A three-day trade show featuring Japanese food opened Wednesday in Chiba, aiming to help expand exports of farm and fisheries products at a time when washoku (Japanese cuisine) is gaining popularity overseas among health-conscious consumers.
More than 1,000 buyers from 66 countries and regions are expected to attend the first government-backed "Japan's Food" export fair at the Makuhari Messe convention center through Friday, at which some 20,000 items including farmed tuna, sake and halal-certified miso soybean paste from about 300 exhibitors will be displayed.
Kindai University in Osaka Prefecture offered sashimi from the tuna it farms. The university, known for its cultivation technology, plans to step up exports of its branded "Kindai Tuna" abroad in partnership with trading house Toyota Tsusho Corp.
"We would like to find local partners to let the world know the quality of Japan," a Toyota Tsusho official said.
Sake Network, an e-commerce site, showcased local breweries' products, such as Chibitagawa of Yoyogikujozo in Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture. The website was launched in March by trading house Kanematsu Corp.
Hikari Miso Co. from Nagano Prefecture exhibited its halal-certified miso products. The company aims to increase exports to Indonesia and other countries with large Muslim populations.
Japan's shipments of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products amounted to about ¥750 billion ($6.7 billion) in 2016. The government aims to increase exports to ¥1 trillion by 2019.