Japanese Restaurants Prepare Muslim-Friendly Meals ahead of Asian Games

Nagoya, July 29 (Jiji Press)–Many restaurants in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, are preparing to greet visitors to this year’s Asian Games from Muslim countries by creating Muslim-friendly meals with support from local authorities. The Nagoya Meshi Promotion Council, which works on promoting the food culture of Nagoya, the prefectural capital, held a seminar on Muslim-friendly meals for restaurants, retailers, hotels and others last October. The council dispatched consultants to seven business operators to support the development of menus. Of them, JB Eleven Co., a Nagoya-based restaurant consultant, came up with seven types of Muslim-friendly dishes, such as soba noodles made with soy meat as well as halal-certified soy sauce and soup. Such menu items have been provided in 25 stores, mainly in the prefecture, since June. “We want visitors to the Asian Games to eat various dishes,” said Ryuichiro Sawa, chairman of the council. “There are many Muslims in the prefecture. We want to serve them even after the event,” he said. The Aichi city of Toyota also held a seminar on halal foods for restaurants in April. Two restaurant operators that attended the seminar developed Muslim-friendly menus by getting creative with seasonings and put Muslim-friendly symbols on their menu. Yoshihiko Ueno, operator of Italian restaurant Papa di Mary, said, “We hope that the event will attract people from various countries to our restaurant.” The Aichi prefectural government plans to update the prefecture’s map of restaurants that provide halal foods. The new version will also include vegetarian and vegan-capable restaurants. “We hope the event will encourage visitors to explore tourist spots throughout the prefecture,” said an official at the prefectural government’s international tourism convention bureau. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]