09/07/2026
Amid rising prices and labor shortages that are making restaurant management increasingly difficult, foreign students are flocking to vocational schools that train sushi chefs.
"Jun-chan Sushi" is a sushi restaurant located in a residential area of Hachioji, Tokyo. Their most popular lunch item is the generous "Seafood Bowl Special."
However, the cost of ingredients such as salmon roe and salmon has risen roughly 1.5 times over the past two to three years. The soaring prices are said to be squeezing the restaurant's finances.
Jun-chan Sushi owner Jun Jibiki says: "Practically everything has gone up in price. Keeping our prices the same is barely sustainable. We're cutting costs wherever we can."
Local sushi restaurants are facing strong headwinds.
According to Teikoku Databank, 16 sushi restaurants went bankrupt in the first half of 2026 — up from 11 during the same period the previous year.
In addition to rising seafood prices, a major challenge for small local sushi shops is the aging of their craftsmen and the lack of successors.
At "Tokyo Sushi & Washoku Culinary Academy," a vocational school in Setagaya, Tokyo, that trains sushi chefs, foreign students can also be seen. About 30% of each class consists of international students.
Students split into the roles of chef and customer, practicing behind the counter in realistic, hands-on sushi training.
Paul Wilson, a student learning to become a sushi chef at the school, said: "My hands are big, so detailed work isn't really my strength — I really have to concentrate to get it right. I love and respect Japan, and I want to prove to myself, and to the world, that I can do this just as well as a Japanese person."
物価高や人手不足などで店の経営が厳しくなる中、すし職人を育てる専門学校には外国人が殺到しています。東京・八王子市の住宅街にあるすし店「淳ちゃん寿司」。ランチメニューの一番人気は、ボリューム満点の“海鮮...