The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery of Japan (MAFF) appointed Datuk Suzuki Ichiro and Miyagawa Atsushi as its “ Japanese Cuisine Goodwill Ambassadors”.
Japanese Cuisine Goodwill Ambassadors are expected to promote Japanese food and dietary culture both inside and outside Japan through activities such as providing advice from a professional standpoint to overseas professionals specializing in Japanese cuisine.
Datuk SUZUKI founded Hiro Food Packages Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, a food packaging manufacturer in Malaysia, in 2000. The company has grown into a food packaging manufacturer exporting food packaging to 83 countries. In 2009, he also founded Doka Sdn Bhd, a food trading company that imports and sells Japanese food products. He supports the development of Japanese food industry in Malaysia, using his strong network with various players in this sector, including wholesales, food processing, retailing and restaurant operations. In 2014, he was confered Datukship in recognition of his longstanding contribution to Malaysia.
Mr. MIYAGAWA founded JMG Trading Sdn Bhd, a trading company specialising in the import and sale of Japanese fresh, chilled and frozen food products in Malaysia. Based on his long experience in the Japanese food business in Malaysia, he developed his own sales channels to local supermarkets that had not dealt in Japanese fruit and vegetables. He has also created an extensive network with hotels, restaurants and retailers through the import and sale of Japanese food products, especially seafood, fruit and vegetables, into Malaysia by air and sea. In addition, he was appointed as the Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Food Coordinator for JETRO Kuala Lumpur office in 2013 and has been providing with JETRO his valuable advices based on his local business expertise and vast experiences, including success and failure stories, as well as contributing to the promotion of Japanese food and dietary culture in Malaysia.
“Washoku (Japanese Cuisine)” was designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013 and has attracted worldwide attention. Japanese food and dietary culture have become familiar to many people in Malaysia, with the value of exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food from Japan to Malaysia has increased 2.3 times in last five years. We expect the growing popularity of Japanese food and dietary culture in Malaysia to lead to a deeper understanding of Japanese culture and an increase in visitors from Malaysia to Japan.
