J-Gov't to certify real Japanese food

[Greji]

Looks like the Sushi Police won't be visiting Israel..

Eateries Go on Spring Roll Strike
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1224162920080212
".....
The restaurants are angry at government plans to purge Japanese, Chinese and Thai eateries of Asian cooks and replace them with Israelis as part of a broader program to cut the number of foreigners working in the Jewish state....."GJ

It would look like the Israeli Government studied well under their friends in the Japanese Government!

[ttjereth]

In Japan, even the convenience store sandwiches were delicious...

That's from being left in the sun in their crates while the delivery guy gets the conbini people to sign paperwork, goes to take a piss and buys his own lunch at the conbini.

[Jack]

Yeah, in Australia most sushi bars and Japanese food stores are run by Chinese or Vietnamese....

My wife won't touch their food...I occasionally eat it..but the Japanese food is of a far superior quality...

In Japan, even the convenience store sandwiches were delicious...

Careful now. You are saying something nice about Japan. That can get you in trouble on this forum. Remember this: nothing ever good happens in Japan or nothing ever is good if it's in or from Japan. As for Japanese artists/actors/singers none of them were ever any good -- according to most people in here.

[Iraira]

Careful now. You are saying something nice about Japan. That can get you in trouble on this forum. Remember this: nothing ever good happens in Japan or nothing ever is good if it's in or from Japan. As for Japanese artists/actors/singers none of them were ever any good -- according to most people in here.

Trying to recruit people for your circle jerk club, again?

[unkosando]

Remember this: nothing ever good happens in Japan or nothing ever is good if it's in or from Japan. As for Japanese artists/actors/singers none of them were ever any good

Well Jack, You have the attitude right... but it would be more authentic if you actually had lived in Japan.

[Jack]

Well Jack, You have the attitude right... but it would be more authentic if you actually had lived in Japan.

Hey, all I am doing is telling this newbie on this forum that praising anything japanese is not welcomed around here. Do you object to that? I have 4,987 posted evidence here that suggests I am right. So beat it will you.

[FG Lurker]

Hey, all I am doing is telling this newbie on this forum that praising anything japanese is not welcomed around here. Do you object to that? I have 4,987 posted evidence here that suggests I am right. So beat it will you.

So, Jackie baby... Tell me again, how long exactly have you lived in Japan?

[james]

So, Jackie baby... Tell me again, how long exactly have you lived in Japan?

and remember, time spent playing dating sims and reading english translations of bishoujyou manga doesn't count..

[Jack]

So, Jackie baby... Tell me again, how long exactly have you lived in Japan?

Lurker, come one man, you know the answer to that. Zip, nada, zenzen, jamais. But that has nothing to do with the anti Japan bias in here.

Okay, listen to me carefully, will you? I am just trying to stear this newbie in the direction most poeple on here would like to him to go. just cautioning him that saying something good about Japan is dangerous. Now do you disagree with that? Let's stick to the point here. Whether I have lived in Japan or not is not the issue.

[james]

..that has nothing to do with the anti Japan bias in here..
..saying something good about Japan is dangerous.

well i'll disaree - what you're saying is quite comparable to the excrement of a common bovine. there are plenty of threads and posts that are in praise of things in this country, but you seem to take any statement by any person that doesn't view the country with the rose coloured glasses you do as a slam against japan.

Let's stick to the point here. Whether I have lived in Japan or not is not the issue.

it is, in fact, the issue. living in a place gives you a perspective that quite frankly one can't acquire without having done so. you can't get past the honeymoon phase and pollyanna perspective of a country if you don't go through some of the downs associated with living there.

[FG Lurker]

Lurker, come one man, you know the answer to that. Zip, nada, zenzen, jamais. But that has nothing to do with the anti Japan bias in here.

Okay, listen to me carefully, will you? I am just trying to stear this newbie in the direction most poeple on here would like to him to go. just cautioning him that saying something good about Japan is dangerous. Now do you disagree with that? Let's stick to the point here. Whether I have lived in Japan or not is not the issue.

I'm one of the first to tell people who are continually negative about Japan that they should leave and go somewhere that suits them better. Life is short, it's stupid to live somewhere you hate!

There are a couple of members here who seem to actually really dislike Japan -- Buraku and Blackcat spring to mind. I don't think that most posters are this way though. It's just that when you live somewhere (even your "own" country) it is natural to find some things annoying. There's shit you dislike about Canada, right? When you live in Japan there will be shit you dislike about Japan too. It'll probably be different shit, but the overall quantity will be about the same.

On a forum like FG it is pretty normal to see more negative than positive, IMO. When great things happen you don't feel the need to work it out of your system...when "shit happens" though a post or two can help.

