Market Information
Asia Pacific

Japan's Market for Processed
Fisheries Products

Canadian Embassy in Tokyo

March 2001

Introduction

Fish and fisheries products have been an essential element of Japanese people's diets for a long time. Recently, fish and fisheries products have also been attracting great attention by people in other countries not only as sources of protein for a growing world population but also as healthy food. This report will provide an overview of the whole supply of fish from Japan's own landings and imports from other countries as well as various processed fisheries products. As the range of fisheries products in Japan is too vast to cover in this type of report, the report presents an overview of most representative processed fisheries products. Imports of fish and fisheries products from Canada are discussed in the latter half of this report and how those species/products from Canada are used for further processing or consumed in Japan.

Compiled from Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
(MAAF), Japan's Landings of Fish Statistics

1. Japan's Landings of Fish

According to the FAO statistics on world fish landings, in 1995, fisheries landings of Japan, with 7.5 million mt (including landings from aquaculture), which accounted for 6.2% of the world total landings, was ranked fourth in the world, next to China (29.24 million mt), Peru (8.9 million mt) and Chile (7.9 million mt). Since 1984 when Japan's landings recorded a historical high with 12.2 million mt (or 13.4% of the world total landings), Japanese fisheries landings have continued to decrease. After World War II, Japan's landings increased in accordance with the expansion of its fisheries from the coastal fisheries to offshore and then to distant water fisheries. The fishing industry was one of the most important sectors for Japanese economy for a considerably long period. The total landings were kept at more than 10 million mt every year until the end of 1990. In 1991, Japan's total landings decreased to less than 10 million mt for the first time in 20 years. The reduction in landings from distant water fisheries since the implementation of the 200 mile system and the deterioration of resources has led to a decrease of Japanese fisheries landings.

Chart 1 gives an overview of Japanese fisheries landings by type of fisheries in these 15 years from 1985 to 1999. As indicated in this chart, a decrease in the distant and offshore fisheries is noteworthy. On the other hand, aquaculture has been constant throughout this period and has not compensated for the decrease in distant and offshore fisheries.

Table 1 gives Japanese landing statistics by species in these five years, from 1995 to 1999. The total fisheries landings of Japan decreased from 7.48 million mt in 1995 to 6.63 million mt in 1999. Total marine fisheries decreased from 6.01 million mt in 1995 to 5.24 million mt in 1999. Marine aquaculture decreased from 1.31 million mt to 1.25 million mt in the same period. Inlandwater (i.e., freshwater) fisheries and aquaculture are a small part of Japanese fisheries. Those fisheries also recorded a decrease in landings, former from 91.8 thousand mt in 1995 to 71.4 thousand mt in 1999 and the latter from 75.1 thousand mt in 1995 to 62.2 thousand mt in 1999.

Compiled from MAFF, Japan's Fish Landings Statistics.

Total landings of finfish decreased in those five years from 4.6 million mt in 1995 to 3.9 million mt in 1999. In terms of volume of landings, tuna, salmon and trout, sardine and anchovy, horse mackerel, mackerel, saury, Alaska pollack, and atka mackerel are major fish species for Japanese fisheries.

Landings of crustaceans decreased from 153.9 thousand mt in 1995 to 118.4 thousand mt in 1999. Of this group, major species for Japanese fisheries in terms of volume are shrimp and prawn, red snow crab and krill.

Landings of molluscs and other marine animals also recorded a decrease in these five years from 1.13 million mt in 1995 to 1.06 million mt in 1999. Various species of cuttlefish and squid are major molluscs for Japanese fisheries. Scallop is also an important item for Japanese fisheries. This bi-valve shellfish is an important item for marine aquaculture as well.

Seaweeds harvests also recorded a decrease in these five years, from 150.7 thousand mt in 1995 to 120.8 thousand mt in 1999. Major seaweeds for Japanese fisheries are kelp (mainly Laminaria species), wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) and hijiki (Hizikia fusiforme).

2. Japan's Imports of Fish from the World

As Japan's own fisheries landings have declined, Japan's imports of fish have increased sharply. Japan's rapid economic growth, increased consumer income, and the appreciated yen have contributed to increasing imports of fish.

Compiled from Japan Marine Products Improters Association
(JMPIA), Fish Import Statistics

Chart 2 shows the trend of imports of fish by Japan in terms of both volume and US dollars in these 15 years from 1985 to 1999. As indicated in this chart, Japanese imports of fish continued to increase until 1995 when the total import volume and the value in US dollars recorded a historical high of 3.81 million mt and US$18.44 billion. With a turn of the Japanese economy toward sluggishness caused by the crash of the bubble economy, imports of fish started decreasing. Given the decreased competitiveness for imports of fish by Japan under the pressure

of an economic slowdown, some species have become "international" items, for which stronger demand by other countries has existed. This is also a reason for Japan's relatively weakened position in importing fish and fisheries products. Given this, however, almost one-third of the fish and fisheries products for international trade is imported into Japan.

Table 2 gives Japan's imports of fish and fisheries products by items from the world during the period of 1995 to 1999.

Compiled from JMPIA, Fish Imports Statistics.

(1) Fish

In these five years, total annual imports of fish ranged from 2.0 million mt to 2.5 million mt. Among this group of fish, various species of tuna, salmon and trout, mackerel, herring, horse mackerel, and rockfish were major species for Japanese imports in terms of volume. In addition to these fish, products such as surimi (paste of fish meat), fillets and meats of various fish, and fish meals were imported in large quantities.

