TOKYO -- The number of restaurants serving Japanese cuisine overseas has jumped about 30% in two years, thanks in large part to an expanding Asian middle class.
A survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries here put the total at 156,000 as of 2019, up from 118,000 in 2017 and marking a 6.5-fold increase from 2006. The government hopes that the growth will bolster exports of Japanese farm and fishery products.