[Jack]

[quote="FG Lurker"]I'm one of the first to tell people who are continually negative about Japan that they should leave and go somewhere that suits them better. Life is short, it's stupid to live somewhere you hate!

There are a couple of members here who seem to actually really dislike Japan -- Buraku and Blackcat spring to mind. I don't think that most posters are this way though. It's just that when you live somewhere (even your "own" country) it is natural to find some things annoying. There's shit you dislike about Canada, right? When you live in Japan there will be shit you dislike about Japan too. It'll probably be different shit, but the overall quantity will be about the same. ]

There is a lot I don't like about Japan, I just don;t talk about them. I prefer to focus instead on the positives. But generally, I agree with what you say.

[FG Lurker]

[quote="Jack"]There is a lot I don't like about Japan, I just don]
You haven't been here long enough yet to have your bullshit tolerance exceeded.

IMO the important thing is to maintain balance. Focus on the good things but keep a realistic view of the bad too.

[GuyJean]

Oh, great.. Another thread hi-'jacked' by someone bitching about people actually living in the country from which the forum originated..

It's ok to think bad thoughts; just don't talk about them.. Is that Therapy 101?

GJ

[Mulboyne]

AFP: Japanese cuisine should take cue from judo

Promoters of Japanese food overseas said Monday that the cuisine needed to take inspiration from a national sport, judo, which made significant concessions to go global. Japan has launched a campaign to certify authentic native food overseas, in January unveiling a logo to identify "real" Japanese restaurants. The campaign was mocked by some Western media as the "sushi police" and seen as a misguided effort at a time when Japanese food is growing in popularity across the world.

But Yuzaburo Mogi, chairman of the Organisation to Promote Japanese Restaurants Abroad, said that promoters will be generous when certifying restaurants overseas. "A food culture needs to make concessions to be widely accepted overseas," Mogi said at a press conference, announcing an international forum on Japanese food to be held later this month. "When you think about how judo became an international sport, you see many concessions were made," said Mogi, who is also chairman of leading soy sauce maker Kikkoman Corp. He noted that judo has made changes as it won a global following. Unlike in Japan, foreign judoka wear coloured uniforms and are classed by weight. "Therefore I think it's fine to consider a dish like California rolls as part of Japanese food culture and instant noodles are also fine Japanese food," Mogi said.

California rolls, which include avocados, cucumbers and other vegetables, are considered foreign food in Japan. "We should be generous," he said. "It's disappointing to hear the phrase 'sushi police.'" Mogi said the purpose of the campaign is to improve the quality, especially the hygiene, of Japanese restaurants abroad, which handle ingredients like raw fish.

To qualify for certification, applicants are required to use Japanese rice and seasoning along with traditional ingredients. Restaurants are also rated for knowledge of Japanese recipes, hygiene and customer service. The group, which was set up in July with the backing of the agriculture ministry but comes from the private sector, has opened offices in Bangkok, Shanghai and Taipei. It plans to expand to Amsterdam, London, Los Angeles and Paris by the end of March.

[Greji]

AFP: Japanese cuisine should take cue from judo"......To qualify for certification, [SIZE="3"]applicants are required to use Japanese rice and seasoning along with traditional ingredients[/SIZE]. Restaurants are also rated for knowledge of Japanese recipes, hygiene and customer service. The group, which was set up in July with the [SIZE="3"]backing of the agriculture ministry[/SIZE] but comes from the private sector, has opened offices in Bangkok, Shanghai and Taipei. It plans to expand to Amsterdam, London, Los Angeles and Paris by the end of March.

Could there be some bureaucratic message about "Buy Japan" hidden here somewhere?

[amdg]

Could there be some bureaucratic message about "Buy Japan" hidden here somewhere?

Greji, you are so cynical aren’t you. This is not about making money, its about bringing culture to the world. So what if Japanese rice is a minimum of 5 times more expensive than domestically produced product.
Isn’t that a small price to pay for all that culture they’ll be getting?

[Mulboyne]

This group plans to invite something like 500 owners of Japanese restaurants overseas to a seminar in Japan later this year. They will also foot the bill.

[Greji]

This group plans to invite something like 500 owners of Japanese restaurants overseas to a seminar in Japan later this year. They will also foot the bill.

I realize that of course this is only for the propagation of culture, however, if they force these restaurant owners to use only Japanese Rice and/or ingredients in order to be licensed, you can bet that they will pocket enough to pay for a bunch more of these seminars....