(2) Crustaceans

Shrimp and prawn have been the largest single import item in terms of import value among all food imports by Japan for many years. The volume of imports of shrimp and prawn has also been very large. Crab is also an important import item among the crustaceans group. Imports of snow crab and king crab occupy large share in all crab imports by Japan.

(3) Molluscs

Octopus, and cuttlefish and squid are two major import item for Japan. Shortneck clam is also a large import item for Japan.

(4) Seaweed

Major seaweeds which Japan imports are wakame and hijiki. Imports of wakame have been increasing sharply in recent years.

(5) Fisheries products prepared, preserved or in airtight containers

This group of fisheries products imported into Japan has been increasing as Japanese fish importers/processors have been engaged in, or established joint ventures for, production in other countries for export to Japan. The volume of imports of this group of fish as a percentage of the total import volume of fish was 6.1% in 1995, 7.0% in 1996, 7.8% in 1997 and 8.0% in 1998 and 7.8% in 1999. Major exporting countries of this group of fish are these countries, especially in Asia, where labor costs are very low compared to Japan.

The largest item in this group of fisheries products is prepared/preserved eel. China is the major exporter of this product, whose export volume accounted for more than 95% of the total imports of this product into Japan in 1999. Major exporters of products of tuna, skipjack tuna and bonito to Japan are Thailand and Indonesia. Shrimp and prawn products are imported mainly from Thailand, Indonesia and China. The major exporter of processed lobster is Canada. Crab products are imported mainly from China and South Korea. Cuttlefish and squid products are imported from China, Thailand, Korea and Vietnam. Major exporters of molluscs to Japan are China, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea.

3. Japan's Production of Processed Fisheries Products

Historically, catches of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and seaweed have not been stable. In the case of catches in greater quantity than the quantity for immediate consumption, those surplus fish are kept in refrigerated warehouses or processed into secondary or final products. In the days when refrigerated warehouses did not exist, processing of fish into products which could be preserved for longer than unprocessed fish was of great importance for surplus fish catches. This was a start of processing fish into various fisheries products. As Japan is surrounded by both warm and cold waters, the coasts of Japan have provided good fishing grounds for many varieties of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and seaweed. Japan, an archipelago country stretching for more than 2,000 kilometers from the north to the south, presents varieties of natural climates according to the regions. Differences in the natural climate as well as differences in the species of fish caught in regions contributed to the production of a large variety of fisheries products. Some of these products have been similar throughout the country but others were (and still are) unique to the regions.

Developments in transportation and refrigerated warehouses contributed to changing the production of fisheries products. More and more products have changed from local products to national products. An increase in imports has also changed significantly the production of fisheries products. By supplying imported fish for production of products of fish, landings of which have declined, or adding new species from other countries, which are not caught in Japan, a wide range of products have been produced at lower costs, or new fisheries products have been introduced. Historically, most fisheries products have been closely connected with the rice based diet of Japanese people. Many fisheries products have been processed (and/or seasoned) so as to fit this diet. Salt, soy sauce, miso (bean paste), sake lees, vinegar, mirin (sweet sake), koji (malted rice) and other Japanese traditional seasoning materials have become important ingredients for processing and seasoning fisheries products in Japan. Recently, in order to meet the changing tastes of Japanese people, other new ingredients, such as hot pepper-flavored ingredients often used for Korean cuisines, have begun to be used.

Chart 4 illustrates the trend of Japanese production of processed fisheries products in the period of 1985 to 1999. The total production of fisheries products fluctuated between 2.5 million mt and 2.7 million mt per annum. The production, which had decreased to a historical low in 1986, continued to increase until 1990 but it again kept decreasing until 1994. In 1995 the production recorded a historical high but after that year began to decrease. Japanese processed fisheries products consist of many items. The following categorization of products is adopted by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the purpose of publishing statistics on production and distribution of processed fisheries products. Many items which are produced in comparatively small quantity are not specified in the statistics. However, as this categorization gives a good overview of Japanese processed fisheries products, brief descriptions of these products are made here in line with this categorization.

(1) Fish-paste products

Fish-paste products are unique Japanese fisheries products which have a long history. Processing differs depending on product types. However, the base material used for this product group is fish processed into pastes called surimi in Japanese. Surimi is produced from many fish species. The most widely used surimi is produced from Alaska pollack. In principle, surimi is produced through the process of removing the head and guts from fish, removing bones and skin, collecting the meat from the fish, bleaching the meat in water, dehydrating and grinding the meat. In the process of grinding, various ingredients, such as sugar, salt, sodium glutamate, 5'-ribonucleotide, etc. are added depending on the type of surimi. Surimi is produced by producers of fish-paste products for their own use as well as by surimi manufacturers in Japan and other countries. Japan's imports of surimi in these five years are indicated in Table 2. In addition to imports of surimi, substantial portion of fish imported in the form of meat is used for the production of surimi in Japan. Surimi made of Alaska pollack from Alaska, Pacific whiting surimi from Alaska and British Columbia, horse mackerel surimi from Chile and threadfin-bream surimi from Thailand are popular imported surimi. Many fish species, including those with low commercial value for sales in fresh form or those with less utility for other products have been used as materials for production of surimi. Surimi is processed to various fish-paste products.

