Editorial

16:33 JST, August 20, 2025

How should the resource of eels, which are part of Japan’s traditional food culture, be protected? As one of the world’s top consumers of eels, Japan needs to take the lead in efforts for resource protection and gain the understanding of the international community.

In June this year, the European Union and some countries proposed adding Japanese eel to the list of species regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention. The pact’s purpose is to regulate international trade in endangered wildlife. The proposal seeks to classify Japanese eel as a species subject to the second-strictest regulation in a three-tier system.

About 180 countries and regions are signatories of the convention. If two-thirds or more vote in........

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