Nippon Express has started a new halal-certified domestic air cargo service in Japan as it expands its position in the growing Sharia law-compliant logistics market.

The service, which started on 8 March, is integrated into the company’s Express Hi-Speed domestic air cargo service and will serve the roughly 200,000 Muslim population in Japan.

Nippon Express’ halal-certified transport brings a handful of features to its Express Hi-Speed service. This include better visibility for halal products during transit, including special labeling affixed on cargo, as well as education for employees engaged in operations. Customers can also track their shipments through up to seven transit points via the company website, with schedule options for next-day and charter deliveries.

In a nutshell, the company has created a rapid halal transport service capable of handling shipments as small as a single cardboard box.

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“With interest in halal products growing in Japan, Nippon Express has been constructing a halal logistics service network to support customers’ supply chains and provide safety and peace of mind to Muslim customers and others,” it added.

Nippon Express expects the halal market to pick up once borders re-open and the country welcomes more visitors from around the world. It also cited a secondary market in the form of health and safety conscious consumers who are inclined to the strict quality assurance and hygiene control standards in halal products.

In 2014, it became the first Japanese company to obtain halal logistics certification in Malaysia, after which it obtained its first halal certification for warehousing in Japan in 2016.

Nippon Express introduced halal-only roll boxes for consolidated transport of small-lot cargo amounting to less than a full truckload as well as halal-only rail containers for large-lot cargo into its warehouse-based transport services as it expanded its handling of halal products.