- Title: JAPAN-MUSLIMS/KARAOKE Karaoke for Muslim customers in Tokyo
- Date: 25th December 2014
- Summary: VARIOUS OF MUSLIM WOMEN SINGING IN KARAOKE ROOM WAITRESS BRINGING BEVERAGES WOMEN TOASTING VARIOUS OF HALAL FOOD CERTIFICATE ON TABLE VARIOUS OF WOMEN EATING
- Embargoed: 9th January 2015 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAAHP3TZ0DDGYZYRZI3ET230OUN
- Story Text: A Japanese karaoke chain opened a new shop in Tokyo on Thursday (December 25) catering to a growing Muslim community and tourists in Japan.
The "Maneki-neko" (Japanese for "The Beckoning Cat") karaoke chain, opened one of their shops near the Shinjuku entertainment district in downtown Tokyo. The venue serves only halal food with ingredients certified by the Malaysia Halal Corporation. The place also includes a prayer-room.
Islam requires believers to follow "halal" dietary restrictions, which the venue offers for Muslim customers.
"I love karaoke except the fact that I couldn't enjoy food as they do not serve halal food. But here, they have pretty delicious food and it's all halal as well. It's very good," said 21-year-old Muslim student Nur Nazliah, who came to Japan from Malaysia a year ago to study engineering.
"As far as I know, it's the first time that a halal karaoke has opened in Japan. More Muslims can now enjoy karaoke with their friends and enjoy good food," Nazliah's friend, 24-year-old Nurul Syazwani said.
The venue also provides a prayer room with a time table for prayers.
21-year-old Malaysian, Nur Dalila, welcomed the inclusion of a prayer room.
"I was excited when I was singing in the karaoke room but I automatically calm down when I pray, so this room works perfectly for me," she said after finishing her afternoon prayers.
The shop still keeps alcoholic beverages on its menu for non-Muslim customers, but dishes are strictly separated accordingly to halal rules, the restaurant said.
The global market to process, produce, and distribute halal food and drinks is expected to grow into a US1.6 trillion dollars industry by 2018 from about one trillion U.S. dollars in 2012, according to Dinar Standard, a research firm specialising in Muslim markets.
Big food firms over the world have been ramping up their investment and expertise in halal, eyeing a fast-growing Muslim population that is forecast to add a billion people by 2050 with rising education and income levels.
Japan is no exception in the growing trend of halal food, especially with the popularity of sushi and karaoke across the world.
"We found many Muslims are in fact Karaoke lovers, so we opened this halal karaoke for our Muslim customers to enjoy Japanese food and culture with no concern," said Takayuki Ezawa, public relations manager of Koshidaka Holdings, the company behind Maneki-neko Karaoke.
With Japan preparing to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Japanese food and service industry is ramping up efforts to serve hundreds of thousands of Muslim visitors expected to turn up. Malaysian tourists in particular are exempt from visa requirements in Japan since 2013 and the numbers of Malaysian Muslim tourists have increased exponentially since.
"I believe Muslim people coming to Japan will drastically increase if we prepare facilities that serve them properly as we do here in our restaurant," Ezawa said.
Maneki-neko is looking to build on its success and plans to open more halal karaoke shops in Tokyo. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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