Photo/Illutration Innkeeper Yoshihisa Takeshi exports "anko nabe" (anglerfish hot pot) and "an-kimo" (anglerfish liver) ramen to Hong Kong. Takeshi poses for a photo in Kita-Ibaraki, Ibaraki Prefecture, on July 13. (Morio Choh)

KITA-IBARAKI, Ibaraki Prefecture--The government’s plan to release radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean has thrown into question the international demand for anglerfish, a local delicacy that is increasingly an export item.

The water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will be released after being treated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. to remove harmful substances. It will also be diluted to reduce the concentration of tritium, the sole radioactive substance that will remain.

For the past one and a half years, innkeeper Yoshihisa Takeshi has been exporting ingredients for anglerfish "nabe" hot pot and other dishes to Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam.

But Hong Kong reacted negatively to the water release plan. It will stop importing fish from Tokyo and nine prefectures when the spigots open.

Takeshi, 47, is the third-generation proprietor of Marumitsu Ryokan in Kita-Ibaraki, a coastal city in Ibaraki Prefecture, which touches the edge of Fukushima Prefecture.  

On June 20, he received an urgent message from a trading company that mediates export transactions and other activities.

Let’s talk online, the company told Takeshi. We need to discuss Hong Kong’s response to the government’s plan.

The inn is a survivor. It survived financial difficulties stemming from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. And it rolled with the punch when the COVID-19 pandemic delivered another body blow.

Takeshi turned to exports as a safety line for the inn and its employees. Among his initiatives was a three-year franchise arrangement with the owner of a Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong, signed in November last year.

He thought at that time that he wanted to make Hong Kong a stronghold to spread anglerfish and the charms of Ibaraki Prefecture to the world.

The relationship went well. Takeshi exported about 4,000 servings of anglerfish hot pot and about 2,000 servings of "an-kimo" (anglerfish liver) ramen in time for the opening of the Hong Kong outlet.

By the end of June, he had sold approximately 12 million yen ($85,000) worth of anglerfish dishes.

Then the government talked about releasing the water.

It ignited a backlash from the Hong Kong government. On July 12, Hong Kong said it will ban the import of fisheries products from 10 regions, including Ibaraki and Fukushima prefectures, as "countermeasures" to the release of radioactive water.

Takeshi's outlet, which uses locally fished anglerfish, was among those likely to be affected.

During the online meeting with the trading company, he was told the shop may have to close.

Takeshi is looking at ways to keep sending dishes to Hong Kong, perhaps using anglerfish caught from other prefectures.

But prospects for that are unclear. The inn’s Ibaraki Prefecture address may trump the origins of the fish.

The central government has made efforts to persuade local people about the necessity and safety of releasing the water.

For example, in June the industry minister, Yasutoshi Nishimura, met with fishermen from Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures.

But in Ibaraki Prefecture, some say the government missed its chance to sell the policy internationally.

It should have made “persistent efforts” to convince Hong Kong officials, Ibaraki Governor Kazuhiko Oigawa told reporters on July 20.

Moreover, the government should have provided “scientifically verified data to prevent such a situation from occurring in the first place,” Oigawa said.

For Takeshi, the problem is not one of communication. It is the policy itself.

"I can't agree with releasing radioactive water into the ocean,” he said. “I understand that the state and Tokyo Electric Power are working hard to deal with the situation, but I want them to know that processors are also influenced in many ways."

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