Kyokuyo
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 8 sources
Japanese seafood company selling frozen fish, sushi toppings and canned seafood.
There's no proof Kyokuyo pays more than the legal minimum, which in Thailand and China is below a living wage, and it has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden, unaudited supply chain in high-risk countries and fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its products are made in countries such as Thailand and China, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
- Red flag: Relies on fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farmShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
Kyokuyo says it makes products in Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the United States, Türkiye, the Netherlands and Denmark. Press and retailer reports name China. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| AustraliaUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Japan | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| United States | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| Türkiye | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| Netherlands | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Denmark | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| EcuadorUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| NorwayUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: fishing fleets and processing plants have some of the worst documented forced labour, including trafficked crews held at sea for years.
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- Relies on fish and seafood from fishing boats and farms, where crews and farm workers, often migrants recruited into debt, have been held for months or years, beaten and denied pay, out of reach of factory audits. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its fish and seafood to the boat or farm or have the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Kyokuyo processes seafood in its own plants in Japan, Thailand (Kyokuyo Global Seafoods), Vietnam (Kyokuyo Vina Foods, opened 2025), the US, Turkey, the Netherlands and Denmark, and also imports products it does not make; China has been a main processing base it says it wants to move away from. A dormant Thai subsidiary went bankrupt in 2026. Its subsidiary Kyokuyo Suisan runs overseas tuna purse seiners and it farms fish in Japan. It publishes no vessel or supplier list, holds no group-wide MSC or ASC certification, and reports supplier surveys but no audits or crew checks. It did not answer Human Rights Now's 2021 survey on labour abuse on fishing vessels.
Sources and actions
Sources 8
Show all 8 sources
- Report and Company Survey Results on Labor Rights Abuses on Fishing Vessels and Their Links to Japan (Human Rights Now, 2022) · search the archive · Kyokuyo and Yokorei were the only two of 11 Japanese seafood companies that did not respond to the survey
- Kyokuyo planning to expand overseas business after solid 2023 (SeafoodSource) · search the archive · Kyokuyo Global Seafoods plant in Thailand makes sushi toppings, simmered and grilled fish; new purse seiner; Vietnam plant planned
- Japanese seafood giant shifting focus to Southeast Asia to escape China's 'issues' (IntraFish, 2024) · search the archive · Kyokuyo plans to shift processing from China, a traditional processing base, to Southeast Asia
- Kyokuyo completes $13.5 million seafood factory in Vietnam (VIR) · search the archive · Kyokuyo Vina Foods plant in Long An, Vietnam, for fish fillets, grilled and boiled fish and crab products; full operation from February 2025
- Kyokuyo's Thailand division declares bankruptcy following court ruling (Thailand Business News) · search the archive · A dormant Kyokuyo subsidiary in Thailand entered bankruptcy, disclosed April 2026
Published by Kyokuyo or its owner
- Affiliated Companies (Kyokuyo) · search the archive · 25 affiliates: processing plants in Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, US, Turkey, Netherlands and Denmark; Kyokuyo Suisan overseas purse seine fishing; fish farms in Japan; Qingdao trading arm
- Offices (Kyokuyo) · search the archive · Representative offices in Qingdao, Bangkok and Surabaya; no Australian office
- Business Partners (Kyokuyo) · search the archive · Procurement policy bans forced and child labour; two supplier surveys; no audits, crew checks or grievance mechanism described
Company details
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Kyokuyo ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/kyokuyo, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Other frozen fish and seafood brands
Nothing we've rated in frozen fish and seafood is better than Lacks transparency yet.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Kyokuyo.