Must Read!! For Mainlnad Chinese, Japanese Cuisine Is Viewed As Sophiscated And Healthy And Has Become A Symbol Of Wealth
RichAsianKid
Mother's day.
Since then I've updated my thesis with corroborating evidence of the
differential pricing of Chinese vs Japanese in Hong Kong as a
reflection of market value, as well as very damning evidence for the
Chinese from the Zagat survey results that showed so astonishingly
that while fine Japanese is now viewed as increasingly haute across
virtually all major cities in the US, fine Chinese cuisine continues
to languish in their third world turbid culinary backwaters.
As usual, it usually takes newswriters about 9-12 months before they
pick up on the latest cultural trends and culinary zeitgeist.
RichAsianKid once again gets credit for his "ahead of the curve"
piercing insights into what became not just an American trend, but now
a new wave in China. When you think of it, this is all the more
amazing as China is a 3rd world country that has not always been on
exactly friendly terms with Japan in the 20th century.
But even as China grows (at least relative to India and Africa), the
mores of 1st world Japan remain the object of its emulation. Here I
present the following article.
Title: Sizing up China - Japanese cuisine is now a mark of status
among the new rich.
Highlight: "Japanese cuisine is viewed as sophisticated and healthy
and has become a symbol of wealth."
A symbol of wealth? Now that's flattery for the Japanese!!
One comment. Article states: "Managing Director Hideo Miyabe said,
however, that the Chinese market can turn out to be a "double-edged
sword" for the Japanese industry in the long run. 'If even a fraction
of (China's population) starts eating marine products on a daily
basis, it could trigger overfishing or jack up prices throughout the
world,' he said."
I see a bigger problem. The article is at least in part implicitly
about how Japanese cuisine is seen and perceived. Translation: the
image and cachet of Japanese is part and parcel to selling the
product. The psychology is really not that different from what was
documented in other areas of luxury, from automobiles to designer
handbags, in The Cult of Luxe, a book that I've also quoted before.
The bigger problem I see is this:
***As more and more of these so-called "richer" third world mainland
Chinese start munching indiscriminately on their Japanese food,
flaunting their newfound wealth by identifying themselves with Japan,
so is there more and more potential for the tarnishing of the cachet
and name of Japanese cuisine***
Afterall, it's not exactly unheard of how "Mainland Chinese make those
Mercedes look worse."
Indeed. If there are enough of these "richer" 3rd world mainland
Chinese -- people not exactly known for sophistication or fine manners
-- start taking up Japanese cuisine as a staple of their diet, and if
you take into account the likelihood of mainland Chinese
counterfeiting real Japanese cuisine in order to cut costs.......I see
a very worrisome picture.
And I think *that* may turn out to be more of a double-edged sword for
the Japanese industry in the long run, as managing director Hideo
Miyabe continues to worry. For damage to the image and cachet and
perhaps the soul of Japanese cuisine by the Chinese may potentially be
irreparable.
And fatal.
---------Feature Article----------
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200704090051.html
Sizing up China: Japanese cuisine a mark of status among the new rich
04/09/2007
BY HIROSHI MATSUBARA, STAFF WRITER
Editor's note: This is part of a series on the growing influence of
China in bilateral relations as well as Chinese communities in Japan.
Lee Longde starts his days early at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market,
shopping for fresh, quality seafood to export to his home country,
China.
One morning in March, Lee spotted the day's best kinki catch and
pulled out his cellphone.
Before long, the reddish rockfish was airborne, en route to Shanghai,
Hong Kong and Taipei, where it would turn up on dinner plates that
evening at Japanese restaurants. The fish is especially prized because
the color red is considered auspicious by Chinese.
Traditionally, Chinese eat far less fish than Japanese, and what they
do eat is mostly freshwater varieties. But sushi and other Japanese
seafood delicacies are gaining in popularity among the growing ranks
of the newly rich.
Emerging demand on the mainland is spurring expectations among seafood
industry officials, who describe China as a "market of 1.3 billion
stomachs."
