‘Fish Days’ campaign aims to reverse waning consumption

As changing dietary habits see people eating less sh, the government has teamed up with food manufacturers and retailers to boost seafood consumption. To promote public and private initiatives, the Fisheries Agency has designated the third to the seventh of each month as “Fish Days.”

In a drive to boost seafood consumption, companies plan to create more opportunities for people to eat

sh in various ways, such as releasing new products and opening sh restaurants.

On Nov. 1, Kikkoman Corp. launched an eatery called Fish a Week in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, that mainly o ers sh dishes. It is the company’s rst eatery centered on sh.

Kikkoman hopes that people eating more sh when they go out will help them have a healthy diet, so its eatery o ers a wide range of such dishes in Japanese, Western and Chinese styles by taking advantage of such ingredients as soy sauce, soy milk and tomato products manufactured by the company itself. It also plans to sell bento box lunches featuring sh from a food truck.

Food manufacturers that use sh meat have also launched new initiatives.

In September, Suzuhiro Kamaboko, a long-established producer of kamaboko

sh cakes in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, released a product called the Fish Protein Bar. Fish meat is processed in the form of a bar to allow people to eat

sh easily, with the aim of boosting consumption from a health perspective.

Maruha Nichiro Corp. collaborates with DeNA Co., whose businesses include the sports and health

elds, to provide dietary support for athletes and nutrition education for children.

Such e orts have been backed by the government.

Under the “Fish Days” campaign, the Fisheries Agency has teamed up with more than 600 companies and organizations to increase seafood consumption as well as to promote the proper management of marine resources.

Aeon Retail Co. has stepped up sales of ready-to-cook sh that are otherwise hard to sell due to their small size and a lack of demand.

e company has also expanded by 50% its sales oor for seafood products derived from environmentally friendly sheries and aquaculture.

Convenience store operator FamilyMart Co. also plans to increase the

number of side dishes with sh, such as grilled sable sh marinated with miso paste.

While meat consumption has risen, sh consumption has continued to decline. e amount of seafood consumed in scal 2021 per person was 23.2 kilograms, which was less than 60% of the peak in scal 2001, when the gure was 40.2 kilograms. It remains to be seen to what extent these initiatives can restore a culture of eating sh. (Nov. 13)

The Yomiuri Shimbun A fish dish is served at the Fish a Week eatery operated by Kikkoman Corp. in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.