Japanese fish farmers are ready to help Taiwan after China banned Taiwanese grouper imports, the Sankei Shimbun reported yesterday.
The Chinese General Administration of Customs suspended imports of the fish on Monday last week, citing prohibited chemicals and excessive levels of oxytetracycline allegedly found in grouper imports since December last year.
Soichiro Hayashi, president of the Hayashi Trout Farm in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture, is leading the push for Taiwanese grouper imports, the newspaper said.
Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
His call has caught the attention of several large sushi chains, the report said.
Hayashi, who is the Fukushima branch head of the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association in Japan, is supportive of Taiwan and wants to return Taiwan’s kindness after it helped with relief efforts after the March 11, 2011, earthquake, the report said.
Fish from disaster-stricken areas were difficult to sell immediately after the earthquake, given fears of radiation after the meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, Hayashi told the Sankei Shimbun.
“The feeling of not being able to sell the fish that you work so hard to breed resonated with me,” he said.
Former minister of foreign affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山), who heads the Friends of Shinzo Abe Association, established this month, introduced Hayashi to fish farmers in Pingtung County, the newspaper said.
Hayashi plans to import two to three tonnes of grouper samples for restaurateurs, and hopes to send a group to Taiwan to inspect the farms’ conditions before importing larger quantities, it said.
Grouper fish is delicious and many Japanese would support Taiwan in this cause as it fights Chinese oppression, Hayashi told the newspaper, adding that the “democratic fish” could become a trend and add to demand.
Chen Chien-han (陳建翰), a fish farmer in Pingtung, yesterday said that he is grateful for Hayashi’s gesture.
“It is a cycle of kindness,” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said yesterday, adding that Japanese businesses are looking for opportunities to help Taiwan.
The Tokyo-based Taiwan Trade Center has contacted several aquatic product importers and traders to arrange a deal, director Raymond Chen (陳英顯) said.
The high price of grouper is its largest obstacle when exporting to Japan, given that Japanese have a wide variety of fish to choose from, Chen said, adding that imported fish is rarely seen in Japan apart from cod and salmon.
Meanwhile, Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Chairman Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) is planning to visit Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi in Japan this week to exchange views on issues of mutual concern, sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Su is also scheduled to visit the Hayashi Trout Farm during his trip and attend events to promote Taiwanese grouper, they said.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source