Identify Halal Foods in Japan From Its Ingredients

This post is also available in: Indonesia

Updated June 2022

Identify Japan’s Halal/Muslim-Friendly Products

Looking for halal/Muslim-friendly products in Japanese stores and supermarkets may be a challenge, as we need to read carefully the ingredients, which mostly are written in kanji, of each item.

The alcoholic drink has 「酒」(sake) kanji in the package

[Alcohol 0%] means it does not has alcohol (alcohol-free), a complete soda drink with a juice taste

After a lot of questions and inquiries asking about the halal-ness of products, we summarize haram and grey zone (still in controversy) ingredients we often find in a product.

Note

Please note that the ingredients listed below are for reference. We do and strongly recommend to do purchase/consuming at your own discretion.

Considered Haram Ingredients

No.	Japanese	Alphabet	Meaning
1	豚 or 豚肉	buta / ton / butaniku	pork
2	ポーク	pooku	pork
3	豚脂	buta abura	pork fat
4	豚エキス or ポークエキス	buta ekisu / pork ekisu	pork extract
5	鶏 or 鶏肉	tori / toriniku	chicken meat (except if there is a halal logo pasted on the packages)
6	鶏エキス or チキンエキス	tori ekisu /chikin ekisu	chicken extract
7	鶏ガラ	tori gara	chicken carcass
8	牛 or 牛肉	gyuu / gyuuniku	beef (except if any halal logo is pasted on the packages)
9	牛エキス or ビーフエキス	gyuu ekisu / beef ekisu	beef extract
10	肉	niku	meat (except if any halal logo is pasted on the packages)
11	ベーコン	beekon	bacon
12	ハム	hamu	ham
13	ラード	raado	lard
14	ゼラチン	zerachin	gelatin (usually made of lard)
15	酒	sake	Japanese traditional liquor (refer to as “alcohol beverage”)
16	料理酒	ryourizake	cooking liquor
17	みりん	mirin	sweet cooking rice wine
18	リカー	rikaa	liquor
19	アルコール	alkooru	alcohol
20	ワイン	wain	wine (liquor)
21	ビール	biiru	beer
22	酒精	shusei	alcohol
23	洋酒	youshu	western liquor
24	リキュール	rikyuuru	liqueur

Considered Grey Ingredients (Still in Controversy)

No.	Japanese	Alphabet	Meaning
1	乳化剤	nyuukazai	emulsifier. For emulsifiers with explanation 大豆由来 daizu yurai (soybean-derived) or 植物由来 (plant-derived) may be permissible.
2	ショートニング	shootoningu	shortening (derived from both animal and plant)
3	マーガリン	maagarin	margarine (derived from both animal and plant)
4	醤油	shooyu	soy sauce
5	味噌	miso	miso (Japanese fermented soybean paste)
6	醸造酢	jouzouzu	brewed vinegar
7	酢	su	vinegar
8	チーズ	chiizu	cheese
9	発酵調味料	hakkou choumiryou	fermented seasoning
10	アミノ酸	amino san	amino acid
11	生クリーム	nama kuriimu	fresh cream
12	ブイヨン	buiyon	bouillon

Supermarket Selling Halal Foods

Some Japanese supermarkets are started to sell halal foods. One of the pioneers is Gyomu Super which expands halal foods to almost all of its branches across Japan.

Besides, there is also one of the large discount supermarkets, Rogers, which started to sell halal foods and sweets. The supermarket is popular with its super reasonable price.

Guidance Sheet

If you happen to have a meal at a restaurant but you want to confirm the halalness of the menu/dish there, you can use this guidance sheet (free download) on the link below to communicate with the restaurant staff. This sheet also can be used by the restaurant to confirm customers’ food restrictions.
The sheet is available for Halal, Vegetarian, and Allergies, both in English and Japanese.

Mobile App to Detect Muslim Friendly Product by Using Phone’s Camera!

If you happen to be in Japan, you can use Halal Gourmet Japan app! Take a picture of products and find out which one is Muslim friendly product at a supermarket or convenience store. Find how to use it below.

*Currently, the service is being stopped due to the pandemic. Please check the link below for details https://tinyurl.com/y4a32f2k

Halal Gourmet Japan App download

App Store (iOS)
Google Play (Android)

Complete Guide to Identify Halal Products in Japan (With Free Download Guidance Sheet and Mobile App)

Identify Japan’s Halal/Muslim-Friendly Products