"Taste of Japan" is a website facilitating the dissemination of information on Japanese restaurants and cuisine culture worldwide, including details on Japanese restaurants all over the world, recipes for staple Japanese dishes, and explanations of signature Japanese ingredients. With the aim of spreading a love of Japanese food across the globe, the #TryTasteofJapan Photo Challenge was launched on Monday, October 16, for a run through Sunday, December 31, 2017, targeting the entire world outside of Japan. In this campaign, participants are asked to add the hashtag #TryTasteofJapan to photos of Japanese food and post them to Facebook and Instagram. A total of seven participants will be selected by lottery to win prizes, including a roundtrip ticket to Japan and meal tickets to Japanese restaurants overseas.

Moreover, the Taste of Japan website has been totally revamped with the aim of making it even more accessible to users. This includes improving search functionality and ease of use, adding French, simplified Chinese and Thai to make the site viewable in six languages, and expanding information on Japanese restaurants and Japanese Food Supporter shops. Search approximately 2,500 Japanese restaurants and 150 Japanese Food Supporter shops worldwide.

#TryTasteofJapan Photo Challenge Overview

Site: http://www.tasteofjapan.jp/article/detail/651

Social media account: https://www.facebook.com/tasteofjapan.jp/

*Facebook only

- Campaign period: Mon., Oct. 16, to Sun., Dec. 31, 2017

- Prizes: Support for enjoying your favorite Japanese food

-- Roundtrip airfare to Japan (1 person)

-- Meal tickets to Japanese restaurants overseas (3 people)

-- An assortment of Japanese food products available locally, such as miso, rice crackers, powdered green tea, etc. (3 people)

- How to enter:

*As the purpose of this campaign is to raise interest in Japanese cuisine and Japanese ingredients, only the following posts will be considered:

(1) Like and follow the official Taste of Japan Facebook page.

(2) Photos taken at shops and restaurants listed on the Taste of Japan website, and

(3) Photos on applicable social media networks (i.e. Facebook, Instagram) that are tagged with the shop/restaurant's location and the hashtag #TryTasteofJapan.

(4) After the campaign is over, winners (only) will receive a direct message each through Facebook or Instagram.

- Eligible social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram

- Eligible regions: The entire world excluding Japan

- Announcement of winners: The aim is to notify (only) those who have been selected, via direct message over either social media platform, sometime in or after February 2018

- Important points:

-- Posts to private (i.e. invisible) accounts are ineligible for participation in the campaign.

-- Participants can post as many times as they like during the campaign period.

-- Photos entered may be displayed on the Taste of Japan website and/or official Facebook account without prior consent of the participant. Entries are made with simultaneous consent to their public display on the official Taste of Japan accounts.

For more details on participation rules, please see the official campaign site: http://www.tasteofjapan.jp/article/detail/651

Renewal of Taste of Japan, a website offering information on restaurants where you can enjoy Japanese food and ingredients

Site: http://www.tasteofjapan.jp/

(Image1: Official logo of "Taste of Japan"

https://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M104045/201710126790/_prw_PI1fl_ZaixnYez.png)

The aim of this site renewal is to spread information on Japanese restaurants and ingredients to a greater number of people worldwide. With the addition of French, simplified Chinese and Thai, the site is now viewable in a total of six languages. GPS location-based search functionality has been added to enhance searches for Japanese restaurants around the world, and the number of searchable restaurants where you can enjoy Japanese food and ingredients has been greatly expanded.

Moreover, certification badges are displayed within the site for shops accredited under the Certification System for Japanese Food Supporter Shops Overseas established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Special pages exclusively focusing on Supporter shops, as well as refined search functions for Supporter shops, have also been added. Pages have been added for sharing trends in and promoting understanding of Japanese food, as well as video recipe pages, making Taste of Japan a better resource than ever for finding a wide range of information on Japanese food. Design changes have also been made with an eye to making the site more smartphone-friendly, and to improve search functionality and ease of use.

Key points of this site update:

- French, simplified Chinese and Thai have been added to the existing Japanese, English and traditional Chinese to make the site viewable in a total of six languages

- The number of Japanese restaurants has been greatly expanded, with approx. 2,500 Japanese restaurants now searchable around the world

- Map search functionality from your present location has been added; restaurant search has been redesigned to make it easier to use

- Design changed with an eye to making the site smartphone-friendly

- Readable content for sharing trends in and promoting understanding of Japanese food has been added

- Video recipe pages have been added

About Japanese Food Supporter shops

Within the site "Search Restaurants" and "Buy ingredients" tabs, "Japanese Food Supporter" badges are displayed indicating the stores that have been certified under the Certification System for Japanese Food Supporter Shops Overseas (https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/trends/foods/supporter.html).

This program is designed to certify overseas restaurants, bars and retailers which carry Japanese food and beverages as an official "Japanese Food Supporter" in order to further promote Japanese food products or alcoholic beverages around the world.

(Image2: "Japanese Food Supporter" badge

https://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M104045/201710126790/_prw_PI2fl_F4mp6Fq9.png)

For inquiries regarding the certification: afa-supporter@jetro.go.jp

(JETRO Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Food Division)