Over the last decade, the volume of wasabi produced in Shizuoka has declined by close to 55 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
“I have a sense of crisis,” said Hiroyuki Mochizuki, president of Tamaruya, a 147-year-old company in Shizuoka that processes wasabi to sell in tubes, as well as in salad dressings, flavored salts, pickles and even nostril-tickling chocolate.
“In order to protect Japanese food culture,” he added, “it is important to protect wasabi.”
