WHALING: TOUTING HEALTH BENEFITS, JAPAN MARKETS

UNCLAS TOKYO 004424

SIPDIS

STATE FOR D, G and OES/OA - MHAYES/JFIELD AND EAP/J
USDOC FOR NOAA/NMFS - US IWC COMMISSIONER HOGARTH AND
McCARTHY

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV EFIS KSCA IWC JA ETRD
SUBJECT: WHALING: TOUTING HEALTH BENEFITS, JAPAN MARKETS
WHALE MEAT TO CAFETERIA INDUSTRY

REF: A) 05 TOKYO 2193; B) 05 TOKYO 2932;
C) 05 TOKYO 6131; D) 06 TOKYO 2073; E) 06 TOKYO 2229
F) 06 TOKYO 2848; G) 06 TOKYO 2965


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SUMMARY
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1. In an effort to develop consumer demand for its
increasing stockpile of whale meat (refs),the GOJ-linked
"Geishoku Labo" (Whale Food Lab) held a whale tasting and
lecture on July 27 in downtown Tokyo. From more than
thirty recipes that Geishoku Labo created, the company
offered sashimi (raw whale meat),whale fries, and whale
meatballs. In opening presentations, nutrition experts
contended that whale meat helps prevent heart disease,
Alzheimer's disease and other illnesses while they
deflected criticism that much whale meat is laden with
toxic pollutants. The company intends to target the
institutional market by emphasizing the health benefits
of whale meat. END SUMMARY

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"Geishoku Labo": GOJ-Created Marketing Company
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2. The whale meat marketing company Geishoku Labo began
operations on May 1, 2006 with former marketing
consultant Hiroshi Nakada as president. The idea for the
company was cooked up during the past year by a whale
meat promotion advisory committee, created by the
Fisheries Agency of Japan (FAJ) and the GOJ funded
Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR). The committee,
whose other members included a director at Rakuten (a
Japanese online merchandiser) and a fisheries products
manager at a major Japanese supermarket chain, met six
times to explore ways of promoting the consumption of
whale meat. The product of these deliberations, Geishoku
Labo, is a limited liability company capitalized with Yen
one million (USD 9,000) of Nakada's own money. The
company has borrowed Yen 25 million (USD 225,000) in
operating funds from the ICR, and started with five
employees.


3. Nakada's strategy is to "forget the traditional
clich about whale meat" -- its connection to Japanese
culture, or the debate on whether whale meat is delicious
or not. In a conversation with EST FSN, he emphasized
the healthy benefits of whale meat -- low cholesterol,
high protein, and rich in iron, minerals, and the
"healthy oils" EPA and DHA. Using this angle, he intends
to target the institutional market including direct sales
to hospitals, company cafeterias and home delivery
services. He claimed that the whale meat market, with
its supply determined annually, needed the stable demand
provided by institutional buyers. Owing to expanding
research whaling, the whale meat supply in Japan will
increase to a total of 8,000 tons in 2006, from 1,700-
1,800 tons in the 1990s. Nakada also plans to expand
online, direct-to-consumer marketing.

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MARKETING STRATEGY: HEALTH BENEFITS AND NEW RECEIPES
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4. The July 27 event, attended by fifty representatives
from the cafeteria industry and press, highlighted
Nakada's strategy of emphasizing the health benefits of
whale meat. In his opening remarks, Haruo Horiuchi,
Managing Director for the Japan Industrial Food Service
Association, noted that whale meat from research whaling
is traceable, which is inline with the association's
principle of country/area-of-origin labeling. In
following lectures on nutrition, Kazunaga Yazawa,
Professor of Health Food Science at Tokyo University of
Marine Science and Technology, emphasized that whale meat
contains abundant amounts of balenine (which he claimed
increases physical strength),collagen and coenzyme Q10.
He went on to say that some parts of whale meat contain
more EPA (helps prevent heart diseases) and DHA (helps
prevent Alzheimer's disease) than tuna.


5. The participants were then served three whale meat
sample dishes: sashimi (raw whale meat),whale fries, and
whale meatballs. Nakada explained that the company has
come up with more than 30 recipes, such as one for a
hamburger patty, consisting of 20 percent whale meat, 70
percent chicken and 10 percent blubber. He claimed the
"whaleburger" costs the same as a one made of pork
(around USD 1),while its EPA/DHA content makes it much
more nutritious. According to a Geishoku Labo Public
Relations employee, numerous attendees ordered the
company's sample whale meat and said they would like to
see an increase in the whale meat supply. He stressed
that the unique nature of whale meat -- that it can be
used like fish or meat -- would enable the cafeteria
industry to offer more varied menus. Geishoku Labo
purchases whale meat directly from the ICR and sells red
meat at ICR-determined prices: red meat at Yen 2,243 (USD
19) per kilogram, breast meat at Yen 1,725 (USD 15),
shredded meat at Yen 1,725 (USD 15),all from Sei, minke,
and other whales.

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POLLUTANT LEVELS DOWNPLAYED
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6. In response to questions about the PCB and mercury
content of whale meat, the ICR contends that the level of
these pollutants in red meat, blubber and kidneys of
minke whales from the Antarctic Ocean are all below the
level that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
(MHLW) regards as safe. However, the mercury level in
sperm whales in the Northwestern Pacific far exceeds the
MHLW standards, and the ICR does not sell sperm whale
meat at the time.


7. Regarding labeling the origin of whale meat, according
to Nanami Kurasawa, Secretary General for the Dolphin and
Whale Action Network, a Tokyo-based anti-whaling NGO, the
July 2002 revision of the Japan Agricultural Standards
Law has led to decreased false labeling. The revision
stipulates that for fresh food (such as fish and whale),
vendors must display the place where it was caught. In
accordance with the law, Geishoku Labo labels the ocean
(the Antarctic Ocean or the Northwestern Pacific Ocean)
and month/year when the whale was caught on each box of
whale meat.

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COMMERCIAL WHALING BY 2009?
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8. While the results of the GOJ's marketing initiative
have yet to be seen, given the diverse tastes of Japanese
consumers, whale meat could find its place as a niche
market. In response to such expected demand, FAJ Far
Seas Fisheries Division's Deputy Director Hideki Moronuki
remarked at the whale tasting event that his own wishful
thinking is to resume commercial whaling by 2009.
However, whether it is possible to do so without
government subsidies remains to be seen, and will depend
largely on the success of the GOJ's marketing
initiatives.

SCHIEFFER