[Mulboyne]

Telegraph: Japan summit to address West's sushi quality

Frozen fish, over-chilled rice and bad hygiene practices are threatening the reputation of sushi around the world, Japan's top chefs will warn this week. Alarmed by the poor quality of some of the sushi served up in the West, where the popularity of the traditional raw fish and rice dish has spawned thousands of sushi restaurants and bars, Japan's food authorities are calling a high-level meeting in Tokyo to set out minimum standards of preparation. "Japanese people like to eat raw fish that is as fresh as possible," said Yass Tagaya, general manager of the Organisation to Promote Japanese Restaurants Abroad (JRO), which is hosting the summit. "But when sushi is served in restaurants in Europe, the fish is frozen and defrosted, which makes it taste different. The temperature of sushi rice in Europe is also lower than 5C. That is too cold under Japan's rules." A book highlighting Japanese hygiene practices and food quality rules will be launched at the meeting, for distribution to restaurants around the world. The JRO is setting up an office in London and its staff are debating whether Britain is ready to experience the ultimate in fresh sushi - ikizukuri, slices cut and eaten from a fish that is still alive. The growing popularity of sushi as a fashionable and healthy food has led to the number of Japanese restaurants overseas rising to more than 20,000. There are more than 400 in Britain.

[Midwinter]

Never mind how much Japanese fast food joints rape the pizza, let's protect our sushi!

Seriously, I saw one place serving pizza with nuts on it. Fucking nuts of all things...

[ttjereth]

Never mind how much Japanese fast food joints rape the pizza, let's protect our sushi!

Seriously, I saw one place serving pizza with nuts on it. Fucking nuts of all things...

NSFW

NSFW

???

[Midwinter]

NSFW

NSFW

???

Where the hell do you guys find some of these pictures LOL

[ttjereth]

Where the hell do you guys find some of these pictures LOL

You'd be surprised just how many of those pictures there are. I mostly find oddball pictures by getting a weird image in my head from reading someone's post and then just doing a Google image search. If it's anything weird, perverted or disturbing it generally turns up on the first page of results.

In this case I literally just googled part of your message:
"pizza with nuts on it"
http://images.google.com/images?q=pizza+with+nuts+on+it&ndsp=20&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&start=60&sa=N

NSFW stuff there as well if you couldn't guess.

This also lead me to two bits of information that I'm sure will be vital at some point in my life.
1. Pizza with nuts is apparently not a "Japanese" thing. There are places in the states selling them too. I saw a "pine seed and baby spinach" pizza as well
2. There are at least two websites out there completely dedicated to pornography in some way shape or form dealing with pizzas or pizza delivery people.

Cue Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" here and fade to black...

[Mulboyne]

Earthtimes: Japanese 'sushi police' decide to lighten up

Japanese experts are taking a more liberal view of what constitutes authentic Japanese food to satisfy the world's growing hunger for sushi and other traditional dishes. As slices of raw fish grow in popularity in Europe and North America, pseudo-sushi and fusion style dishes are now classified as authentic Japanese cuisine, said Yuzaburo Mogi, the chairman of the Organization to Promote Japanese Restaurants Abroad (JRO)...JRO has decided to repaint Japan's food culture to invite creativity and contribute to the diversity of international cuisines, rather than excluding anything outside of the traditional standard...Despite the ministry's reluctance to give its stamp of approval to the non-traditional Japanese fare, JRO Chairman Mogi says a wider interpretation is needed. "We should interpret 'Japanese food' more widely as overseas chefs are working to satisfy the local tongues," Mogi said at a recent press conference..."We don't necessarily have to limit Japanese nationals to making Japanese dishes," Mogi said. "As long as they study about it, anyone can and should be able to prepare Japanese food."

Mogi wants to keep the momentum of Japanese food proliferation going by providing workshops to train chefs in culinary skills. He says overseas branches should be established to help research the local tastes and how they can be satisfied in Japanese culinary fashion. Through education, the non-profit organization hopes to upgrade the quality of Japanese restaurants, especially in terms of hygiene, by sending out experts to promote the safety and security of Japanese cuisine. Non-compliance with the sanitary standards for Japanese food has resulted in some food-poisoning cases, JRO said. Mogi believes training and education are crucial to improving the quality and safety of overseas Japanese restaurants. "Overseas chefs didn't know enough about how to prepare raw fish," Mogi said...As a byproduct of the education campaign, the JRO and the agricultural ministry aim to encourage increased exports of Japanese food products..."We don't want people to misunderstand us," Mogi said. "It is very unfortunate that the term 'sushi police' came about. We should be able to introduce our food in various colours and styles."

A friend of mine attended the recent JRO event in Tokyo - an event which seemed designed primarily designed to use up their budget before the end of the fiscal year. The point about using Japanese ingredients was emphasized but it was unclear what Japan actually had to export. Not only is Japanese rice generally too expensive, there's actually not enough of it to supply demand even if it existed. The same shortage problem is true for yuzu. Most restaurants already use Kikkoman soy sauce so the only ingredient that might get some extra demand is mirin although many chefs say they are currently using it.

