Halal Japanese cuisine a hit in Southeast AsiaーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS

From sushi bars in Dubai to ramen shops in New York and tempura trucks in London, the global appetite for Japanese food has long been clear. Today we explore how Japanese cuisine is evolving to suit taste buds and lifestyles in parts of Southeast Asia. First we go to one country where more and more Japanese dishes are turning halal. A recent survey estimates that Muslims will account for more than a quarter of the world's population by 2030. Recognizing the immense potential, many Japanese companies are looking to Malaysia where 60% of the population is Muslim. I like sushi and also I like bento. Once a week at least, yeah. They love Japanese food. The number of Japanese restaurants in Malaysia has exploded. Today there are 1,900, 50% more than two years ago. And some of them feature halal certified dishes that are growing increasingly popular. This one specializes in ramen. Back in Japan, most options rely on pork broth, but here it's chicken that brings the flavor. And the slices of meat on top are chicken rather than the traditional pork chashu. The menu tweaks help the restaurant get the much desired official halal certification. Malaysia is the only country in the world where the process is directly handled by the government. Every shop that we go, we usually check for the logo or whether we will like check on the jake website there. I will not come if it's not a halal restaurant. Since gaining certification, the shop says Muslims account for more than 70% of its customers. And it's been able to open another five locations in five years, boosting profits around tenfold. I think that some people want to eat ramen but might hesitate to visit a place that hasn't been halal certified. There's no question that getting it makes a huge difference. This yakiniku barbecue restaurant opened last year in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur and went in another direction in its efforts to win over new Muslim customers. The drinks menu is a little different from yakiniku restaurants in Japan. We do not provide any alcohol. The customers also cannot bring the alcohol. Social media outreach has helped bring in a full house of meat lovers most weekends. It's not just restaurants dishing up halal Japanese food in Malaysia. Rosalind Mohammed has been coming to this Japanese cooking school for six months. It teaches home cooking using ingredients available locally. Seasonings such as soy sauce and medium have been made using halal methods and certified. But the lessons are pricey at over $600 for a block of 12. That's more than the average monthly wage. Still the school signs up some 200 students a month. The food that is taught here sometimes is not in the restaurant. It's slightly different and then all my whole family likes it. The school operator plans to build on what it's learned in Malaysia to expand into the Middle East. Malaysia has this modern halal I would say. So here is a very good market for us to try out their preferences and also know the rules and regulations. The government promotes Malaysia as what it calls a global halal hub which involves presenting itself as the center of the Muslim market and targeting overseas investment. For choosing Kuala Lumpur the Japanese embassy and Japan's external trade organization have created a platform to promote food exports to Malaysia. About 100 representatives from manufacturers and trading companies attended an event in May. I'd like to emphasize embassy's commitment to promote Japanese cuisine in Malaysia. The focus is Malaysia for now but beyond that all eyes are on the broader halal market. From Malaysia we'll move into Indonesia and then the Middle East. We're looking at a Muslim population of 2 billion so I think it's a market with huge potential. When looking at the global market I think diversification of exports of Japanese products is extremely important. From this point of view the Muslim halal market is expected to expand significantly in the future and I think it's extremely important that we target it and move forward with this in mind. NHK World reporter Lim Ling Fong joins us now from Kuala Lumpur. So Ling Fong why is Japanese food so popular in Malaysia? The rising income of Malaysia's middle classes has broadened horizons and helped increase the number of people choosing relatively expensive Japanese food. On a personal level I often feel that being ethnically Chinese like so many in Malaysia's population sometimes make Japanese food more approachable. I go out for sushi or some kind of Japanese food once or twice a week. I see. Now I believe the standards for being certified as halal vary from country to country. So why are many Japanese businesses looking to Malaysia as their entry point into the halal market? Malaysia is known for its strict halal certification inspections and is trusted worldwide. If companies obtain halal certification here that's accepted by almost 50 nations and around 80 halal certification bodies internationally which opens up a path to exports. For this reason Malaysia has adopted its national strategies of economic development using halal and is trying to attract foreign companies to take assumptions and other prevention measures. So how can Japanese businesses take full advantage of the Malaysian government's plan? It's tricky to find essential seasonings for Japanese food that are halal certified and many cooking methods involve sake and other forms of alcohol. Also halal Japanese food is still quite expensive for most people in Malaysia. So I'd like to see more firms from Japan make an effort to expand into Malaysia's middle classes. I feel that there's scope for firms to explore the market even further as the Thank you, Ling Fong.