Food-related events highlighting Japanese cuisine kicked off Friday in New Delhi and in Mumbai, following the opening ceremony for "Oishii Japan" at the Japanese Embassy in Delhi on Thursday evening.

The fair — organized by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry — aims to promote Japanese food in India and will run until February.

Japanese Ambassador Takeshi Yagi said, "I hope this project will increase the number of fans and chefs of Japanese food and more people will have the opportunity to enjoy Japanese food in India. I would like people to try Japanese food because it is healthy and optically very beautiful."

Events such as cooking workshops, restaurant promotions, retail promotions, recipe contests and food festivals have been organized to give Indians an opportunity to learn about and develop a taste for Japanese cuisine.