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Tuesday, 17th May 2016
In General Japan News,
Japanese fish consumption drops to lowest level since 1960s
Japan may be well-known for its sushi, but it seems the country is eating less fish than it has for decades, according to new data.
A report on fisheries that has been adopted by the cabinet says that the domestic per capita consumption of fish has shrunk by around 30 per cent since its height in 2001, reports the Japan Times.
In the fiscal 2015 white paper, it indicated that people ate on average 27.3 kilograms of fish products in the 2014 fiscal year.
The last time the numbers were so low was in 1964 when just 25.3 kilograms of food deriving from the sea was consumed.
When compared to the 40.2 kilograms eaten in 2001, the drop seems all the more dramatic.
Increased fish consumption went hand-in-hand with economic growth in Japan and 2001 saw it peak. Since then things have been declining steadily.
The paper suggests that those in their 40s and younger are the biggest demographic turning away from fish, often opting for meat instead.
It recommends that more should be done to promote the appeal of fish, which has many health benefits, to the population and particularly younger people.
To ensure that fisheries in Japan are not hard hit by the change in attitudes towards the foodstuff, there will also be a bigger push to export fish abroad.
The example given was of six companies that process fish in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture that have grouped together and formed an alliance.
It has given them more market power and allowed them to fish products from the Sanriku area under one brand name.
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