• 163.4% rise in Japanese restaurants in last decade shows UAE’s growing taste for cosmopolitan cuisine

Arab News Japan

DUBAI: UAE’s love for Japanese cuisine seems to be on the rise. Over the past decade the country has witnessed an increase in Japanese restaurants — 163.4 per cent to be precise.

Although Japanese expatriates remain a small community, the popularity of Japanese cuisine has outgrown the community’s size with its cosmopolitan appeal.

There was a time when Japanese cuisine was considered a very unique dining experience available at only certain well-known establishments, which did not particularly cater to a variety of consumers. However, in the last couple of years there has been a significant growth of Japanese cuisine in the UAE.

This keen interest of Emiratis and other residents toward Japanese food has also played a major role in robust people-to-people relations, as Japan and the UAE celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations.

“In 2013, about 142 food outlets across the UAE offered Japanese cuisine that increased to 342 in 2022, around 163.4 percent increase,” said Shiro Ohkubo, a Goodwill Ambassador for Japanese Cuisine in the UAE, appointed by the Japanese Government.

He added that, of these outlets, 65 were exclusive Japanese restaurants in 2013 that jumped to 168 in 2022, a 158.5 percent increase; and other 142 multicuisine outlets offering Japanese foods in 2013 increased 163.4 percent to 374 in 2022.