TOKYO, Feb. 6 — The Japan Rice and Rice Industry Export Promotion Association (JRE) has launched a promotional campaign on Japanese rice in China this month.
The JRE has tied up with ABC Cooking Studio, a Japanese cooking school, to offer at seven cities in China a total of 14 lessons on how to properly cook Japanese rice through March.
Chinese customers can also learn recipes that use Japanese rice, such as onigiri and temari-zushi, a small ball-shaped sushi.
The group said it will target mothers and people who take cooking classes to raise brand awareness about the Japanese rice.
It will also promote Japanese prepackaged rice to Chinese customers.
Prepackaged rice is a ready-made food in a sealed pouch. It has been sterilized in a laminate of flexible plastic, so it can be kept for some time at room temperature. It can quickly be microwaved and eaten.
Japan has set up an ambitious goal to quadruple Japanese rice exports by 2019, at a time when the domestic consumption of the staple food has continued sliding.