As Exports to China Blocked Due to Contaminated Water... Japanese Prisoners Processing 'Garibi' Scallops

Processed in China with low labor costs but banned due to trade restrictions
Japan's alternative amid "labor shortage"... "Peeling scallop shells"

Amid China's complete suspension of Japanese seafood imports due to the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the Japanese government has decided to add scallop processing work, previously carried out in China, to the labor tasks performed by inmates in domestic prisons.

On the 19th, the Mainichi Shimbun reported that senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Justice met with a senior member of the Liberal Democratic Party the previous day to explain this policy. The plan is to add "scallop processing" to the tasks performed by inmates in Japanese prisons, primarily involving peeling scallop shells.

Before China imposed the seafood import ban, it was Japan's largest export market for scallops. Japan caught scallops and shipped them to China, where processing was done locally at lower labor costs before being sold on the global market. Of the 143,000 tons of scallops Japan exports to China, 67% (96,000 tons) are frozen scallops including shells. Some of the scallops peeled in China are then re-exported to the United States.

However, due to China's import ban following the Fukushima contaminated water discharge, Japanese companies can no longer utilize Chinese processing plants, creating a situation where scallop processing must be handled domestically in Japan.

Currently, Japan faces a shortage of labor for processing tasks due to low birth rates and an aging population. Therefore, it appears the Japanese government has devised an alternative by having prison inmates perform this work.

Japanese scallops piled up in a warehouse due to China's seafood import ban. (Photo by NHK)

Processing scallops within prisons cannot meet the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) food safety certification required for exports to the United States or Europe, so additional measures are necessary. Accordingly, the Japanese government plans to dispatch inmates who meet certain conditions, such as parole eligibility, to processing factories to perform the work. In Japan, inmates who meet specific criteria can commute to private-sector workplaces outside correctional facilities without prison guards and engage in work.

Mainichi explained, "While the business operators must pay wages to the state, there is an advantage in that welfare costs and insurance premiums required for regular workers are not incurred."

The scallop processing work by inmates is expected to take place mainly in the Hokkaido region, as Hokkaido accounted for 425,000 tons of the 512,000 tons of scallops produced in Japan last year.

A senior official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries told Mainichi, "The important thing is local understanding. It is about supporting social reintegration. We want to coordinate first with businesses that volunteer."

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