[Greji]

Earthtimes: Japanese 'sushi police' decide to lighten up

Never ask a question you don't want to hear the answer to!

[Mulboyne]

Ironically...

Yomiuri: Japanese chefs bring French cuisine closer to home

French food can be a bit intimidating for many people; it has an air of extravagance. But recently, restaurants in Tokyo are seeking to change that by creating dishes with down-to-earth Japanese touches, allowing their clientele to feel more at home as they dine. This cuisine, dubbed "French gohan," is usually a combination of French cooking and Japanese short-grain white rice, with a cooking method or ingredient that infuses a familiar taste, such as miso...At Cinquante-Neuf, a French-fusion restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, chopsticks can always be found on the table alongside the cutlery. The restaurant says three of its dishes, all with relatively light portions, have proven a big hit with its patrons. Yofu kaisen zosui--seafood risotto--for example, is a plate prepared with rice, scallops, shrimp and other seafood in a sea bream consomme. The dish is given a Japanese flair with a bit of shiromiso bean paste...Cinquante-Neuf chef Katsuiku Kihara, who has been cooking French food for 30 years, said he accommodates Japanese tastes by incorporating ingredients such as miso and soy sauce, while respecting the basic French cooking methods..."Chopsticks help some people relax when they eat," Kihara said...more...

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Japanese restaurants spreading across Asia

Japanese restaurant chains are advancing into the rest of Asia--including China, Thailand and Taiwan--where the popularity of Japanese cuisine is soaring as the standard of living improves. Shrinking Japanese domestic markets, mainly due to a declining birthrate and a drop in consumer spending, lie behind the trend of Japanese restaurant companies seeking to expand into new markets. Kazokutei Co. in Osaka, which runs soba and udon noodle shops, is planning to open 200 to 300 restaurants across China over five years from fiscal 2009 through franchising. The firm will establish an operating company in Shanghai in March with a Taiwan food firm and open its first restaurant in the city in July. It also will develop franchises in Singapore beginning in April, which like some other parts of Asia has relatively few udon and soba noodle restaurant chains.

Marche Co. in Osaka opened its first overseas Japanese-style pub restaurant, Hakkenden, in Shanghai in January 2008. It aims to expand the chain to 10 pubs by fiscal 2010, as many entrepreneurs in China are eager to own Hakkenden restaurants. Sato Restaurant Systems Co. in Sakai also opened its first restaurant in Shanghai in July. All of the restaurants have basically the same menu and pricing as they do in Japan, as they are targeting Asia's wealthy and its growing middle class, in addition to Japanese expatriates. Sixty percent of Hakkenden's customers are locals, and the rest are Japanese. Some firms that have already opened restaurants outside of Japan are making steady profits. Ootoya Co. based in Tokyo, which sells low-cost meals at its restaurant chain, opened its first overseas restaurant in Thailand in January 2005. The firm now has 31 overseas outlets in Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong--out of a total 242 at home and abroad--that earn about 10 percent of its consolidated sales.

According to the Japan Food Service Association, over the past 15 years, the domestic sales of the restaurant industry exceeded that of the previous year only in 2006 and 2007, and only by a narrow margin. Japanese restaurant chains are therefore expected to look toward markets in other Asian nations for sales expansion. On the other hand, joint ventures may bring only small profits even if successful as the proceeds must be split. As more restaurant chains advance into other parts of Asia, the competition will increase, said the president of Kazokutei. One path to success may depend on a commitment to bringing ingredients from Japan despite the high cost, and other efforts.

[t3hWIT]

I wish they would assign one of the aforementioned inspectors to South Carolina. This place is loaded with Japanese restaurants that suspiciously resemble Chinese restaurants. There's also a really nice, expensive Japanese Hibachi Grill up the street that offers a menu that's nothing like what I had in Japan.

[wuchan]

[IMG]http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/data:image/png]

I wish they would assign one of the aforementioned inspectors to South Carolina. This place is loaded with Japanese restaurants that suspiciously resemble Chinese restaurants. There's also a really nice, expensive Japanese Hibachi Grill up the street that offers a menu that's nothing like what I had in Japan.

You live in redneckville. I know that there are a bunch of japanese hovering around nashville for some kind of strange international business reasons, but in NC or SC I suspect that the "japanese" joints are run by koreans or chinese. I come from Boston where there is a very large J-population, large enough to have an IACE, HIS and a J-newspaper, but about 60% of the sushi places are run by "other" asians.