, and also includes new data from 2020 that was previously unavailable.

The whitepaper shows that per-capita consumption of seafood in Japan has dropped over the past two decades.

Several of Japan’s leading fishpaste product manufacturers raised prices beginning in February, and might have to do so again.

Japan’s top fishcake maker, Tokyo-based Kibun Foods, raised the prices of its fishpaste products and some side dish products by 8 percent across the board starting from 28 February. The company noted in its annual report that factors negatively affecting domestic profits were higher than expected, such as

Japan’s largest rotary sushi chain, Sushiro, will raise its prices in response to higher material costs and lower profits.

Sushiro is Japan’s largest sushi chain both in terms of sales and number of outlets. The chain has maintained a price of JPY 100 (USD 0.75, EUR 0.70), before tax, for a plate of two nigiri sushi since its establishment in 1984. However, rising raw material and transportation costs, along with the depreciation of

The FY 2022 budget released by Japan’s Fisheries Agency highlights the challenges the country’s seafood sector is facing amid COVID-19.

The new budget features significant increases intended to help fishery management stability and promote new resource management system, adds additional funds to stabilize fishery incomes, and adds subsidies for fuel.

The budget for implementing fishery management stability measures and promoting a