Trying to help Fukushima farmers overcome negative publicity from the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, some major retailing chains are proudly and confidently selling produce and rice from that prefecture.
Trying to help Fukushima farmers overcome negative publicity from the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, some major retailing chains are proudly and confidently selling produce and rice from that prefecture.
The retailing giant Aeon Co. will hold a two-day event from Nov. 29 at 11 outlets in the Tokyo metropolitan area to sell Fukushima-grown rice and apples.
"Rather than say the food is dangerous or safe because it is from Fukushima, we want our customers to buy safe products like those from other areas," an official with Aeon Retail Co. said.
Company officials said all the produce had been tested for radiation and found to be under the levels measurable by the detection equipment used.
Regardless of origin, the policy at Aeon is not to sell any produce found to be contaminated with radiation.
The supermarket chain Ito-Yokado Co. began a sales campaign from Nov. 7 supporting produce grown in Fukushima and its outlets have been selling rice and beef.
The rice is identified as being from Koriyama. However, company officials said there has been no effect on rice sales even after reports that rice grown in the Onami district of Fukushima city were found to have levels of radioactive cesium that exceeded government standards.
An outlet run by the mail-order company Cataloghouse Ltd. in Tokyo's Shinbashi district has been selling Fukushima vegetables from August. Signs display the levels of radiation detected in the produce. The outlet is now selling apples, cucumbers and turnips.
"There are customers who have come several times and while sales have not gone through the roof, they have been steady," a company official said.
The outlet will begin selling rice from December.
The Takashimaya Co. department store offered prize-winning rice grown in Koriyama for year-end gift-giving and has so far sold 235 5-kilogram bags each costing 5,565 yen ($72).
"By sending this rice as a year-end gift, the recipient will hopefully feel that the Fukushima rice is safe to eat," said a 47-year-old woman from Kobe who was shopping at the Tokyo branch in Chuo Ward.
Those in the retailing industry say that customers have responded in a calm manner when given adequate explanations.
However, it is still difficult to increase the presence of Fukushima produce in regular sales sections. For one thing, a large number of consumers are still asking for rice grown in western Japan.
Retailers in Fukushima Prefecture are facing an even more serious situation.
One outlet that sells Fukushima meats has lost almost all orders from Italian and French restaurants that attract many foreigners.
Sources said such restaurants are not convinced simply by radiation detection data that shows the meat is safe.
A rice farmer in Motomiya said, "If Fukushima rice is displayed alongside rice from other prefectures, I don't think people will buy the Fukushima rice."
Hiroyuki Suzuki, 62, who grows and sells rice in Otama, Fukushima Prefecture, said, "Even if the prefectural government and retailing sector says the produce is safe, consumers cannot be confident that the produce is really safe. It is difficult for those of us who sell the produce because we have to await the decision by consumers whether to buy or not after displaying (radiation) levels."
(This article was written by Takuro Chiba and Haruka Takashige.)