Muslim tourism set to boost growth of halal market in Japan

Japan is offering more suitable products as visitor numbers grow.

While Muslim, or “modest”, fashion is a new phenomenon in Japan, halal products have been on the menu here for some years now.

Japan Tourism Board figures show a record high number of visitors to Japan last year – more than 24 million people – says Tomoyuki Iizuka of the market research company Yano Research Institute.

The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games are scheduled to be held in 2020, and it is expected that the number of foreign guests visiting Japan will increase further, Mr Iizuka says.

“Along with this, Muslim visits to Japan are expected to further increase, and we anticipate that demand for halal food will also increase in Japan,” he says.

Running alongside the first Tokyo Modest Fashion Show in November was the third Halal Expo Japan, organised by Halal Media Japan.

Zarook Mohammed exhibited there as the halal foods division manager for Global Corporation, a Japanese company that imports Jakim Malaysia-approved chicken products and ready-made flat breads, as well as tea from Sri Lanka.

Despite the growing market for halal food in Japan, awareness of halal products and their safety and hygienic benefits beyond religious requirements needs to be raised, Mr Mohammed says.

“Many Japanese people think it is religious food and hesitate to consume it if there is a ‘halal’ label,” he says.

Yet, Kariya Bin Sulong, the owner of KZ Meliponines Paradise of Brunei, who exhibited at the show, thinks there is a market here for his company’s halal-certified stingless-bee honey.

The product carries the halal certification only as an insurance and marketing strategy, as pure honey is regarded as halal anyway.

Stingless bee honey is unique and rare, Mr Sulong says.

There is a severe lack of education with regards to the halal market and venues such as Halal Expo Japan serve to demonstrate just how lucrative the market is globally, and just how lucrative it could potentially be for Japan in particular, says Sami Hamdi, the founder of online magazine The National Interest.

The London-based new site covers politics, security, defence, law, economics and social issues.

Mr Hamdi says exhibiting at trade shows such as Halal Expo Japan allows Japanese people to visually define what “halal” actually means, making it easier to navigate what can easily be a dizzying maze of interpretations in defining what is permissible and what is not.

“There is certainly a desire amongst the Japanese authorities to develop the [halal] industry in line with ambitions to attract a sizeable segment of the 78 million Muslim travellers who visit Asia, particularly as the rise of far-right groups in Europe and the presence of Trump in the US force Muslims [from some countries] to look East for new holiday destinations,” he says.

For exporters to succeed here, Japanese language capability stands first and foremost, Mr Hamdi says. Many Japanese do not speak a second language, and even those who do are often uncomfortable with having to conduct business in another language.

There must also be an understanding of the business culture in Japan. Unlike in the West there are established customs here that are taken very seriously. “One ignores these customs at their own peril,” Mr Hamdi says.

It would, therefore, be necessary to partner with Japanese trading companies and wholesalers, adds Mr Iizuka.

Some Japanese companies that exhibited at the Halal Expo Japan also said they plan to export to countries with a large Muslim population. Choya, a producer of plum liquor called “umeshu,” started producing non-alcohol carbonated umeshu in 2011 following the growth of the non-alcohol beer market. The company acquired halal certification for its product in September from the Islamic Centre Japan.

Choya currently exports its non-alcohol umeshu to countries such as Germany, Singapore and the United States. The company’s overseas department junior manager Shinji Inaba also represented his company at Sial Middle East 2016, held in December in Abu Dhabi. “We will also export to the Middle East and South East Asia in the future,” Mr Inaba says.

Japanese exporters may find some push back in Arabian Gulf countries against goods such as raw fish, and it is often said that Japanese food can be an “acquired” taste.

However, this does not necessarily suggest any aversion to Japanese halal goods, Mr Hamdi says.

“Japanese food is often looked at with curiosity, and Japanese halal exporters may find this curiosity surrounding their products to be an advantage and a window within which to make a very good impression,” he says.

It is worth noting that many Muslims who visit Japan are often surprised at its unique flavour combinations such as green tea in confectionery, something currently unavailable in many parts of the Muslim world, Mr Hamdi says.

“In short, there is a unique space that Japanese halal food exporters can occupy in countries such as the UAE, which require providing halal food that still retains a uniquely Japanese identity.”

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