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Published on November 10, 2007

There will be more than 700 Thai restaurants serving diners in Japan by the end of next year, thanks to the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (Jtepa).

Thai food is popular in Japan, where there are already 600 Thai restaurants.

However, for there to be sustainable growth, these restaurants must increase competitiveness, a seminar in Bangkok heard. Delegates were told yesterday that the hospitality industry in Japan is cut-throat.

The seminar, hosted by the Department of Export Promotion and the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro), gathered restaurant-industry experts and successful operators working in Japan.

Pramuk Montriwat, director of the department's Business Promotion Office, said Thai restaurants were expanding about 20 per cent a year, because of reduced obstacles to trade under Jtepa.

It ended tough Japanese import restrictions but stiffened quality and health standards, he said.

Before the agreement, a restaurateur needed 10 years' experience. This requirement has now been halved.

Haruhiko Ozasa, director of Jetro's Trade Cooperation Office, said the agreement would increase opportunities for Thai exports, because tariffs had been removed.

He said the popularity of Thai food in his country meant there was room for expansion. Many Japanese visited Thailand for the real thing.

He recommended that restaurants specialise in, for example, Isaan fare, noodles or traditional cuisine. Japanese prefer this type of dining.

Thai food is the third most popular cuisine in Japan, after Chinese and Italian.

However, Vietnamese and Indonesian are making inroads, said Trevor Mackenzie, global development director at Exquisine System.

His company runs the Coca and Mango Tree restaurants in Thailand, Japan and elsewhere. He said newcomers must focus on competitiveness.

"New enterprises must improve professionalism and do a lot of preparation

and research before getting into the market. The key to a successful business is to form joint ventures with local partners. They understand the market and regulations," he said.

Maruha Restaurant System president Yoshio Kojima

said despite a 5-per-cent

drop in restaurant growth

in Japan, Thai restaurants were still increasing at a rate

of 3-4 per cent a year. Maruha is Exquisine's partner in Japan.

Kojima said the seven Coca and Mango Trees in Japan generated 1.4 billion Japanese yen (Bt429 million) last year. To sustain this, it will open three more, in Osaka, Fukuoka and one other city. The joint venture is considering a New York branch next year.

One restaurant-research survey reported annual restaurant revenue in Japan reached ¥24.3 trillion Japanese in 2004. This was more than for retailing and wholesaling, automobiles, garments or furniture.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

 The Nation