(a) Traditional kamaboko and chikuwa products

The most popular products made of surimi are kamaboko. There are a variety of kamaboko products depending on the surimi used, production method, molding method, steaming, roasting and other processing and ingredients used. Basically, there are five basic categories of kamaboko in accordance with production processes. The most popular kamaboko is produced by putting surimi on wooden plates. This surimi mounted on a plate is steamed to make "steamed ita-kamaboko". Some steamed ita-kamaboko is further processed by baking to produce "yaki ita-kamaboko". Other kamaboko is produced by molding into some shapes without plate, and steaming and baking. Rather than steaming and baking, some products are produced by boiling surimi in the water. Such products include "hanpen", "shinjo", and "tsumire". Surimi is also deep-fried in oil to make "satsuma-age", "ebi-maki", etc. Depending on product forms, some ingredients, such as starch, yam, yolk, vegetables are mixed with surimi.

Chikuwa is another large item included in these Japanese traditional fish paste products. In the old days, fish paste was stuck around a bamboo stick like a bar and baked. After baked, the bamboo bar was removed from the bar to make a hole at the center of baked bar. This product is called "chikuwa" (literally, bamboo-ring). At present, bamboo sticks are no more used but a fully-automated production line is often used for production of this product. At small plants, smaller-sized production process is still in use which involves manual labor.

(b) Other surimi products

Surimi is also used for production of other products, such as fish sausage, and imitation fisheries products such as crab-flavored kamaboko (analogue crab), scallop-flavored kamaboko, artificial ikura (salmon egg), caviar substitute, etc.

As indicated in Table 4, the volume of production of surimi products has been decreasing recently. Certainly, a sharp increase in the import price of surimi has contributed to this decrease. On the other hand, the taste preferences of Japanese people have been changing, especially among the young generation, and this is another reason for the recent decrease in production of these traditional products.

(2) Frozen food

Foods which are processed or cooked using fish as their main materials, quickly frozen at minus 18 degree Celsius, and pre-packaged before arriving at shelves for sales to consumers are called frozen fish foods. "Fish and shellfish products" in Table 4 are fillets of fish, kirimi (slice) of various fish, pealed shrimp, scallop meat, etc. "Cooked fisheries products" in the same table are battered and breaded fish of various species, tempura (fish and shellfish breaded in Japanese way), cooked eel, and other fisheries products with fish and fisheries products as main materials. As indicated in Table 4, while the production quantity of this category of fisheries products decreased in 1999, this fisheries products group is expected to increase in Japan.

(3) Salted, dried or smoked

This product group consists mainly of the following categories.

(a) Plain dried products

This is a group of fisheries products which are dried from fresh materials so the water content is at 40% or less without salting. Dried squid, herring fillet, sardines, herring roe, juvenile sardines dried in a rectangular sheet, sole, cod, shark fin, and shrimp are major products in this category. Some seaweeds, such as Laminaria and Undaria species, and laver are also dried. Dried laver in rectangular form is called "nori", which is widely used in many Japanese dishes including sushi. The processing of this product is simpler than other products: washing, preparation for product form and drying.

(b) Salted-dried

Salted fish is dried in the sunshine or in the plant using drying machines. Many species are used as materials for this product, such as sardine, horse mackerel, saury, capelin, squid, mackerel, cod, mullet roe, etc. The production process for this group of products is also simple: materials are washed, cut into butterfly or fillet depending on species, or in round form, salting, washing with water and drying. In the case of capelin, a substantial portion of capelin which Japan buys every year from Norway, Canada and Iceland is shipped from those countries directly to Asian countries, mainly China, for processing into finished products for export to Japan.

(c) Boiled-dried

Materials are boiled in water to terminate the enzymatic activity and remove microbes and dry. To this category of products belong niboshi-iwashi (boiled-dried sardine), shirasu-boshi (boiled-dried juvenile sardine), dried abalone, dried adductor of scallop and pen-shell, and dried sea cucumber.

(d) Salted

This category of products is produced very simply dispersing salt on materials or soaking materials into brine water. Historically, the simplicity of production has made this category of products very popular in Japan. Reflecting consumers' preference for healthiness of food, however, the demand for salted fisheries products, especially heavily salted ones, has been decreasing, although, in terms of production quantity, this product group is still a major group in the Japanese processed fisheries products. Of this product group, the largest item is salmon and trout followed by mackerel. Large quantities of fish roe, such as Alaska pollack roe, herring roe, and salmon roe is processed into this category.

(e) Smoked

While smoking fish has a long history in the world, this method has been comparatively recently introduced into Japan and such species as salmon, trout, herring, cod, yellowtail, squid, and octopus have been smoked in Japan. Of these species, smoked salmon occupies most of smoked fish products. As in other countries, cold smoking, hot smoking, liquid smoking and electric smoking methods are adopted in Japan.

By a cold smoking method, salted materials are smoked at a temperature range of 15-30 degree Celsius for long hours (1 to 3 weeks). Products smoked by this method are superior in preservation but tastes are said to be inferior to those smoked by hot smoking. This method has been adopted for smoking salmon, cod, herring and mackerel in Japan. Smoked products by this method have a low water content, such as 40%, and are generally hard.

The hot smoking method consists of two types of smoking. One is low temperature smoking. By this method, materials that are soaked in brine water for a short time are smoked at the beginning at 30 degrees Celsius and the temperature is raised to approximately 90 degrees to finish smoking. By this method, smoked products are generally soft which have a water content of 50% and are said to be superior in tastes than cold smoked products. This low temperature smoking method is used widely in Japan for smoking such species as salmon, trout, and herring. Another way of smoking is to smoke at such high temperatures as 120-140 degree for an extremely short time. This high temperature smoking is not popular in Japan. The method widely used in Japan is referred to as "warm temperature" smoking.

