MSC Japan Launches 'Keep Our Oceans Rich Forever. Choose the MSC Label' Campaign Today, Featuring Ambassador Cocorico Tanaka's Experience Video of MSC-Certified Oyster Fishing

MSC Japan, the Japanese office of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an international non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable and well-managed fisheries, is launching the 'Keep Our Oceans Rich Forever. Choose the MSC Label' campaign today, June 4 (Thursday) through July 3 (Friday), a one-month period coinciding with the United Nations World Oceans Day (June 8).

Campaign special page URL: https://www.msc.org/jp/2026cp

This campaign features a video capturing the experience of Cocorico Tanaka Naoki, who has served as an MSC ambassador since 2018, at an MSC-certified oyster fishery in Oku-cho, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture. For the campaign launch, Mr. Cocorico Tanaka provided the following message: 'In the campaign video, I experienced the oyster fishing grounds of Oku-cho, which became the world's first hanging-culture oyster fishery to receive MSC certification. I hope you will learn about the fishermen who took on the challenge of obtaining MSC certification and continue their sustainable efforts even after achieving it.'

Additionally, the campaign features the 'MSC Fish Personality Diagnosis,' which reveals which of the fish species targeted by MSC-certified fisheries matches your personality. This is a project designed to help people feel more connected to the ecology of the fish they are diagnosed with and the efforts of MSC-certified fisheries to protect marine resources and the environment. Furthermore, 300 winners will be selected by lottery from among those who share their diagnosis results on 'X' to receive an MSC original leisure sheet made from recycled paper.

[Background of the Campaign]

Currently, approximately 36% of the world's marine resources are overfished beyond sustainable levels. This proportion has more than tripled in the last 50 years, raising concerns about the depletion of marine resources and a crisis in biodiversity. The MSC certification, an international certification system for sustainable fisheries that considers marine resources and the environment, was created to address this problem of overfishing. Through this campaign, timed with World Oceans Day, MSC Japan aims to communicate the importance of sustainable fisheries that have obtained MSC certification and that choosing products bearing the MSC 'blue eco-label,' the mark of seafood caught by such fisheries, helps protect marine resources and the ocean.

Campaign Details

1. Campaign Video: 'Hanging-Culture Oyster Fishing: The Drama of Obtaining MSC Fishery Certification'
This campaign video shows Mr. Cocorico Tanaka visiting the MSC-certified oyster fishery in Oku-cho. The video includes interviews with相关人员 from Maruto Suisan, which obtained MSC fishery certification, the Oku-cho Fisheries Cooperative Association, and local fishermen about the process leading to certification and their sustainable practices. Mr. Tanaka also tries his hand at actual oyster fishing and shucking, experiencing the reality of sustainable fisheries. Please take a look at the stories behind the MSC 'blue eco-label' products you often see in supermarkets.

Campaign video URL: https://youtu.be/OHsyfqmFVNI

2. Discover a Fish Like You with the 'MSC Fish Personality Diagnosis' and Win Original Goods!

The campaign's special website features an interactive project, the 'Fish Personality Diagnosis,' allowing participants to learn about marine resource issues while having fun. By answering 10 questions about the sea and fish, you will be diagnosed with a fish from among 16 MSC-certified species that best matches your personality. The diagnosis results will introduce not only the ecology of the fish similar to you but also the efforts of MSC-certified fisheries to protect that fish and its surrounding environment. This helps make the often-overlooked practices of sustainable fisheries feel more familiar.

URL: https://www.msc.org/jp/2026cp

Entry Period: June 4 (Thursday), 2026 – July 3 (Friday), 2026, 23:59

How to Enter:

① Take the MSC Fish Personality Diagnosis.

② Post your fish personality diagnosis results on X and follow MSC Japan's official X account (@MSC_Japan).

Prize: MSC Original Recycled Paper Leisure Sheet (300 winners by lottery)

[MSC Original Recycled Paper Leisure Sheet] Made from recycled paper such as copy paper, large enough for about three people to sit on, featuring an illustration of a skipjack tuna, an MSC original design.

Cooperating Companies and Organizations (in Japanese syllabary order / as of June 4)

Aeon Co., Ltd., IKEA Japan K.K., Ikkakudo Co., Ltd., Ito-Yokado Co., Ltd.

Umios Inc., Oku-cho Fisheries Cooperative Association, Orix Hotel Management Corporation, Kyokuyo Co., Ltd.

Grand Hyatt Fukuoka, Co-opdeli Federation of Consumer Co-operatives, Conrad Tokyo, Sansei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd., Sokensha Co., Ltd., Chiba Sanchoku Service Co., Ltd.

Tokyo Zoological Park Society, Nichirei Foods Inc., Nissui Corporation, Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.

Japan Sustainable Label Association, Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union, McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan), Ltd.

Hagoromo Foods Corporation, Hanwa Co., Ltd., Hilton Tokyo Bay, Maruto Suisan Co., Ltd.

Marubeni Seafoods Co., Ltd., Yamaki Co., Ltd., Yamasa Kamaboko Co., Ltd., Yamada Suisan Co., Ltd.

York Benimaru Co., Ltd., Yoshimoto Kogyo Holdings Co., Ltd., Wakame Shokuhin Co., Ltd., WWF Japan

About MSC (Marine Stewardship Council)

An international non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable and well-managed fisheries through its certification program and seafood ecolabel, ensuring fish stocks are preserved for future generations. Headquartered in London and founded in 1997, it now has offices in 25 countries and operates worldwide. MSC Japan was established in 2007. In fiscal year 2024, approximately 22,000 products bearing the MSC 'blue eco-label' were sold in over 70 countries, with 660 products sold in Japan. Domestically, these products can be purchased or ordered at the Aeon Group, Seikyo/Co-op, Ito-Yokado/York, Seiyu, McDonald's, Royal Host, and others.

The MSC Fisheries Standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries is widely recognized globally and is based on the latest scientific evidence. It is the only fisheries certification program in the world that meets the requirements of both the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and ISEAL (International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance). To meet this standard, a fishery must demonstrate through assessment by an independent third-party certification body that: (1) the fish stock is at a sustainable level, (2) the fishery's environmental impact is minimized, and (3) a management system is in place that ensures long-term sustainability.

For more information, please visit the MSC website: https://www.msc.org/jp

About the MSC 'Blue Ecolabel'

The MSC 'blue ecolabel' is only granted to seafood products caught by sustainable fisheries that meet the MSC's rigorous certification standards.