Nichirei
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 5 sources
Japanese frozen food group selling frozen meals, shrimp and other seafood.
Nichirei's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2022, which it has only partly acted on, and it has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 0 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 4 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden, unaudited supply chain in high-risk countries, forced or child labour 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: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2022) was a link through a supplier, which the company has only partly acted on.
- 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 0 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
- Not 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 4
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
- 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 3 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
Nichirei says it makes products in Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and China. Press and retailer reports name Indonesia. 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 |
| Indonesia | 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 |
| 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 Nichirei processes shrimp, octopus, crab and other seafood through its own businesses in Japan and its Trans Pacific Seafood plant in Vietnam, and runs majority-owned food factories in Thailand and Shandong, China; shrimp is a key raw material, but much seafood is bought from outside processors it does not name, including farmed shrimp from Indonesia. It publishes no supplier or vessel list and reports no independent crew checks; human rights audits of suppliers were piloted in 2023-24 and covered 60% of key overseas suppliers in FY2025. Only some lines, such as Chinese asari clams, are MSC certified.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Listed | Outlaw Ocean Project (2023-24) linked Nichirei Seafoods to Dandong Yuanyi Seafoods, a Chinese plant filmed using North Korean workers in 2022. View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Link through a supplierThe Outlaw Ocean Project reported in 2023 that Dandong Yuanyi Seafoods, a Chinese processor that sent more than a dozen seafood shipments to Nichirei's US arm, used North Korean workers, citing video filmed at its plant in August 2022. Source · search the archive | PartlyNichirei said it paused some operations, ran an on-site audit of the supplier and told distributors and US agencies; no end to purchases was reported. |
Sources and actions
Sources 5
Show all 5 sources
- Outlaw Ocean Project correspondence with Nichirei Seafoods Inc (2023-24) · search the archive · Supplier Dandong Yuanyi used North Korean workers (video Aug 2022); Nichirei paused some operations, audited the supplier, notified US agencies
- Dandong Yuanyi Refined Seafoods: processor profile (The Outlaw Ocean Project, Bait to Plate) · Lists Nichirei Seafoods (US) as an importer from Dandong Yuanyi Refined Seafoods, a Chinese processor flagged for direct North Korean labour
- Nichirei Fresh CEO Wataru Tanabe tackles sustainability and human rights due diligence (SeafoodSource, Nov 2023) · search the archive · Farmed shrimp from Indonesia; MSC asari clams from China; human rights audit pilots 2023-24; MSC/ASC target of 50% by 2030
- Nichirei Corporation annual securities report FY2026 (EDINET text) · search the archive · 17,763 staff; seafood arm processes shrimp, octopus, crab; Trans Pacific Seafood (Vietnam); Thai and Shandong food plants; Nichirei Australia sales arm; 60% of key suppliers checked
- CPF and Nichirei join forces to make the food supply chain more sustainable (Khaosod English, 2023) · search the archive · Nichirei Fresh's marine products division has a shrimp group; mangrove project with CPF in Thailand
Company details
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Employees
- About 17,763
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Nichirei ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/nichirei, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Nichirei.