By the liquid smoking method, smoke is not actually produced but soaking materials into various liquids such as wood vinegar to give flavor of smoking to fish. Materials soaked in liquids are dried to become "smoked" products.

Electric smoking is a method in which materials are processed in smoke from wood and exposed to corona discharges to make smoke penetrate into materials.

As indicated in Table 3, Japan's production of smoked fish is comparatively small compared with other types of processed fisheries products. The largest item in smoked fish is salmon and trout. With the long-lasting economic slowdown, the production of smoked salmon has been decreasing noticeably. Imports of this product have also been decreasing.

(f) "Fushi" products

Having a long history, these "fushi" products are unique products for Japanese. "Fushi" are produced by boiling and drying fish fillets. Major species used for these products are skipjack tuna, mackerel, and sardines. Among these, "katsuo-bushi" which is made of skipjack tuna is the most popular and produced in the greatest quantity. Fillets of skipjack tuna are boiled for a certain length of time (generally 70-90 minutes at 85 degree Celsius), bones are removed after boiled fillets are cooled, and hot-smoked. The "fushi" which has gone through this process is called "namari-bushi" (rare "fushi"), which is also sold as semi-processed fisheries products for further cooking at home. This product goes through the process of smoking and drying several times in 10 to 20 days. After the products are put into "molding rooms" where the temperature is kept at 27 degree Celsius and the humidity at 85-88% for 10 to 15 days molds grow on the surface of each "fushi". Molds are removed from "fushi" and the "fushi" are again put into the molding room and taken out of the room after 15-20 days. This process is repeated several times. Molds work to dehydrate fillets almost completely so that fillets become almost as hard as stone. This dehydrated product is called "fushi", such as "katsuo (skipjack) bushi" (note: "fushi" and "bushi" are the same word, some Japanese words change its pronunciation when combined with other words), "saba (mackerel) bushi", etc. These hard "fushi" products are sold in their hardened fillet form or further processed into the form of flakes. The "fushi" sold in its original form is sliced into flakes by end users to make flakes. Fushi flakes are one of the most popular fisheries products which are used to make soup for cooking. As indicated in Table 3, "fushi" occupies a substantial portion of Japanese production of fisheries products.

(4) Other processed food

(a) Fermented products

There are various fermented fisheries products in Japan. Adding salt, various fermented fisheries products are produced from meat or viscera of various fish. Major materials used for production of fermented fisheries products are squid meat, bonito viscera, sea urchin roe, sea cucumber viscera, and fresh-water sweat fish (a trout) viscera.

(b) Pickled products

Another product group in these fermented products is pickled fisheries products. This pickled fisheries products have developed long time ago in Japan as a means of preserving fish for a long time,. There are various ways of pickling fish in Japan. Popular ways are to use "koji" (malted rice), "nuka" (rice bran), "kasu" (sake lees), and vinegar. Major materials used for pickling in "koji" are sweat fish, red sea bream, mackerel, octopus and squid meat, and herring. Major species for "nuka" pickling are sardine and herring. Sweet fish, salmon meat, cod meat, black cod, red fish, Spanish mackerel, and other are used for "kasu" pickled products. Fish are also pickled in "miso" (soybean paste). In Japan there are many different types of miso and these "miso" are used for the production of pickled fisheries products. Many species, especially juvenile fish, are used for products pickled with vinegar, such as small red sea bream, mackerel and sardine.

(c) Seasoned-boiled products

Historically, production of these products, which are called "tsukudani", are said to date back to the beginning of the 17^th Century. Various species of small fish, or meat cut into small pieces, are used to produce this product. Materials are slow-cooked in the dense soup of soy sauce and sugar at 100-120 degree Celsius until the water in the soup become 25-30%. Generally speaking, products made in this way are preserved for a long time in natural temperature. However, recently, some products are cooked for a much shorter time in thinner sauce to keep the salt and sugar contents low in order to meet consumers' preference for healthy food. These products cannot be preserved for such a long period as conventional "tsukudani". As materials for this product, such fish as goby, crucian carp, sand lance, skipjack tuna, tuna, juvenile sardines and eel are used. Molluscs such as short-neck clam, fresh-water clam, hard clam, bloody clam, oyster, squid, and octopus are used. Shrimp, krill, and kelp are also popular materials for "tsukudani".

(d) Seasoned-dried, roasted or fried products

After soaking in seasoning soup for a certain period of time, the fish is dried, roasted or fried to produce this group of products. The most popular item in this group of fish is barbecued eel, or "eel kabayaki", which is produced by barbecuing or steaming eel and soaking barbecued eel in a sweet seasoning sauce and barbecuing again to make finished products. In Japanese traditional way, these processes are made by manual labor at restaurants. Recently, however, some of these processes are fully automated and an abundant quantity of products are produced in China for export to Japan. Squid, octopus, cod, and other fish are also produced into these seasoned and dried products to make snack-type products. "Karashi-mentaiko" is a product made of Alaska pollack with red pepper and salt.

