Changes in Taiwan–Japan seafood trade: focusing on frozen tuna exports and Japanese tuna market trends

Taiwan’s distant-water fisheries play an important role in international seafood production and trade. In recent years, changes in marine resource availability, international fisheries governance, and seafood market conditions have occurred alongside changes in the seafood trade relationship between Taiwan and Japan. This study examines long-term changes in the Taiwan–Japan seafood trade over the period 2005–2024, with a particular focus on tuna products, using descriptive statistical and trend analysis based on fisheries statistics, official documents, and government reports from Taiwan and Japan. The results show three main findings. First, the historical bilateral trade imbalance has gradually narrowed alongside a decline in Taiwan’s exports of major seafood products, particularly frozen tuna and eel, and an expansion of Japanese seafood exports to Taiwan. Second, Taiwan’s tuna exports to Japan have declined alongside a reduction in tuna production, while export patterns have become increasingly differentiated across species, with bigeye tuna remaining highly dependent on the Japanese market and yellowfin tuna showing greater destination diversification. Third, Japan’s imports of frozen bigeye and yellowfin tuna have declined substantially alongside a long-term decrease in seafood consumption, changing household preferences, and relatively high tuna retail prices.