New Project by JCDC: Support for Opening Japanese Cuisine Courses and Dispatching Instructors to Overseas Culinary Schools

News

New Project by JCDC: Support for Opening Japanese Cuisine Courses and Dispatching Instructors to Overseas Culinary Schools

2025-03-25 19:00 Last Updated At：19:12

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 25, 2025--

While Japanese restaurants overseas continue to proliferate (According to the latest survey, there are 187,000 stores, which is about a 20% increase since 2021.), there is a shortage of chefs with the specialized knowledge and skills in Japanese cuisine, as well as instructors capable of teaching the techniques of Japanese cooking at culinary schools abroad.
In order to make up for this shortage and further promote Japanese cuisine, food culture and ingredients, JCDC (Location: Tokyo, Representative: Yoshihiro Murata) has started a project to dispatch Japanese chefs to overseas culinary schools and other institutions that want to set up Japanese cuisine courses with the aim of teaching correct knowledge and cooking methods for Japanese cuisine, food culture and ingredients, with the cooperation of local Japanese Cuisine Goodwill Ambassadors, the Certification Body and graduates of past JCDC program. In this first year of the project, we have taken this ambitious initiative to Turkey and India.
Participants commented that “until now I thought that ramen and sushi were the only traditional Japanese dishes, but now I finally understand how important dashi is!”, “it was completely different from what I had imagined. This lecture has changed the way I look at Japanese food”, “I want to know more about Japanese food and how it has evolved to the present day”, and so on.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250323982734/en/

[Countries where events were held in 2024]
A. Istanbul, Türkiye
-Title: "Japon Mutfak Sanatlari Egitimi Ozel Semineri"
https://www.yenisafak.com/gundem/topkapi-universitesi-usla-uzakdogu-mutfak-akademisi-is-birliginde-profesyonel-japon-mutfak-sanatlari-mezuniyet-ve-unvan-takdim-toreni-gerceklestirildi-4659083
* Held as part of the events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Establishment of Japan-Türkiye Diplomatic Relations

- Location: USLA (Ulslararast Servis & Lezzet Akademisi)
https://www.usla.com.tr/

- Dispatched instructor: Kimio Nonaga (Third generation owner/chef of Nihonbashi Yukari, Japanese Cuisine Goodwill Ambassador, A regular member of All Japan Food Association)

- Cooperative local instructor:
Shun-ichi Horikoshi (Owner/Chef of Itsumi, Japanese Cuisine Goodwill Ambassador)
https://www.itsumijp.com/
Sinan Damgacioglu (Partner of Uzakdogu Mutfak Akademisi Eğitim ve Danışmanlık A.Ş., Japanese Cuisine Goodwill Ambassador; A graduate of the JCDC program for 2016.)
Didem Yalçınkaya (Chef & Owner, Oishii Wok & Sushi; A graduate of the JCDC program for 2022.)

- Organized by
Japanese Cuisine and Dietary Culture Development Committee (JCDC)
https://en.jcdc.tokyo/
Uzakdoğu Mutfak Akademisi (The Certification Body)
https://www.instagram.com/uzakdogumutfakakademisi/
USLA (Ulslararast Servis & Lezzet Akademisi)

- Sponsored by
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF)

- Cooperated by
All Japan Food Association (AJFA)

B. Goa, India
- Title: "Honoring Nature’s Gifts -- Introduction to Traditional Japanese Cuisine"
https://www.bharatfact.com/goa-hosts-first-ever-japanese-cooking-course/

- Location: IHM (Institute of Hotel Management), Goa
https://ihmgoa.gov.in/home

- Dispatched instructor: Kiyoyuki Ichimaida (Professor of Japanese cuisine at Hattori Nutrition College)
https://www.hattori.ac.jp/

- Cooperative local instructor:
Brehadeesh Kumar (Japanese Cuisine Goodwill Ambassador, Chief chef of Ginkgo (Japanese Food and Ingredient Supporter Store); A graduate of the JCDC program for 2022.)
https://www.instagram.com/ginkgopune/

- Organized by
Japanese Cuisine and Dietary Culture Development Committee (JCDC)

- Sponsored by
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF)

- Cooperated by
Embassy of Japan in India
Institute of Hotel Management, Goa
Hattori Nutrition College
Hal Yamashita
Kai India, etc.

[The certification program of Japanese Food and Ingredient Supporter Stores Overseas]
https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/trends/foods/supporter/

[Guidelines for Certification of Cooking Skills for Japanese Cuisine in Foreign Countries]
https://www.maff.go.jp/j/shokusan/syokubun/attach/pdf/tyori-19.pdf

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre will lose his own seat in Parliament

2025-04-29 18:57 Last Updated At：19:00

TORONTO (AP) — The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation projects that Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre will lose his own seat in Parliament.

