Japanese cuisine should take cue from judo: promoters

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

TOKYO (AFP) — 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...