## Overseas expansion of Japanese food culture

As overseas interests have grown in Japanese food and dietary culture, the number of overseas Japanese restaurants has reached about 118 thousand, increasing by 30% in 2 years.

The number of overseas restaurant and retail stores certified by private organizations, etc. as Japanese cooking ingredient supporters that proactively use Japanese cooking ingredients stood at 2,931 in 35 countries and regions at the end of FY2017.

The number of foreign chefs certified by private organizations, etc. as having a certain level of knowledge and cooking skills for Japanese cuisine stood at 470.

## Utilizing standards, certification and intellectual properties

✓ GAP (good agricultural practice) certificates are useful for winning trading partners' confidence. The government aims to triple the number of GAP certified producers by the end of FY2019 from 4,500 at the end of April 2017.

The government has promoted Japanese food safety standards (JFS) including the implementation of the HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control point) system to be approved as equivalent to international standards.

As the JAS (Japanese agricultural standards) system was expanded to establish a diversity of standards emphasizing strengths of Japanese products, the government established 3 new standards in March 2018.

The government has aimed to register at least one product in each prefecture as a geographical indication by 2020. At the end of FY2017, 58 products in 34 prefectures had been registered.

The government enhances the overseas registration of varieties (acquisition of breeder's rights) to promote the protection of plant varieties in foreign countries.

## About 118 thousand overseas Japanese restaurants

Sources: Survey by MOFA, Estimated by MAFF

Note: As of October 2017

Cooking skill certification system and certified chefs

Certification logo mark	Certification standard	Certified chefs
Gold	2 years of experience	4
Silver	Graduate from Japanese cooking schools or 1 year of experience	168
Bronze	Undergoing short-term training	298

Source: MAFF

Note: The number of certified chefs is at the end of FY2017.

New JAS established after JAS expansion

Standard	Advantages for utilization
1	JAS for cut flowers produced under controls for vase life in growers	JAS-certified cut flowers can be advertised for long keeping at home and abroad.
2	JAS for Determination of the O-methylated Catechin in ‘Benifuuki’ Green Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) — High-performance liquid chromatographic method	Advantages of Japanese products can be objectively explained and proven. When advantages are explained and proven by measured date, it is unnecessary for business operators to develop each testing method by themselves and it may reduce the burdens of operators.
3	JAS for Determination of the $ \beta $ -cryptoxanthin in Satsuma Mandarin — High-performance liquid chromatographic method

Source: MAFF

Note: As of the end of FY 2017

34 prefectures' 58 products registered as geographical indication

Hokkaido	2	Saitama	0	Fukui	5	Tottori	1	Saga	0
Aomori	3	Chiba	0	Gifu	2	Shimane	0	Nagasaki	0
Iwate	2	Tokyo	0	Aichi	2	Okayama	1	Kumamoto	2
Miyagi	1	Kanagawa	0	Mie	1	Hiroshima	0	Oita	2
Akita	2	Yamanashi	0	Shiga	1	Yamaguchi	2	Miyazaki	1
Yamagata	2	Nagano	2	Kyoto	1	Tokushima	1	Kogoshima	4
Fukushima	0	Shizuoka	2	Osaka	0	Kagawa	1	Okinawa	1
Ibaraki	3	Niigata	1	Hyogo	2	Ehime	1
Tochigi	1	Toyama	1	Nara	1	Kochi	0
Gunma	0	Ishikawa	2	Wakayama	1	Fukuoka	1

Source: MAFF

Note: In addition to the above, 1 Italian product has been registered.