Appeal of Japanese Food: Make Good Use of ‘Discoveries’ by People Abroad

Editorial

15:57 JST, April 26, 2026

An increasing number of people overseas have discovered appealing aspects of Japanese food that even Japanese people had not noticed.

Japan should increase exports of its food products by keeping a close eye on their reputation overseas and devising ways to turn this into business opportunities.

Matcha has seen such global popularity that the craze is being called a bubble. The constituents of matcha, including catechins, are believed to be beneficial to one’s health, and people abroad often consume it as though it were a dietary supplement. Its vibrant green color is visually appealing on social media, leading people to post images of matcha products, yet another factor fueling the craze.

Matcha is used in lattes and desserts for its rich flavor, and it has become a staple at Starbucks, the major U.S. coffee chain. Matcha also became a hot topic as Shohei Ohtani and other baseball players fired up their team by pretending to whisk matcha every time they got a hit.

This unexpected way to gain popularity, which resembles something out of the entertainment industry, likely offers a major clue for selling the appeal of Japanese food.

In Southeast Asia, roasted sweet potatoes are popular as high-end sweets. The trend of freezing these sweet potatoes and eating them as a sorbet-like treat would probably never occur to most Japanese people.

Japanese-style egg salad sandwiches, which combine fluffy bread with rich, smooth egg salad, also seem to be well received as a novelty outside Japan. No doubt foreign visitors to Japan will continue discovering the appeal of Japanese food and sharing it with people worldwide.

It is crucial for Japan to seize business opportunities by keeping an eye out.

In 2025, Japan’s exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products as well as processed foods reached ¥1.7 trillion, setting a new record high for the 13th consecutive year. Its exports of green tea, including matcha, amounted to ¥72.1 billion, about double the previous year’s figure. Given the potential for Japanese food, there is surely still room for growth.

The government also needs to strengthen measures to protect Japanese food brands.

The high-quality Shine Muscat grape variety, which was developed in Japan, has suffered a blow. Japan’s exports fell after saplings were taken to China and South Korea, resulting in more land being devoted to the variety’s cultivation.

It has also been reported that counterfeit Japanese products labeled “Uji matcha” were being sold in China.

Earlier this month, the Cabinet approved a bill to amend the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Law, so as to strengthen measures for preventing new varieties of fruits and other crops from being leaked overseas.

Because it takes time to go from applying to register a new variety of an agricultural product to actually getting it registered, the legal revision is aimed at preventing third parties from exporting seeds and seedlings of the product without permission during this time.

There will probably be a need to constantly monitor for loopholes in the regulations.

 (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 26, 2026)