About the Report 

From being among the world largest producers and consumers of fish, in recent years Japan has become one of its largest importers, with a current seafood self-sufficiency ratio declined to 59%, and a parallel continuous reduction in domestic consumption, overtaken since the early 2000s by meat consumption.

This report, far from being exhaustive of a vast topic, with its different approaches and visions of the future, chained problematics and, more or less successful, attempts to find solutions, will focus on: 

• An account of fish, seafood and seaweed popularity in Japanese history;
• Japan’s market current position in the international context;
• Japan’s major producers and market players;
• Some of the problems affecting Japan’s fishing industry and how governmental and grassroot initiatives try to address them.
• Opportunities for collaboration between responsible EU and Japanese players.    

About the Experts: Renata Piazza, freelance researcher and project manager. Independent Sustainability Consultant, Cultural Bridge, Project Manager. Born in Sicily, BA in Japanese Culture, MSc in Politics of Asia, Renata has lived for more than three decades between the UK, Spain and Japan, before returning to her homeland in 2020 where she is working mainly in Project Management and research. Founder and President of Hasekura Program (a best-practices exchange and educational platform), since 2012 Renata has been advising SMEs, start ups, local administrations and academia on social innovation, environmental sustainability and the planning of a socio-economic model fit for postgrowth societies.