Photo/Illutration Masakazu Tokura, chairman of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), eats seafood from the Tohoku region for lunch in Tokyo on Sept. 4. (Hideki Aota)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged an additional 20.7 billion yen ($141 million) to help the fishing industry cope with China’s blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports, but the plan was immediately met with skepticism.

The new funding, on top of 80 billion yen already earmarked, will finance a relief package of five measures to help fishermen survive Beijing’s harsh reaction to the release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

“To save the fisheries sector, the government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. will fulfill their responsibilities,” Kishida said on Sept. 4.

The five measures are: 1) increasing domestic consumption and maintaining production; 2) addressing reputational damage to the industry at home and abroad; 3) finding alternative markets for Japanese seafood; 4) improving the domestic seafood processing sector; and 5) providing prompt and sufficient compensation to the industry.

Kishida called for a “nationwide drive” to eat more seafood while pledging government purchases of stock scallops and other surplus marine products.

However, some in the industry were already doubting the efficacy of the measures.

Many Japanese marine products are processed in China before being shipped to other countries. To reduce Japan’s dependence on China in this regard, the government promised to help domestic seafood processors increase capacity and hire more workers.

“Is this a realistic idea when construction costs are soaring along with equipment prices and electricity bills?” said Toshiaki Neda, who runs a seafood processing company in Abashiri, Hokkaido.

He said even if additional processing facilities are built within Japan, they will face labor shortages.

“The government says, ‘Build new plants right now, and we’ll pay for that.’ But how will it work when there are not enough workers?” Neda asked.

The government also plans promotional events at Japanese restaurants in Europe and North America to tap new markets there. It is hopeful the plan will work because traditional Japanese “washoku” cuisine is increasingly popular worldwide.

However, the largest importers of Japanese food products are China and other Asian countries. And although Europe and North America are large markets, demand for Japanese seafood is lower there due to larger differences in food culture.

In addition, food hygiene regulations are generally stricter in the West than in Asia.

To deal with the regulation hurdles, the government will offer support for businesses that seek Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) verification.

For its part in helping the fishing industry, Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Japan’s largest business lobby, called on its member companies to buy more domestic seafood.

And in a show of support for the industry, Masakazu Tokura, the chairman of Keidanren, became the latest Japanese leader to publicly eat fish from areas where the treated water is being discharged.

(This article was compiled from reports by staff writers Ryo Aibara, Hironori Kato, Hideki Motoyama, Yuri Murakami and Hideki Aota.)

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