Written by Teguh-san
As a moslem, when I first came to Japan, my anxiety of having to find halal food grew quite strong. However, back then, the halal foods were only available in shops which sold imported products. Now that the number of tourists in Japan has been significantly increasing, including those who come from moslem majority countries, the access to find halal food and products has been widely opened. Furthermore, many local businessmen/businesswomen proceed to obtain halal certificate for their products in order to expand their market share. Now, gradually, we can get various kinds of halal local Japanese products both in certain supermarkets and through the online stores.
A few weeks ago, I met a businesswoman whose major is to distribute halal products and organic food. Through the meeting, she showed me one of her halal products which is called Vegetarian Noodle Moroheiya. The main ingredient of the noodle is the highly nutritious and high fiber vegetable, moroheiya. Moroheiya is the commonly consumed vegetable among the Japanese people, who are known for their long life-span, to maintain their health.
The presence of this product is an exhilarating news which means there are more choices of halal products in Japan, not only consumable for the moslem communities, but also for the vegetarians. With more varieties of halal and vergetarian products, more tourists are expected to come and visit Japan, moreover, it also facilitates the daily necessities for moslem communities who are currently living in Japan. The halal expansion by putting up logo on every product, both halal and/or vegetarian logos, makes it easier for those who are not fluent or able to read Japanese to recognize the products when they intend to bring some products as souvenirs or for self-consume.