(5) Canned products

Canned fisheries products were the first canned food in Japan. Many fish, crustaceans, and molluscs are used as materials for canning. The most popular canned fish are mackerel, sardine, tuna, skipjack tuna, salmon, saury, and crab (especially snow crab). Seasoning for these materials have changed in accordance with changing consumer tastes. In the past, canned mackerel was in the form of plain boiled fish, seasoned with soy sauce and sugar, or soybean paste but recently the major item of this product is in the form of fillet in oil. Canned sardine is in the form of plain boiled fish, seasoned with sauce, in tomato sauce, seasoned with spices, in oil, etc. Canned salmon and trout and crab take mainly the form of plain boiled.

As another packaging of foods in air-tight containers, retorted foods are increasing in popularity. Japan is one of the most developed countries in the production and sales of retorted foods. However, the major retorted foods in Japan are curry, soup, meat sauce, etc. While this production and packaging method has not been introduced widely for fisheries products, products as home-made cuisines, such as mackerel boiled in soybean paste soup, are retorted. From the nature of retorted foods with their great convenience and preservation for a long period, it is expected that retorted seafoods will certainly increase in the near future.

(6) Frozen fish

This product group consists of various types of frozen fisheries products. First, fresh frozen fish, shellfish, molluscs, etc. are fresh round fish, fillets, surimi, etc., which are frozen at the freezing plant. Some of these frozen fish are thawed and sold at market without any further processing; some are used as materials for processing into various products; and other are sold as frozen fish. Except for imported shrimp and prawn, not many species are sold in frozen form in the Japanese consumer market. Many imported frozen fish are thawed and sold "fresh" in Japan. Fish, which is caught by Japanese distant water fisheries, is frozen on board but many of those fish are sold thawed. Fish, crustaceans, molluscs and others caught by Japan's coastal or offshore fisheries are also distributed in fresh form (with some small quantity in live form). In this sense, the Japanese fish market may be defined as a fresh fish market for round fish, fillets and other. In this group of fisheries products is included salted fish, which is frozen after processing. These products are sold in the consumer market after being thawed.

(7) Production at sea

In addition to various product groups from (1) to (6), fish is frozen on board at sea. Some small quantity of fish is salted on board and fish oil and fertilizers are also produced on board at sea.

Compiled from MAFF, Fisheries Products Distribution Statistics.

4. Japan's Imports of Fish from Canada

made of frozen herring roe, i.e., seasoned herring roe products. The same trend has been observed recently for salted herring roe products. Salted herring roe has been processed into one of the important year-end gift items. However, a noteworthy change in giving gifts at year end and the long-lasting economic slump have led to a decrease in demand for expensive gift boxes made of salted herring roe. Imports of snow crab increased to a historical high of 25,700 mt in 1995 when the Alaskan snow crab fisheries recorded a substantial decrease. Since 1995, however, imports of snow crab continued to decrease. A decrease in landings as well as strong demands in the United States contributed to a decrease in import into Japan. Contrary to these major import items which decreased, shrimp (Pandalus borealis) is an exceptional item, as it has continued to increase noticeably every year.

Table 5 shows the volume of imports of fish by species from Canada in these five years from 1995 to 1999. Based on this chart, the following is an examination of fish and other fisheries products imported from Canada with special reference to usages in Japan by item

Compiled from JMPIA, Japan's Fish Import Statistics.

(1) Fish

Imports of tuna increased sharply in 1999. This increase is attributable to an increase in import of albacore (from British Columbia). Bluefin tuna is one of the most expensive fish in Japan which is consumed in the raw form as sashimi or sushi. Imported in the form of fresh round fish without gills and guts, bluefin is distributed, generally, through a traditional distribution channel involving importers, wholesale market, such as the Tokyo (Tsukiji) Central Wholesale Market, middlemen at the wholesale market (who cut each fish into small portions for distribution) and end users such as Japanese restaurants, sushi restaurants, etc. It is very seldom that this species is processed into any secondary fisheries product. Albacore is a comparatively new import item from Canada. As indicated in Table 1, Japan catches this species in great quantity. Because of its meat color, this species has been regarded as low-priced tuna and used mainly as material for canned tuna under the name of "sea chicken", and not for raw consumption for sushi or sashimi. However, imports of this species from Canada include processed products such as blocks of tuna meat, the surface of which is treated with heat (this type of product is referred to as "tataki" which has been commonly used for skipjack tuna sashimi). Tuna blocks processed this way are ready for serving at restaurants and have a larger value-added than round fish.

Shark

Japan catches various species of shark. The fins of sharks are dried and used as an expensive item for Chinese dishes. Shark meat is processed into surimi and used for some surimi products. There is a very small market in Japan where shark meat is consumed for grilled fish, especially in the Tohoku (north-east) region of Japan. Shark imported from Canada (dog fish) is destined mainly for consumption in this small market. Imported shark is cut into small blocks, grilled by processors located in consumption areas, and retailed at supermarket stores or fish retailers. Because of the size of this special market, there is no prospect for a great increase for this item.

