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Presenting How Easy To Make Halal and Vegan Foods!

Japan Tourism Agency (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism) held a seminar with the theme “Inbound Promotion With Diversified Foods, etc” on January 23rd, 2023 (Monday) at AP Osaka Yodoyabashi, Osaka. More than 200 people from restaurants and accommodation facilities nationwide participated at the venue and online.

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The Program

Keynote speech; “Improving the Environment of Vegetarians, Vegans, and Muslims” (40 mins)
by Akihiro Shugo (Food Diversity, Inc. CEO)

Talk session; “Actually It Is Very Simple! Effortless In Providing Diversified Foods” (60 mins)
by Ruth Marie Jarman (Jarman International KK, CEO)
Chiara Terzuolo (Jarman International KK, Vegan Experts )
Nazaya Zulaikha (Food Diversity, Inc, Halal Experts)
Naoto Ide (Osaka Convention and Tourism Bureau)

JAS Vegetarian and Vegan (10 mins)
Yoshinori Yasui (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries)

Local Activities; Round Table in Promoting Diversified Foods (10 mins)
Yasumasa Nakanishi (Kansai Economic Federation)
Megumi Maeno (YRK and Corp)

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Environment For Accepting Vegetarians, Vegans, and Muslims

Food Diversity’s CEO, Mr. Shugo, talked about the global food diversity market and environment, including the general feeling of rules, the needs of travelers, how to select ingredients and seasonings that can be used specifically, and the construction of efficient operations.

In addition, creating a general menu of foods that everyone can eat will increase sales further and greatly reduce the stress for everyone; the hall staff, kitchen staff, and management. Vegans and halal, the two fields that tend to be considered difficult, can be easily done by understanding the common points shown in the chart below (in Japanese).

Furthermore, he explained the importance for Osaka, which is preparing for Osaka Expo 2025, to also focus on environmental awareness which highly recognized in these recent years as the new post-corona trend.

The common points found in diversified food dietary

Explain the importance of “product naming”

Talk Session About Vegan and Halal; “Actually It Is Very Simple!”

Talk session

Next, a talk session was held with Mrs. Ruth as the moderator, with the theme of “Effortless In Providing Diversified Foods”, presenting the vegan and halal participants.

Mrs. Chiara, the vegan expert mentions that “I want to eat local cuisine when I go to Japan. With very little ingenuity, it is possible to make vegetarian and vegan dishes, such as okonomiyaki, a specialty of Osaka. There are many traditional ingredients such as tofu and deep-fried tofu that are rich in protein, and can be used for vegan meals”.

In addition, Mrs. Nazaya, the halal expert from Food Diversity, Inc mentioned that “In Japan, when we say halal, we are often served Indian curry or kebab, but since we have come all the way to Japan, we would like to enjoy Japanese foods. If you use the fish menu, you don’t need to buy new ingredients and cook, and halal meat can be easily got at a nearby Gyomu super (supermarket), etc. Also, if there is a restaurant’s policy on halal (see the chart below), we can enter and dine at the restaurant with peace of mind.”

Furthermore, Mr. Ide of the Osaka Tourism Bureau commented, “Osaka, which is said to be “the kitchen of Japan”, has a lot of delicious foods. Various preparations will be necessary for the Expo, but we will make full use of the voices from this seminar to improve the diversified foods and create a more welcoming environment,” he said.

An example of a Muslim-friendly policy

The seminar participant mentioned, “I thought I had to purchase everything new, but I found out that there are many menus that can be made with the ingredients and seasonings that I have now. I would like to consider adding it to the grand menu in the future.”. The seminar ended on a high note.

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism will continue to promote projects related to food diversification in the nation. h