The loss of his seat representing an Ottawa district during Monday’s election would cap a stunning decline in fortunes for the firebrand Poilievre, who only a few months ago appeared to be a shoo-in to become Canada’s next prime minister and to shepherd the Conservatives back into power for the first time in a decade, before U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada and suggestions it should become the 51st state outraged voters and upended the election.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party won Canada’s federal election on Monday, capping a stunning turnaround in fortunes fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s annexation threats and trade war.

After polls closed, the Liberals were projected to win more of Parliament’s 343 seats than the Conservatives. It wasn’t immediately clear, though, if they would win an outright majority — at least 172 — or would need to rely on one of the smaller parties to pass legislation.

The Liberals looked headed for a crushing defeat until the American president started attacking Canada’s economy and threatening its sovereignty, suggesting it should become the 51st state. Trump’s actions infuriated Canadians and stoked a surge in nationalism that helped the Liberals flip the election narrative and win a fourth-straight term in power.

In a victory speech before supporters in Ottawa, Carney stressed the importance of Canadian unity in the face of Washington's threats. He also said the mutually beneficial system Canada and the U.S. had shared since World War II had ended.

“We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” he said.

“As I've been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country," Carney said. "These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never ... ever happen. But we also must recognize the reality that our world has fundamentally changed.”

The Conservative Party's leader, Pierre Poilievre, hoped to make the election a referendum on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose.

But Trump attacked, Trudeau resigned and Carney, a two-time central banker, became the Liberal Party’s leader and prime minister.

In a concession speech and with his own House of Commons seat still in doubt, Poilievre vowed to keep fighting for Canadians.

“We are cognizant of the fact that we didn't get over the finish line yet," Poilievre told supporters in Ottawa. "We know that change is needed, but change is hard to come by. It takes time. It takes work. And that's why we have to learn the lessons of tonight — so that we can have an even better result the next time Canadians decide the future of the country.”

Even with Canadians grappling with the fallout from a deadly weekend attack at a Vancouver street festival, Trump was trolling them on election day, suggesting again on social media that Canada should become the 51st state and saying he was on their ballot. He also erroneously claimed that the U.S. subsidizes Canada, writing, “It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!”

Trump’s truculence has infuriated Canadians, leading many to cancel U.S. vacations, refuse to buy American goods and possibly even vote early. A record 7.3 million Canadians cast ballots before election day.

As Poilievre and his wife cast their ballots in Ottawa, he implored voters to “Get out to vote — for a change." After running a Trump-lite campaign for weeks, though, the Conservative leader's similarities to the bombastic American might have cost him.

Reid Warren, a Toronto resident, said he voted Liberal because Poilievre “sounds like mini-Trump to me.” And he said Trump’s tariffs are a worry.

“Canadians coming together from, you know, all the shade being thrown from the States is great, but it’s definitely created some turmoil, that’s for sure,” he said.

Historian Robert Bothwell said Poilievre appealed to the “same sense of grievance” as Trump, but that it ultimately worked against him.

“The Liberals ought to pay him," Bothwell said, referring to the U.S. president. "Trump talking is not good for the Conservatives.”

Carney and the Liberals secured a new term, but they have daunting challenges ahead.

If they don't win a majority in Parliament, the Liberals might need rely on one of the smaller parties to remain in power and pass legislation. The Bloc Québécois, which looked set to finish third, is a separatist party from French-speaking Quebec that seeks independence from Canada. Trudeau’s Liberals relied on the New Democrats to remain in power for four years, but the progressive party faired poorly on Monday and its leader, Jagmeet Singh, said he was stepping down after eight years in charge.

“This is a dramatic comeback, but if the Liberals cannot win a majority of seats, political uncertainty in a new minority Parliament could complicate things for them,” said McGill University political science professor Daniel Béland.

Until this year, foreign policy hadn’t dominated a Canadian election this much since 1988, when, ironically, free trade with the United States was the prevailing issue.

In addition to the trade war with the U.S. and frosty relationship with Trump, Canada is dealing with a cost-of-living crisis. And more than 75% of its exports go to the U.S., so Trump's tariffs threat and his desire to get North American automakers to move Canada's production south could severely damage the Canadian economy.

While campaigning, Carney vowed that every dollar the the government collects from counter-tariffs on U.S. goods will go toward Canadian workers who are adversely affected by the trade war. He also said he plans to keep dental care in place, offer a middle-class tax cut, return immigration to sustainable levels and increase funding to Canada's public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Associated Press reporter Mike Householder contributed to this report.