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Japan Will Task Prison Inmates to Shuck Scallops — Because China Won’t
Desperate times call for desperate measures. In Japan’s case, that means using prisoners as scallop-shuckers.
By Himari Semans
Japan relied on China to shuck its scallops for foreign exports. But China’s recent ban on Japanese seafood imports changed all that. Now, Japan’s government is looking to the country’s prison inmates to take over the task.
Officials consider dispatching inmates
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) is reportedly cooperating with the Ministry of Justice to task prison inmates with shucking scallops. It’s a job China had taken care of. That was until it banned all seafood imports from Japan following the Fukushima water release this summer.
Exiting a cabinet meeting last week, MAFF Minister Ichiro Miyashita (宮下一郎) confirmed the plan to reporters on October 20th. “(We are) cooperating with the Ministry of Justice to weigh the possibility of dispatching (inmates) outside the prison.”
Officials say that shucking scallops on prison grounds is not an ideal option. Such produce will not qualify for the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Certification, an internationally recognized standard for food safety.
Inmates leaving prison grounds for manual labor is not unheard of for those on karihomen (仮放免) status, or provisional release.
Unwanted scallops
Before the Fukushima wastewater release began on August 24th, China was Japan’s biggest market for seafood. Half of that was for scallops.
Japan’s domestic production of scallops in 2022 amounted to 5.12 million tons of which 83% came from Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. Approximately 28% worth ¥14.7 billion (over $98 million USD) went to China where up to 40 thousand scallops were shucked for U.S.-bound shipments.
