Even with Doubts About Japanese Seafood... Imports of Japanese Beer Have Tripled

Minimum Japanese Seafood Imports Since Contaminated Water Discharge
Meanwhile, Beer Imports Surge 323.7% Over One Year

As of last month, the scale of seafood imports from Japan to South Korea has declined for five consecutive months. This is interpreted as increased anxiety caused by Japan's decision to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This contrasts with the 16 consecutive months of rising imports of Japanese beer.

According to trade statistics from the Korea Customs Service on the 18th, the import volume of Japanese seafood in August was 1,622 tons (t). This represents a 24.9% decrease compared to the same month last year, and the import value also dropped by 34.8% to 7.81 million USD (approximately 10.37 billion KRW). Thus, both the import volume and value of Japanese seafood have decreased for five consecutive months.

Japanese beer displayed at a convenience store.

The discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant appears to have fueled public anxiety. The decline in import value last month, when ocean discharge began, was the steepest this year.

In particular, the import value of Japanese seafood last month recorded the lowest level in two years since August 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was 7.57 million USD (approximately 10.04 billion KRW).

However, the anxiety toward Japanese seafood does not seem to have translated into a general backlash against all Japanese brands. For example, the import volume of Japanese beer last month reached 8,644 tons, soaring by 323.7% compared to the same period last year. In terms of import value, it increased by 393.3% to 7.48 million USD (approximately 9.9 billion KRW).

The so-called 'No Japan' boycott movement that erupted in response to Japan's export restrictions in 2019 [Image source=Online Community]

This pattern contrasts with the anti-Japanese boycott movement triggered after the Japanese government’s export restrictions on key semiconductor materials in July 2019. At that time, the import value of Japanese beer, which was 4 million USD (approximately 530 million KRW), sharply plummeted to 223,000 USD (approximately 300 million KRW) one month after the export restrictions.

In September, it dropped further to 6,000 USD (approximately 7.95 million KRW), reaching a level where imports were virtually negligible.

Japanese beer imports only exceeded 1 million USD per month for the first time since the boycott in March last year, when the boycott enthusiasm began to subside, recording 1.503 million USD (approximately 2 billion KRW).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.