For consumers in Japan, the image of Canada has been inseparably linked with salmon and salmon products. In particular, sockeye and king salmon imported from Canada have enjoyed the highest ranking among salmon imported around the world. While this evaluation has not changed, increased imports of various farmed salmon from Norway, Chile and other countries have changed the basic structure of the Japanese salmon market. Given the decreased landings of sockeye and other wild salmon in Canada (and also unstable landings in Alaska), farmed salmon such as Atlantic salmon, coho and trout farmed in salt water have increased noticeably. While there are many products of salmon in Japan, most popular is "kirimi" (slices). Salmon imported (as well as domestically caught) are sold to processors and cut into kirimi and retailed at supermarket stores, department stores and fish retailers. Atlantic salmon imported from Norway and other countries is retailed mostly under the name "king salmon" as the king salmon has established a good image in Japan and it is difficult for general consumers to distinguish between king salmon and Atlantic salmon. The volume of imports of true king salmon, both wild and farmed, is small. Japanese fish smokers have used sockeye imported from Canada, especially those with high fat content, as material for the top-grade smoked salmon in Japan. Kirimi of Canadian sockeye has been sold at higher prices than Bristol Bay sockeye from Alaska. Up until 1997, imports of salmon from Canada included such value-added products as salmon and salmon fillets salted or in brine. These products have decreased in parallel with the decrease in landings of sockeye. Other processed salmon, such as smoked salmon and canned salmon, have also recorded a substantial decrease. The long-lasting economic recession has adversely affected the market for smoked salmon. Japanese domestic production of smoked salmon has decreased substantially in recent years. As the market for expensive smoked salmon, which is consumed at parties, receptions and other social gatherings, has shrunk substantially under the current economic slump, Japanese smokers have diverted their main product lines into those for the general consumer market by introduction of low-priced smoked salmon using such species like trout. Smoked salmon imported from Canada are mainly sold for gifts and consumption in the conventional food service market, which is another reason why imports of smoked salmon from Canada have decreased noticeably in recent years. While the volume is not large, king salmon imported from Canada has been processed into very expensive salmon flakes in Japan. Salmon flakes are one of the most popular salmon products in Japan. Generally this product is produced using mainly fall chum caught in Japanese waters.

Herring

As indicated in Table 5, most herring from Canada have recently been imported as fillets, rather than round fish. Herring fillets are processed into such products as pickled herring with vegetables and seaweeds in vinegar, soft smoked fillets, etc.. Fillets are also used as materials for "mirin-boshi fillet". "Mirin" (or sweet sake) is a popular seasoning material in Japan and is used widely for production of other fisheries products as well. Fillets are soaked in "mirin" seasoning liquid and dried to make "mirin-boshi". Many other species including mackerel, sardine, etc. are also processed into this type of product.

Sardine (pilchard) is a comparatively new import item from Canada. Recent Japanese catches of sardines have decreased substantially and the import market has been opened for sardine, although the total quantity of imports has still been small compared with other major import items. Imports of sardine from Canada are made in the form of round frozen fish or in the form of buttered and breaded fillets. Some round pilchard with high fat content is used as sashimi for raw consumption.

Mackerel is one of the most popular fish in Japan. Major exporters are Norway and other European countries. Canadian mackerel, which has, generally, lower fat content and slender body than European mackerel, is good for pickled fish with vinegar sauce.

Halibut, sole, flat fish

Halibut imported from Canada is, mainly, Greenland halibut from the eastcoast, in the form of round fish or dressed form. Depending on the size of fish, this species is used for various products. Small sizes are used as materials for salted and dried fish in round form. Larger sizes are cut into kirimi (slices) with or without the skin and retailed at supermarket stores, department stores or fish retailers. Kirimi is cooked in various dishes by consumers. Sole and other flat fish are used for the same purposes as Greenland hallibut.

Rockfish (redfish)

Imports of rockfish from Canada have decreased substantially in recent years. Large sizes of this species are filleted and processed into pickled fish with sake lees or miso paste. This fish is also sliced into kirimi for general consumption. Small sizes are retailed in round form for cooking in soybean sauce or grilling on fire by consumers. This species is also used as material for salted-dried fisheries products.

Capelin

Female capelin with roe is processed into light-salted semi-dried capelin. This product is very popular at the consumer market. The resumption of capelin fisheries in Norway has had adverse effects on imports from Newfoundland. Some large capelin processors in Japan have now processing facilities in China and substantial portion of capelin is shipped directly from Norway, Iceland or Newfoundland to these plants in China for processing and re-exporting products to Japan.

Imported in dressed form, black cod is now an expensive fish in Japan. This species is also sold to general consumers in the form of kirimi or used as pickled fish with sake lees or soybean paste. Japanese consumers like this fish because of its high fat content. Unlike in Canada or the United States, black cod is not smoked in Japan.

Salted herring roe from British Columbia has been one of the most important export items to the Japanese market. This herring roe is processed into salted herring roe products and those packaged in gift boxes have been one of the important year-end gift items. In the long Japanese tradition of eating salted herring roe at the beginning of the year, BC salted herring roe has been evaluated as the best herring roe. Processing into salted herring roe takes place mainly in Hokkaido. In recent years, however, lessened giving due to the Japanese economic slowdown has adversely affected the market for these gift boxes. In order to meet the demand from general consumers, salted herring roe products are packaged in poly-bags and sold at supermarket stores for New Year Day consumption. Low-quality salted herring roe imported from Alaska and Russia is now used for seasoned herring roe products. Salted herring roe products have to be desalted for more than twenty hours before eating. This process of desalting does not match the changing eating habits of Japanese consumers, especially of the young generation. Unlike salted herring roe products, seasoned herring roe products are ready for eating and the market for this product made of Pacific salted herring roe has been expanding. The crunchiness of the Pacific herring roe is also favoured by the Japanese.

