Toshimi Furusawa, 62, flew to Cambodia this summer to teach local people traditional Japanese cooking as a senior volunteer with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

"This is a great opportunity and I plan to teach them what I believe is authentic Japanese cuisine," Furusawa said in an interview before leaving her home in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture.

Furusawa opened a Japanese restaurant 25 years ago with her husband near JR Kofu Station, and had since focused on stocks or broths called dashi, which form the basis of many Japanese dishes.