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Will the Japanese take to fake fish?
Anxiety over self-sufficiency and dwindling fish stocks spurs manufacturers to cook up plant-based alternatives
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In 2021, Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate stood at 38 per cent – only marginally higher than the record low set in the previous year.
PHOTO: UNSPLASH
Leo Lewis
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For all of its exuberantly vast scale, and all its sumptuous products, and its fizzingly enthusiastic post-pandemic exhibitors, the Foodex 2023 trade show captured Japan at a vulnerable moment.
One exhibit in particular symbolised the issue: three plates of vegan sashimi. They appeared to be displaying delicious raw cuts of real tuna, salmon and squid. But – made purely from vegetable matter – these offerings may have represented the shape of menus to come, and the protection Japan needs against a fish sustainability crisis.
