Japan Boosting Seafood Exports To Southeast Asia, U.S.

With China showing no signs of lifting its import ban on Japanese fisheries products, Japan has been diversifying export channels to other markets, most notably Southeast Asia and the US, in response to what critics say is an economic coercion measure by the world's second-largest economy, Ko Hirano reported for Kyodo News.

Japan's scallop exports jumped by three times to Vietnam, 2.3 times to Thailand, and 1.7 times to the US in the five months to March from year-earlier levels.

Beijing's unilateral measure—which Japan dismisses for not being based on science—is yet another reminder that in light of economic security, Tokyo should further reduce its dependence on the Chinese market for not only seafood but other sectors to minimize risks associated with trade, analysts say.

As part of diversification efforts, Japan recently unveiled a goal of doubling its exports of scallops to Thailand, a leading product of the country's seafood exports, to 2.4 billion yen ($15 million) in 2024 compared with a year earlier, Mainichi Japan also reported.

The announcement came as Japan's exports of the bivalves jumped by three times to Vietnam, 2.3 times to Thailand, and 1.7 times to the US in the five months to March from year-earlier levels, according to government data.

Indonesia, Malaysia, and Canada have also increased scallop imports from Japan since China imposed its ban following the start in August 2023 of the release of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, an action the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved but Beijing condemned.