Chris Loew

Tokyo, Japan-based Kyokuyo Co. – Japan’s fourth-largest seafood company in total sales – recently suffered a year-over-year dip in sales and profits, the company reported in its financial results for the period 1 April through 31 December 2023.

Net sales for Kyokuyo were down 5.5 percent year over year, totaling JPY 201.6 billion (USD 1.3 billion, EUR 1.2 billion), and operating profit dropped 14.5 percent, slipping to JPY 6.94

Two major Japanese supermarket chains – JCCU and Seven & i Group – have expanded the certifications they accept when purchasing seafood products beyond Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) credentials, with both now welcoming any seafood products bearing a certification recognized by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI).

One certification trying to take advantage of this less

Tokyo, Japan-based General Oyster Corporation has developed an innovative purification system that aims to eliminate instances of vibrio and norovirus in its products on a mass scale, as instances of both have resulted in recent recalls and general wariness among consumers.

Consumer anxiety around the safety of oysters is particularly prevalent in Japan, where diners rarely eat oysters raw due to the country’s warm, subtropical waters that

U.S. sanctions are forcing Russian crab suppliers to find new markets, and Japan has become a new destination for deeply discounted king crab, snow crab, and horsehair crab.

The U.S., which was formerly the biggest purchaser of crab from Russia, introduced an embargo on imports of Russian seafood in March 2022 as part of sanctions related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The country recently expanded that ban to include products that stem