To "Blue Ocean", an oyster in the disaster area, March 2, 16:05

Ten years ago, the Great East Japan Earthquake severely damaged the fishing industry in Miyagi Prefecture, which is said to be one of the leading in Japan, and I, who was interviewing at a base in Kesennuma City, witnessed the terrible damage.

A fisherman in Miyagi prefecture has sought to overcome this crisis.

We turned our attention to a new market that we call the "Blue Ocean".

(Hanoi bureau chief going down the road)

Departure from crisis

Shinji Takada, one of the fisheries workers who was severely damaged by the earthquake.

In 2008, I established a company in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, which handles wholesale and processing of marine products such as oysters and scallops, but three years later I encountered an earthquake.

It is said that the company's factory was hit by the tsunami, the building was partially destroyed, the equipment became unusable, and even the business was closed.

Even so, boosted by the enthusiasm of employees who wanted to work, about a month after the earthquake, processing resumed at a part of the factory.

While working to revitalize the company, I had a strong sense of crisis about the growing movement to stop aquaculture among the fishermen of our business partners.

Oyster production 30% before the earthquake ...

The fishing industry was hit hard by the earthquake, but in reality, it faced challenges even before the earthquake.

The domestic market is shrinking due to the aging of fishermen, the shortage of fishermen, and the era of declining population.

It was the earthquake that made it even worse.

The production of oysters, a specialty of Miyagi prefecture, also reflects this difficult situation.

The production of oysters in the prefecture has decreased by 70% compared to before the earthquake at the time of the adulthood.

After the earthquake, oyster farmers, who were already aging, went out of business one after another.

Furthermore, the labor shortage is becoming more serious at the processing site.

Most oysters in Miyagi prefecture are shipped in the state of "peeled oysters" that are taken out of their shells, and people called "peeled oysters" who perform such work are indispensable.

However, many of the affected "Mukiko" moved inland due to relocation to higher ground, making it difficult to secure human resources.

The number of oyster farmers is said to have decreased to less than half after the earthquake, which is a major cause of the decline in production.

One of the fishermen's cooperative officials said, "Miyagi oysters are shipped only in the winter season, and the facilities for peeling the shells, the processing of the shells, and the labor cost of" Mukiko "are also required, so the management is originally difficult. Only those who have the money survived after the tsunami. "

Call overseas sales channels

How to overcome this situation.

Mr. Takada paid attention to the development of overseas sales channels.

I heard that the demand for marine products is increasing overseas as a healthy protein to replace meat.

Mr. Takada thought that developing overseas sales channels would be the key to connecting the fishing industry in the disaster area to the future while the domestic market had peaked.

Target is "local market"

Furthermore, we found that there are some advantages in developing overseas markets over domestic markets.

This is what you can expect from "shelled" exports.

Overseas, it is not uncommon to have a culture of preferring oysters with shells, as represented by the Western "oyster bar".

Furthermore, if you can export oysters with shells, you can save the trouble of "bare" and no labor costs.

Moreover, if you freeze oysters with shells, you can export oysters from Miyagi prefecture even when the ban on stripped oysters has not been lifted.

Vietnam is one of the countries that has succeeded in developing a market for this frozen oyster with shells.

Vietnam maintained positive growth last year despite the impact of the new coronavirus on the global economy.

The purchasing motivation of the middle class is also increasing.

Mr. Takada participated in an export business meeting held in Vietnam six years ago.

I was surprised that the oysters produced in Miyagi prefecture were nearly twice as large as the local oysters, and I felt a response.

At first, Mr. Takada was thinking of exporting through a trading company through already developed sales channels such as Japanese supermarkets and restaurants with many Japanese customers.

However, we found that demand was limited, the amount that could be exported was not so large, and that it competed with well-known marine products from Hokkaido, so we thought that entry was not realistic.

Therefore, we decided to develop sales channels aiming at the so-called "local market" such as local restaurants used by Vietnamese people.

Remind local partners

However, it is not easy to develop sales channels in countries with different food cultures and customs.

Therefore, Mr. Takada helped a local partner.

Mr. Takada's partner was Mr. Hwang Bang Lan (36), whom he met at a local business meeting.

He studied at a graduate school in Japan, had experience running a Japanese restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, and had connections to restaurants that locals attend.

In addition, Mr. Ran had a strong desire to become a bridge between Japan and Vietnam.

So Takada decided to invite Ran to Miyagi.

We had them actually see the site damaged by the earthquake and interact directly with the fishermen.

He carefully conveyed the current situation of oyster farming in the disaster area, fishermen aiming for reconstruction, and Mr. Takada's thoughts.

After that, Mr. Ran was appointed as the person in charge of the local corporation.

Mr. Ran did his best to sell Miyagi oysters to a local restaurant.

As a result, sales channels are steadily expanding.

Exports of oysters to Vietnam reached 42 tons in the nine months from April to December last year, already nearly 1.5 times that of the previous year.

Territorial principle

Another thing that Mr. Takada has valued is respect for the "local style."

For example, how to eat oysters.

In Vietnam, one of the typical ways to eat oysters is to put onions on oysters with shells, grill them, sprinkle with garlic and peanuts, and sprinkle with sweet and spicy sauce.

In Japan, it may be said that "the taste of oysters is ruined", but if you do not respect the local common sense that has a different food culture from Japan, chances will not expand.

Mr. Takada

"How do you find a restaurant that local people often go to and how to capture the demand? The local market has the appeal of expanding the possibilities forever, depending on your efforts. It is exactly" Blue Ocean "(= An undeveloped market with no competitors) "

"Corona shock" was also supported by overseas sales channels

The overseas sales channels that have been steadily nurtured have saved the company's predicament even in the event of a corona virus.

When an emergency was declared in Japan last April, demand dropped sharply and domestic shipments were hit hard.

The company's performance fell into the red in April and May.

Regarding exports, it was initially stopped due to the spread of infection, but in May, an overseas buyer contacted Mr. Takada saying, "You can move toward exports."

The company's business performance returned to profitability in June as it was able to export domestic marine products that had lost its place to overseas.

After the earthquake, the overseas sales channels that we had steadily built up supported the management of the company and protected the marine products of our business partners.

Export destinations of marine products such as oysters now cover 13 countries and regions, and last year's sales amounted to more than 136 million yen, accounting for 30% of the company's total sales.

A new step from the reconstruction of the disaster area

Mr. Takada built a foothold overseas in the wake of the earthquake.

He talks about his dream of continuing to develop overseas markets, which he calls the "Blue Ocean," and eventually developing the fishing industry into a "earning" industry.

It has been 10 years since the earthquake.

I felt that a new step in the Japanese fishing industry had begun from the port town that had risen from the damage caused by the tsunami.

Hanoi bureau chief

Michishita voyage

Joined in 2009

Sendai bureau, after working in the international department,

incumbent from 2019