SHAFAQNA- Restaurant chain operator Royal Holdings in Japan plans to broaden its halal food menu and step up sales of such fare at exhibition halls and college cafeterias.
In addition, the Japanese company plans to sell frozen lunches and other food permissible under Islamic dietary laws over the internet and to businesses, such as small hotels and conference facilities.
It hopes that these efforts will bring in sales of 500 million yen ($4.54 million) in 2020. Nikkei reported.
Japan has focused on boosting tourism figures, and aims to capitalize on the 2020 Olympic Games to attract one million Muslim visitors a year.
This is about 4 per cent of total tourist numbers today, with annual growth forecast at 18.7 per cent to 2020, according to Crescent Rating.
The Japanese government wants to attract more Muslim tourists from the Middle East and last year eased visa restrictions for citizens of several Muslim countries.