Frozen herring roe imported from the eastcoast of Canada is processed into seasoned herring roe products of various product types, such as seasoned with soybean sauce, with tuna flavor, horse radish paste, in a sauce with wine flavor, etc. When imports of frozen herring from Canada peaked at 6,000-8,000 mt per year in the early 90's, there were many processors of these seasoned herring roe products in Japan. However, the demand for these products continued to decrease since 1993 and the number of processors of these products has decreased to several companies, which are mainly located in Hokkaido.

Herring roe on kelp is now imported from BC (and Alaska) and Atlantic Canada. Those imported from BC consist of various grades. High-grade products are consumed at expensive Japanese restaurants and sushi restaurants. Some products other than those high grades are processed into products seasoned with soybean sauce. A substantial portion of herring roe on kelp is cut into a small rectangular shape and sold for use as material for sushi. Imports from Atlantic Canada, which are made artificially using kelp and Atlantic herring roe, are priced much lower than those from BC. Those products are used as materials for sushi, seasoned products, and for sales at supermarket stores. Development of technology of sticking roe to kelp artificially has led to sales of those products from Atlantic Canada at the Japanese market for herring roe on kelp together with those products from British Columbia (and Alaska).

Salmon roe consists of two types of products, i.e., sujiko and ikura. As indicated in Table 2, Japan's imports of sujiko from the world have continued to decrease in recent years but imports of ikura have been increasing. While these two salmon roe products are affected greatly by landings of salmon, the demand for sujiko has declined in the Japanese market. In the MAFF statistics on production of processed fish, a single item "salmon roe" has been split into ikura and sujiko since 1998. Japanese domestic production of ikura and sujiko decreased in 1999 from the previous year because of poorer landings of fall chum in 1999 compared to 1998. The market for sujiko is limited, mainly, to northern Japan while Ikura is now popular throughout Japan. In addition to traditional heavy-salted ikura and sujiko, various types of products, such as those seasoned with soybean sauce, have been introduced into the consumer market. Ikura is used in Japan not only for sushi and sashimi but also for various dishes

Sumiri imported from Canada, which is produced from Pacific whiting (hake), is used as material for various surimi products as mentioned in Section 3-(1) above. Compared with surimi made of Alaska pollack, hake surimi is used generally for lower-priced products.

Homard lobster

Homard lobster is imported into Japan, frozen or in a popsicle package. Most imports under the heading of preserved, prepared or in an airtight container are in a popsicle package. The market for lobster has been adversely affected by the long-lasting economic slump. Many hotels and restaurants have downsized their chefs, especially those who are engaged in pre-cooking work, such as butcher chefs, and the demand has increased for lobster which is processed to the specifications of end users. This trend is anticipated to be stronger for homard lobster.

Species imported from Canada into Japan are northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) from the east coast and spot prawn from British Columbia. These two species are imported frozen. A small quantity of spot prawn is imported live. Almost all spot prawn is used as material for sushi and sashimi. Northern shrimp is imported mainly fresh frozen and boiled frozen. Some small portion is imported as pealed shrimp. Fresh-frozen shrimp is mainly used as material for sashimi and sushi and boiled frozen for seafood salad and material for Chinese cuisine. Northern shrimp is an indispensable item for sushi, with larger-sizes for regular sushi restaurants and smaller sizes for take-out sushi restaurants and less expensive restaurants.

Snow crab imported from the Gulf region of Canada has been ranked as the best snow crab imported around the world and is consumed at hotels, Japanese-style inns, restaurants, and souvenir shops at resort areas, especially in the Hokuriku and San-in regions of the Japan Sea, where Japanese snow crab is caught, as a specialty item for tourists to these regions. However, as the number of tourists to these regions has decreased due to the long-lasting economic slowdown and sales of snow crab imported from Russia to these regions have increased substantially, Japanese importers of Canadian Gulf snow crab have been trying to expand the market into other resort areas and restaurants in big cities. Most snow crab imported from Newfoundland are used mainly as materials for processing into meat but those of good quality are sold to the same market as Gulf snow crab. Snow crab is imported into Japan in sections or whole. Some portion of Newfoundland snow crab purchased by Japanese importers is shipped directly from Canada to China for further processing into meat for re-export to Japanese market. Except for sections used for processing into meat, most sections and round crab are distributed without further processing. Small quantity is imported in the form of preserved or prepared crabmeat products.

Squid

Squid from Canada has been imported in small quantity. Most imports are frozen squid. Squid, one of the most popular fish in Japan, is processed into various products. Those imports from Canada used to be processed into dried squid and smoked products. While Japan catches a large quantity of squid, there is a market for imported squid. The small quantity of imports from Newfoundland of past has been mainly due to the poor catches in recent years.

A very small quantity of frozen mussel has been imported from Canada. However, while it is not possible to specify the actual quantity of imports from the Japanese import statistics, a substantial portion of "molluscs and aquatic invertebrates" included in the category of "preserved, prepared or in airtight container" is mussel packaged in airtight containers (vacuum packages) and frozen. The quality of Canadian mussels is viewed highly by Japanese trade and food service people. Mussels in airtight packages are sold to food services for various dishes.

Sea urchin roe

Sea urchin roe is imported from both coasts of Canada. It is estimated that approximately 70% of the imported fresh sea urchin roe are consumed at sushi restaurants and the rest retailed at supermarket stores, department stores and fish retailers. Less quality sea urchin roe, such as frozen, salted or preserved with alcohol is used as materials for "neri-uni" (kneaded sea urchin roe) products, such as fermented sea urchin roe, and many other products. It is also used as an ingredient for adding sea urchin roe flavor to various products.

