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In the wake of China’s import ban on Taiwan grouper, help has been offered from Japan. A Fukushima-based fish farm wants to help Taiwan sell grouper in Japan. According to the Sankei Shimbun, the fish farm operator wants to repay Taiwan for its kindness after the Tohoku earthquake. The operator has already found several Japanese sushi chains that want to try out Taiwan’s grouper.

According to the Council of Agriculture, Taiwan exported 6,681 metric tons of grouper in 2021. Only 2 metric tons of that was exported to Japan. But in the wake of China’s ban on Taiwan grouper, a Japanese entrepreneur is looking to help the fish make inroads in Japan.

According to Akio Yaita, head of the Sankei Shimbun’s Taipei bureau, help was offered by the head of Hayashi Trout Farm, a major Fukushima-based operation. The owner wished to repay Taiwan for helping Japan after the Tohoku earthquake. Following the earthquake and its nuclear disaster, his products were shunned by a fearful market. The entrepreneur said he knew what it was like to be rejected for political reasons, and that he wanted to help Taiwan grouper enter the Japanese market. So far, he’s already found several sushi chains that want to try out the fish, he said.

Voice of Akio Yaita
Sankei Shimbun Taipei office head
He is the head of the largest fish farm in Japan. Basically, all Japanese fish sellers are his sales channels. So he is at the center, and he’s inviting everyone to buy. In the past, we hadn’t really seen Taiwanese businesses make a push into the Japanese market. But I think this will change in the future.

Wang Chih-sheng
Taiwan Society of Japan Studies
Whenever anything happens to Taiwan, Japan steps forward to provide its full support. Since the Tohoku earthquake, we’ve seen such a friendship between Taiwan and Japan. In the past, we’ve had trouble exporting giant grouper to Japan, mainly because this fish eats algae, and there are concerns about potential toxins. But the reality is that Taiwan’s breeding technology is excellent and fully meets the highest standards. I think that in the future, the Taiwanese grouper industry will have very great business opportunities in Japan.

According to the COA, Japan’s main concern over Taiwan grouper is algal toxins. But in Taiwan, exported grouper is farmed and raised on commercial fish feed. The COA says that with more bilateral communication, Taiwan grouper can have tremendous potential in Japan.