Salmon gives Japan fish farmers chance to hook Asian customers

Growing appetite for sashimi means fat profits at home and abroad

Kumada, a sashimi restaurant in Tokyo's Harajuku district, serves a dish with three varieties of salmon that change every month. (Photo by Takumi Sasaki)

TAKUMI SASAKI, Nikkei staff writer

March 6, 2018 13:30 JST

TOKYO -- Salmon has been the favorite fish for diners at conveyor-belt sushi restaurants in Japan for six years running, according to a 2017 survey by seafood processor Maruha Nichiro. Ninety percent of that salmon is imported from Chile and Norway, but its popularity is now spurring domestic fish farming.