Japan promotes fishery products at event in Brazil

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 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 of treated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean.

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 the potential for further economic growth.

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

In addition to scallop ramen, buri daikon (simmered yellowtail with radish) and other Japanese dishes, and 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 did not require any additional seasoning as they were already rich in flavor.

The Japanese ministry’s Daisuke Asano said that Tokyo would step up efforts to sell more Japanese fishery products to Brazil.

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

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