Here are seven major parts.

Other parts of the chicken you may be familiar with include the plump "kawa," the "bonjiri," which is the part at the base of the tail, and the "seseri," which is the neck part.

Japanese people are overwhelmingly fond of rich thigh meat, and it is said that the ratio of thigh meat to breast meat is about 8:2 at supermarkets and other meat shops. Most imported chicken meat from Brazil is also thigh meat, commonly known as bra-momo in the industry. On the other hand, people in Europe and the United States tend to prefer the lighter meat of the breast.

Japanese people are said to eat 13.9 kg of chicken per person per year (FY 2019). By way of comparison, pork and beef are 12.8 kg and 6.5 kg, respectively. (From the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries "Do you know? Food Situation in Japan")

Few religions have a taboo against chicken, and unique food cultures have developed in various parts of the world. Here are some chicken dishes from around the world.

Broiler refers to domestic chicken meat. It is a generic term for commercial hybrid chickens that have been bred to grow larger and meatier in a shorter period of time with less food, and are used exclusively for meat and for mass production. Since the first broiler breed was registered in the U.S. in 1935, chicken meat has become an easily accessible foodstuff. The most commonly distributed chicken meat is broiler.

Jidori refers to Japanese native chickens, which were defined as a breed indigenous to Japan by the Meiji era (1868-1912). The term "Jidori" refers to chickens whose parents or one parent is a native breed, and which are raised in a strictly regulated manner in terms of breeding methods, length of time, etc. Nagoya Cochin and Hinai Jidori are well-known examples.

Broilers are shipped after about 50 to 60 days, while Jidori are kept for at least 75 days from the hatching date.

Generally, chickens produced in Japan are called domestic chickens. However, even among chickens raised in Japan, there are two types: those whose origin is foreign and those whose origin is Japanese. Among chickens raised in Japan, those whose origin (parents or grandparents' generation) is foreign are called domestic while chickens bred and improved in Japan and purely domestic are called domestic chicken breeds.

In the previous question, we introduced the term "domestic" for chickens raised in Japan whose origin (parents' or grandparents' generation) is foreign. Japan imports most of the chickens of its parents' and grandparents' generation from foreign countries. The percentage is a whopping 98%. Almost all chicken meat lined up in supermarkets has its roots in foreign countries.

Since the avian influenza pandemic of 2003, only heat-treated chicken meat (prepared products) can be imported from countries where the disease occurred. Japan is most indebted to Thailand for imports of prepared products. Brazil, a major agricultural country, is the leading importer of unheated chicken meat.

As mentioned in Q7, approximately 98% of the edible chickens distributed in Japan come from chickens imported from abroad. However, with the recent confirmation of avian influenza in many countries around the world, there is a risk that imports from overseas will stop. If imports of parent chickens were to stop, it would cause great damage to the poultry farming industry.

In order to protect poultry farming, which is fraught with such risks, Nichirei Fresh raises pure domestic chicken from scratch with its own hands.
For more details, please refer to [ Part 2: JUNWAKEI Chiken ], which was born for the Japanese dining table!