A Tokyo-based group has turned to a food familiar to every Japanese person — the omusubi rice ball — as a vehicle to promote international exchanges in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer.
The group, "Eat, and Energize the East," launched a project in 2019 to create opportunities for residents of Japanese municipalities registered as "host towns" for the Tokyo Games to interact with overseas visitors by making and eating omusubi together.
In the project called "Omusubi Unites the World," participants combine rice produced locally with fillings inspired by popular dishes and food from the country it is hosting to enhance mutual understanding and promote omusubi and rice grown in Japan.