"Japanese cuisine is viewed as sophisticated and healthy and has
become a symbol of wealth," said Lee, who exports fish to China and
Taiwan through his Longde Trade Co.
The Tsukiji fish market, alive with predawn haggling between vendors
and buyers, has fascinated Lee since he came to Japan in 1995.
The native of Hubei province began working at the market to earn
tuition for his Japanese-language school. He soon found a full-time
job at a wholesaler and gave up his plan to go on to university in
Japan.
The 36-year-old, who set up his own company in July 2005, has steadily
expanded his business, drawing on his personal connections and
negotiation skills.
Longde Trade, which employs six people, exports about 500 types of
fish, shellfish and vegetables daily, totaling about 2 tons, from
Tsukiji.
In the year ended March, the export value doubled to about 500 million
yen from a year earlier.
The nation's largest wholesale fish market, however, is losing some of
its luster due in part to the Westernization of the Japanese diet.
In 2006, the value of transactions at Tsukiji declined to about 489.8
billion yen, down 20 percent from a decade earlier.
Lee plans to open a subsidiary in Shanghai later this year to bypass
middlemen and deal directly with local Japanese restaurants.
"By linking Tsukiji with the Chinese market, I hope to help the fish
market regain the momentum it had when I started working there," he
said. "It will help me repay what I owe to Tsukiji."
Japanese seafood industry officials expect that growing demand in
China will more than offset shrinking sales at home.
In 2006, Japan exported seafood worth 37 billion yen to China, up 37
percent from a year earlier. The figure accounted for 21 percent of
the nation's total exports of marine products.
For three years through 2006, the Japan Tuna Fisheries Cooperative
Association, which groups tuna fishermen's co-ops nationwide, opened
an outlet in Beijing to promote raw tuna.
The association donated freezers to local fishery companies and
restaurants to help them offer fresh tuna, snap-frozen to minus 60
degrees aboard the fishing boats on which they were caught.
It also demonstrated before an audience how to cut up and serve a
whole tuna.
"China has a potential to revitalize Japan's entire fishing industry,
from fishermen through processing companies," said Masahiro Ishikawa,
president of the association.
Maruha Corp., Japan's largest seafood supplier, shares some of the
fishermen's enthusiasm.
The company opened its first Chinese factory catering exclusively to
the country's domestic market, particularly inland regions, on March
28.
The joint-venture facility in the northeastern port city of Dalian is
producing canned herring and mackerel and pouch-packed seafood curry.
Managing Director Hideo Miyabe said, however, that the Chinese market
can turn out to be a "double-edged sword" for the Japanese industry in
the long run.
"If even a fraction of (China's population) starts eating marine
products on a daily basis, it could trigger overfishing or jack up
prices throughout the world," he said.
Miyabe said Chinese buyers increasingly outbid their Japanese
counterparts in international auctions for marine products used in
traditional Chinese dishes, such as lobsters, abalone and scallops.
If Chinese develop a taste for tuna and other staples of Japanese
cuisine, Japanese buyers may face fierce competition, he said.
It is a scenario dreaded by Japanese retailers and restaurateurs, such
as Kappa Create Co.
The company serves all types of sushi for 100 yen per plate at its
Kappa-zushi chain of about 300 conveyor-belt sushi restaurants
nationwide.
Still, chutoro fatty tuna, a Japanese favorite, appears just several
times a year as special limited-time offers.
The average price of tuna has risen about 20 percent over the past
year from previous years due to its growing popularity in Western
countries and tighter international fishing regulations.
Takayuki Masagane, director of Kappa Create's food division, said
there is no guarantee that the company can maintain its single-price
policy if prices of tuna, salmon and other premium fish stay at high
levels.
He said procurement costs for those marine products will not go down,
at least in the near future, given the growing demand and limited
stocks.
"Additional demand from a market as large as China could deal a
critical blow," Masagane said.(IHT/Asahi: April 9,2007)
abia...@my-deja.com
can always find a couple of Japanese restaurants in any city in the
world after you find 20 Chinese or Italian restaurants. And if
Japanese food is that good, why Japanese are still so short compared
to, say, Dutch?