Second certified location in Japan to serve as strategic base for shipments to South Asia
Nippon Express Co., Ltd. (Kenji Watanabe, President) on Wednesday, March 29 received halal certification from the Japan Halal Association (JHA) for part of its Hakozaki Temperature-controlled Logistics Center (Fukuoka Shipping Branch) located in Fukuoka's Higashi Ward, the second warehousing facility in Japan to receive this certification.
The Port of Hakata is a gateway to the Kyushu region, an abundant source of agricultural and fishery produce, and a very convenient location for ocean transport to South Asia, a major consumer of halal products. Located near Hakata Port's international container terminal, the Hakozaki Temperature-controlled Logistics Center is equipped to handle halal products for ocean transport, especially products such as food that require temperature-controlled environments.
In December 2014, Nippon Express (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd ("NEM") obtained halal transport certification (MS2400-1) from JAKIM, a halal certifying body within the Malaysian government, and in June 2015 NEM concluded a business partnership agreement with Brahim's Holdings Berhad, the world's largest manufacturer of halal airline meals, thereafter taking charge of transporting halal airline meals to Japan for delivery to All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.
In February 2016 Nippon Express also obtained halal certification for warehousing and transport within Japan. Facilities in Tokyo and Hakata were each equipped with 20 special halal-only cage trolleys for use in domestic transport, and in March 2017 Nippon Express for the first time transported halal products via rail containers that had been ritually cleansed.*
| Address | Hakozaki-futo 1-8-22, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka-shi |
|---|---|
| Buildings | Hakozaki Temperature-controlled Logistics Center: 2 buildings, 15 warehouses, total floor space of 12,028m2 Five of these warehouses (with a total floor space of 1,643m2) offer temperature-controlled environments (available ranges: temperature: 1°C-20°C; humidity: 40-99%) |
| Certified area | 147m2 (47 tsubo) area in the 1st floor temperature-controlled section |
Nippon Express is also taking steps to handle flour and other products for domestic and overseas distribution, and inquiries have been received from milling companies, trading companies, etc.
Nippon Express will be establishing a global halal logistics network connecting Japan and other suppliers of halal products with Muslim countries worldwide in order to support the supply chains of customers expanding into the growing Muslim market.
Ritual cleansing refers to purifying locations that are considered unclean for halal foods (e.g., locations that have handled pork or pork-derivative products). Trucks and cargo containers to be used for transporting halal foods must be purified beforehand by cleansing them in accordance with JAKIM rules.
Nippon Express has created a logo mark for its halal logistics services to distinguish halal cargo and to let customers know that such services are available
