Do you like raw fish? Do you like Sushi? Almost all you will say, “I love it.” I love it too.  My father is  a Sushi cook, so I often eat raw fish. I think that most Japanese people like raw fish. As the  truth, in 2008,  according to a survey by The NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, Sushi has topped the favorite meal ranking in Japan, and Sashimi has followed. However, I often hear that there aren’t many countries in the world where people like raw fish as Japan. So, why does Japan have the culture of eating raw fish? What is the difference with Europe and America?

The most important factor is related to the geography of Japan. Japan is surrounded by the ocean, and is an isolated island. In old times, bacteriology was developping in Europe. It was known that raw fish had bacilli in Europe, but Japanese couldn’t know it, because the airplane hadn’t been invented yet. Due to it, Japanese people began to eat raw fish without being afraid! They found raw fish delicious. As a result, the culture have been penetrating.

However, recently, raw fish has been eaten more and more in other countries. For example, there are many Sushi restaurants over the world. It is good to spread the Japanese culture. Thank to it, visitors to Japan are increasing every year.