In an effort to increase the number of ‘washoku’ Japanese cuisine fans abroad and expand exports of farm products, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is considering appointing those living abroad, including non-Japanese people, as international goodwill ambassadors for washoku starting this year.
In addition to already appointed Japanese goodwill ambassadors, the ministry plans to give the title to some 100 people abroad to have at least one ambassador each in major cities worldwide. As the world’s food product market and the food service industry are expected to show a large increase, it hopes goodwill ambassadors officially appointed by the Japanese government will publicize Japanese cuisine, leading to more use of Japan-made food items.
Candidates for the post will be Japanese or non-Japanese people living abroad who are contributing to the spread of Japanese cuisine such as by holding Japanese cooking classes. The agriculture ministry will work with the Foreign Ministry and ask embassies to recommend potential candidates, before they are appointed by the agriculture ministry’s director of Food Industry Affairs Bureau.
In February, the agriculture ministry appointed Japanese actress Rei Dan as a special goodwill ambassador and 13 Japanese restaurant chefs and heads of cooking schools as ambassadors to be at a forefront of promoting washoku and support people engaged in Japanese food-related services abroad.
According to the ministry, the world’s market of restaurants and processed food totaled JPY340 trillion in 2009. The ministry predicts the market will double to JPY680 trillion in 2020 in terms of exchange rates at the time.
(June 30, 2015)