When the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture announced its intention to certify authentic Japanese restaurants overseas in November 2006, many foreign media, including the Washington Post (Faiola), the Financial Times (Sanchanta ) and The Independent (McNeill), reported it. and criticized the attempt with strong words like “sushi police” (McNeill). This was also condemned by world leaders as “meaningless” (Lewis). This news attracted so much attention that a Japanese Foreign Ministry official finally had to admit that it had become a “public relations disaster” (Lewis). As Japanese cuisine has become popular in recent years around the world, the number of Japanese restaurants overseas has increased significantly. It is estimated at around 25,000 by 2007 (“Proposal” 2) and would be 48,000 by 2009 (Faiola). In the United States in particular, the number of Japanese restaurants increased rapidly to around 9,000 in 2006, more than doubling over the previous ten years (“Current Situation” 2). This increase is one of the reasons why the Japanese government launched this certification program. The government is seriously concerned that in the long term some restaurants will gradually damage the reputation of Japanese cuisine due to poor culinary skills and knowledge of the chefs working there and insufficient health management in restaurants. In order to maintain the original quality of Japanese cuisine and properly present traditional Japanese cuisine, Japanese authorities should tell people around the world what authentic Japanese cuisine is by certifying Japanese restaurants outside Japan. Before the Japanese government announces the details. of the certification program, many reviewers who w...... middle of paper ......ure, forestry and fishing. The Proceedings of the Second Advisory Committee for the Overseas Japanese Restaurant Certification Program [Dai 2 kai Kaigai Nihonshoku Resutoran Ninsho Yushikisha Kaigi Gijiroku]. Ministry of Agriculture, February 2007. PDF file. Lewis, Leo. “Japanese Restaurants Urged to Get Sushi Squad Approval.” Time. Times Newspapers Ltd., January 30, 2008. Web. April 20, 2011.McNeill, David. “Sushi Police to Protect Japan’s Culinary Exports.” » The Independent. independent.co.uk, November 4, 2006. Web. April 20, 2011. Sanchanta, Mariko. “The Japanese “sushi police” are on a roll. » Financial Times. The Financial Times Ltd., January 27, 2007. Web. April 20, 2011.Yakaguchi, Keisuke. “A pseudo-cuisine prevalent in Japanese cuisine booming in Russia [Nihonshoku bumu no roshia de oukousuru tondemo ryori].” Diamond Online. Diamond Inc., December 3, 2009. Web. April 27. 2011.