JAPAN
Something's fishy
T
hc cou nrry that brought thc world sushi and
sashimi - bOl h mad e using ra w fish - is tum-
ing away from traditio nal scafood. Per capita fish
consumption in Japan has droppcd sharply, and is
now be\ow meat consu mption. Indeed. thc average
monthly househotd spending on fish has fallen by 23
per cent since 2000.
"(love fish ing, but I hOlte fish," 14-ycar-old Yuta
I(su no rold The Wall Street journal. "T hey smelJ
fishy, 3nd I don't like their ~."
Thc teenager is not alane: j apancse children are
leading the down ward trend, prcfcrring Western
favaurircs like spaghen i insrcad. As a resu lt. thc gov-
ernment is seek ing ways of convindng k ids that fish
is cool, induding send ing rock musicians imo super-
ma rkers to sjoe tbe prajses of seafood. One of rbem
is Tsurizao Morira, lead singer and "ca pm in " of tbe
band Gyoko (w b ieb means "fisbing POrt"'), bimsclf
a former I.l.lD..a fisbcrman.
"Our mission is to b ring back fish to thc J apancse
table," says j\llorita, who wear s areal tuna head on
stage and chops i r imo td.i.1lli:. picees for h is youthful
audjenees.
The governmem is also trying {O promote the
healrh benefirs of earing fish, wh ich eomains sub-
stanees essential ro hean a nd brain d evelopment. fll
fur those annoyjn" banes, the Japa nese fisberies mjn-
~ has put a positive il2.ill on thc situation by not-
ing that learning how to carefully rClllove fjsh banes
from their food helps ehildren use their chopsricks
more skilfully.[r[l Listen to thls text on Business Spotlight Audio
Twenty-one per cent 01 lirms in the
Netherlands and Spain say they have
incr8ased the number olleadership
programmes they offer to warnen. This
cornpares to 7 per cent 01 British lirms and
6 per cent 01 firms i n Germany.~; ·Wom.n~...d ~' • • Merch 2(1.
llIIDU ........... ~f _ (^20) Acx:antu count,; •.. • lwwwby th. .8'Gb.' .~ .... .m.nt.
Good, and
good for yoo:
fltll at a
Japanes e
market
t
4/