On the 10th, Chinese news website Guancha.cn published a commentary article titled 'Japanese people have been eating Chinese eels for 30 years, yet they are trying to strangle us?'

The article explained that '99% of kabayaki eels sold in Japan are supplied from China, and about 80% of live eels are also imported from China. For this reason, Japan has aimed to build an industrial chain that does not rely on Chinese eels for the past 30 years.' It pointed out, 'Last month, finally, fully farmed eels appeared in stores in Japan. The price is 9,720 yen for two eels, which is 3 to 4 times the price of wild eels. However, the annual production capacity is only 10,000 eels, which cannot even cover a small portion of the Japanese eel market, which is said to have an annual demand of about 100 million eels.'

Furthermore, it questioned, 'What is Japan so anxious about?' and mentioned, 'The biggest reason Japan has rushed to establish full-cycle aquaculture technology for eels is its strong dependence on Chinese eels.' It emphasized, 'Japan, which once pioneered the development of the aquaculture industry, saw its aquaculture production volume, which was approximately 40,000 tons in 1989, decline with the subsequent decrease in glass eel resources. Now, almost all kabayaki eels circulating in the market are Chinese-produced. In Japan, cases of selling Chinese eels disguised as Japanese eels have also been uncovered, indicating the reality that the country cannot break its dependence on Chinese products in terms of consumption.'

Then, it stated, 'Full-cycle aquaculture is expected to be the trump card to fundamentally change this situation,' and added, 'In projects led by the Japanese government, the commercialization of artificially bred eels that do not rely on wild glass eels is being promoted. If full-cycle aquaculture is realized, Japan can not only break away from dependence on natural resources but also gain an advantage from the perspective of environmental protection. In recent years, international pressure for eel resource protection has also intensified, making the detachment from dependence on wild juveniles an important issue.'

On the other hand, it also pointed out, 'The reality is harsh. Japan's annual production capacity for fully farmed eels is currently only 10,000 eels, and while there are plans to expand it to 100,000 eels by 2028, it is far from meeting demand. Furthermore, production costs are said to be 3 to 4 times higher than aquaculture using wild juveniles, leaving significant challenges for mass production and cost reduction.'

The article mentioned that in recent years, consecutive achievements in full-cycle eel aquaculture technology have been reported in China. It introduced that at the end of May, a research team from Jimei University (Fujian Province) overcame challenges with early feed for glass eels, extending the survival period of artificially hatched larvae to over 40 days; a team from China's East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute successfully hatched over 3 million larvae in total, with some feeding also confirmed; and Shanghai Ocean University established a breeding process using an inland artificial seawater recirculation system.

It also stated that 'the offensive of Chinese companies is conspicuous in the industrial sector,' and mentioned that Tianma Tech, China's largest eel aquaculture company, launched its own brand 'Gohobi Unagi' (Reward Eel) in Tokyo last year and started sales in supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide in partnership with a major Japanese food wholesaler. It emphasized, 'Until now, China has leveraged low prices and mass supply as its strengths, but in recent years, it has also embarked on brand strategies. China's presence is steadily growing in both technological development and brand expansion.'

The article stated, 'Over these 30 years, Japan has taken three measures: controlling imports through quarantine regulations, maintaining price-setting power through added value from brand strength, and aiming for full-cycle aquaculture through national projects. At the root of these is Japan taking the lead. China is also responding to this, steadily strengthening the breeding sector, which has been considered a weakness. This pattern applies not only to eels but also to other products: no matter how strong downstream industries become, if one does not control the seeds and seedlings oneself, others will seize the initiative.'

It then argued, 'A single eel has migrated through the Earth's oceans for 200 million years, puzzling Aristotle and frustrating the young Freud. Despite humanity having eaten eels for over 2,000 years, its reproductive mechanism has not been fully elucidated. The eel is placed within a 30-year industrial competition between Japan and China. The eel simply swims to the Mariana Trench, spawns, and ends its life. Humans, however, are different. Humans have the power to choose. And Chinese people have no intention of ceding that initiative to the Japanese.' (Translation/Editing: Kitada)