The Japanese Food Sanitation Law prohibits the importation into Japan of oysters (either live, fresh or frozen) for raw consumption and a permit by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is essential to import these oysters. After negotiations between the Canadian and Japanese governments for three years, oysters harvested by establishments having leases in British Columbia registered with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have been approved for import into Japan since June 1999. While the import quantity is still small, Canadian oysters have been evaluated as high-quality, safe, and delicious by trade people who tasted them at Foodex and the Tokyo Seafood Show. Oysters for cooked consumption can be imported into Japan in the same manner as other fish, without any such approval mentioned above. Japanese people consume a large quantity of oysters every year in various forms, such as raw, in vinegar- sauce, hot pan with vegetables and other fish, breaded, deep fried, etc. Dense farming in some large farming areas, such as Hiroshima, has led to a decrease in farmed oysters in Japan. As shucked oyster meats are imported from Korea and China in great quantity at low prices, it would be difficult for any Canadian shucked oyster meat to compete with those imports. However, the market for oysters for raw consumption imported from Canada is expected to grow in the near future.

Surf clam (or hokkigai in Japanese) is not specified in the Japanese customs tariff and included in the tariff item called "molluscs and aquatic invertebrates". It is estimated that more than 90% of imports from Canada under this tariff item are surf clam. Surf clam is used for many products such as sushi, sashimi, seafood salad, and material for Japanese and Chinese cuisine.

Whelk

Whelk is not imported into Japan from Canada in a great quantity. However, this mollusc is in strong demand in Japan, as the basis for sashimi and other Japanese dishes and processed fisheries products such as chinmi (seafood delicacy for snacks).

As mentioned in the above in relation to Japan's imports of fish, major species of seaweed which are imported by Japan are wakame and hijiki. Imports of seaweed from Canada as appeared in Table 5 consist of edible seaweeds, whose quantity is much smaller than other, non-edible varieties. The edible seaweed imported from Canada is used as the basis for seaweed salad.

Shells of molluscs and crustaceans

These are used as material for production of chitin and chitosan. Carapace of snow crab is often used as containers for crab meat dishes.

Fisheries products prepared, preserved or in airtight containers

Fisheries products of this group, which are classified as Chapter 16 tariff items in the HS customs book, are value-added products in the true sense. As indicated in Table 5, Japan's imports of fisheries products in this group from Canada are mainly products of salmon, crab, lobster, molluscs (blue mussels), and shrimp and prawn.

Salmon in airtight containers (or canned salmon) was a popular item in the past but poor landings in 1998 and 1999 led to a substantial decrease in imports of canned salmon. Prepared or preserved Canadian crab is also popular. These crab meat products are used for various dishes in Japan. More than 95% of imports of processed lobster products falling under Chapter 16 are frozen lobster in a popsicle package. As mentioned earlier, almost all prepared or preserved molluscs are blue mussels cooked and frozen in a vacuum package. These products have been well accepted by the Japanese food service industry and there is great potential for growth in the near future. Ikura (salmon eggs) have been the largest item among the Chapter 16 items for a long time. The production of ikura has is similar to landings of chum salmon. In the Japanese market, the demand for ikura has become stronger given the decreased landings of Japanese fall chum as well as the increased popularity of this product. Shrimp and prawn products, which fall under Chapter 16, are "shrimp and prawn, simply boiled in water or in brine; chilled or frozen simply boiled in water or in brine".

5. Prospect for Canadian Fish in the Japanese Market Processed Fisheries Products

Items such as snow crab and capelin are shipped directly from Canada to some Asian countries (mainly China and Thailand) for processing into finished products for re-export to Japan. Given the decreasing and rapid ageing workers in the fish processing sector, a trend continues to be strong for moving production of fisheries products to foreign countries (at the present, to Asian countries such as China, Thailand and Vietnam) where good labour forces are available at low labour rates. The potential for processing fisheries products in Canada destined for the Japanese market has been hindered by higher labour rates in Canada than in Asian countries. Despite this, there are many merits for the production of processed fisheries products in Canada. As mentioned above in relation to Albacore tuna and frozen lobster products, the Japanese food service industry is looking for fisheries products for which precooking preparations are not required. This is an opportunity for Canada to produce value-added products of high quality which do not require further processing and do not need to be frozen twice.

In addition to the above, one of the biggest prospects for the Canadian processed fisheries industry for Japanese market will be to use other abundant agricultural resources combined with fish to produce processed products for the Japanese market. One good example of this will be potato croquettes. Japan is a country of huge consumption of croquettes of various types, such as crab croquette, shrimp croquette, beef croquette, crab cream croquette, scallop cream croquette, etc. Potatoes produced in Canada could be combined with various fish, crustaceans or molluscs to make croquettes.

When developing any seafood product for consumption in Canada, the taste of products has always been, and will always be an important matter. The Canadian and Japanese palate is not necessarily the same. In Japan, the diet of the younger generation has been changing from Japan's traditional diet and tastes of even traditional fisheries products have been changing gradually. In addition, eating less and less rice as the main staple in the Japanese diet has contributed to changing tastes for fisheries products or an increasing preference for non-traditional fisheries products.

It would be difficult for Canadian processors of fish to develop any processed seafoods for the Japanese without the input and partnership of the Japanese industry. In any case, it is essential to establish good relation with Japanese companies to develop processed fisheries products for the Japanese market.