Nordic Innovation in Sustainable #Seafoodtech
On December 16 2020, NIH-TYO held its first event completely in Japanese, introducing Nordic Innovation in Sustainable Seafoodtech to stakeholders in Japan.
Nordics and Japan share a common geographical condition that we live close to the ocean. For over centuries, the ocean has been a great part of our culture, international relations, and much more, and we have benefit tremendously from it. However, in recent years the ocean has been in danger by multipul human caused reasons. This seminar aims to exchange thoughts and experiences among stakeholders on how to protect and co exist with the ocean, an important and common resource for all human beings.
The Nordics are top runners in the field of sustainable use of ocean resources and ocean development. We look forward to share latest trends in Nordic’s ocean economy and innovative technologies.
<Agenda>
First a welcome speech from the Norwegien Ambassador, Inga M.W. Nyhamar. The Ambassador addressed the importance of cooperation among relevant states in protecting the ocean.
Second a breif introduction of NIH-TYO by Niklas Karvonen, Community Director.
Then we had a couple of presentation to introduce the situation of Japanese seafood and fishery industry. First by Kawagoe Tetsuro from Japan Fisheries Association, presenting the Trends in Japnaese Seafood Market.
Followed by Yosuke Ochi from the Fisheries Agency to discuss about the Uniqueness of Japanese fisheries and Trends in Technological Developments.
Next we had the Nordic representatitves to discuss the situation in their country.
1 ) Michal Berg, Norwegian Embassy Trade and Technology Office (Innovation Norway)
2 ) Ryosuke Hosaka, Embassy of Iceland Commerce and Communication Officer
3 ) Miho Matsumoto, Royal Danish Embassy Senior Commercial & Agricultural Officer
Lastly we had an active Q&A session.
Q：What are ways to enhance collaboration between Japan and Nordics?
A：
Hosaka: “A key would be searching a way to collaborate in emplyoment in the fishery industry”.
Ochi: “Reaching out to the Nordic market”.
Kawagoe: “To know each other’s fishery culture better”.
Berg: “Exchanging experiences and ideas are important. This event was a great initiative by NIH-TYO that they provided us a platform to do so. I hope this continues. Collaborating to achieve the SDGs is another important way”.
Q：
I hear that fishery is a popular job in Nordics. What could be some advices that Japan can take in?
A：
Hosaka: “There are quite a lot of employees in the fishery industry as the industry counts up to 40% of the national balance. They are hired by companies (where as in Japan a large portion of them are self employed) so their income and employment status is stable. It is not rare to have more than 10M JPY of annual income. Iceland Ocean Cluster is an incubation center which supports fishery related startups”.
Berg: “In Norway fishery is known as a rewarding job which requires both technical skills (enginering, maneuvering)and physical strength. Income si stable and high , and there are also many startups related to the industry by the young generation”.
Q：
In Japan it is common to rely on subsidies when developing new technologies. How is it in the Nordics?
A：
Berg: “There are no particular subsidies for fishery employees, but there are supports in developing hybrid and electric vessels. Green Solution and SDGs are big motivations for developers”.
Hosaka: “Same as Norway, no particular subsidies for fishery employees. Investment towards new technologies are done through Ocean Cluster. ”
Q：
What are the biggest obstacles or issues for Japan and Nordics in realizing sustainable fishery?
A：
Hosaka: “Environment issues. The glacier melting is affecting our TAC (total allowable catch) each year. New technologies which combats environment issues and enable to achieve SDGs are becoming more and more important.”
Ochi: “Environment issues indeed. Japan will be involved even more in this area.”
Kawagoe: “To know more about each other”.
Berg: “Tackling environmental issues”.
Finally there was a short networking session for those physical at the Aurora Hall of the Norwegian Embassy (this event was a hybrid event).
Thank you for reading to the end. To learn more, please watch the recording of the event.
Event report in Japanese is available here. For further inquiries about the presentations, please see the contact information here.
Nordic Innovation House Tokyo is a community platform accelerating high-quality Nordic startups, scale-ups, and growth companies to Japan. Via our strong community and network, we connect Nordic companies to the right ecosystem stakeholders 🗼
ノルディックイノベーションハウス東京は、北欧５カ国のスタートアップ及び成長企業の日本進出を支援する、コミュニティプラットフォームです。強力なコミュニティとネットワークを生かして、北欧企業と日本のステークホルダーを繋いでいきます。
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