Japanese Fishery Products Promoted at Event in Brazil

Jiji Press

16:19 JST, January 15, 2024

SAO PAULO (Jiji Press) — Japan’s agriculture ministry held an event in Sao Paulo on Sunday to promote scallops and other fishery products from Japan.

The move is part of an effort by Japan to reduce its reliance on the Chinese market after Beijing in August last year banned imports of fishery products from Japan in response to the release into the ocean of tritium-containing treated water from Japan’s crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Japan aims to expand sales of Japanese fishery products in Brazil, a country which has a large population of people of Japanese descent, and has potential for further economic growth.

At Sunday’s event, attended by around 100 people in the restaurant, food distribution and other industries, Japanese cuisine using scallops from Hokkaido Prefecture and yellowtail from Ehime Prefecture were served. It was the first time that Brazil has imported scallops directly from Japan.

In addition to scallop ramen, “buri daikon” simmered yellowtail with daikon radish and other Japanese dishes, local dishes using such fishery products were also served to those attending the event.

Rodrigo Oliveira, the chef who came up with the Brazilian dishes, said that Japanese scallops and yellowtail do not require any additional seasoning as they are already rich in flavor.

Daisuke Asano of the Japanese ministry said that Tokyo will step up efforts to sell more Japanese fishery products in Brazil.

Patricia Akemi Fuzisaka, a third-generation Japanese-Brazilian who runs a restaurant in Sao Paulo, said that Japanese fishery products have the potential to be widely accepted among Brazilian people.

“We have plenty of restaurants that serve good Japanese food,” she said. “So they are getting to know Japanese culture and Japanese gastronomy. And they want more and more.”