TOKYO -- Japanese companies exporting popular products such as matcha tea, wagyu beef and tuna to the Middle East are struggling to recover from major falls in orders due to the Iran war. Kamichiku, a meat processor and wholesaler in Japan's southern Kagoshima prefecture with a 10-year history of exporting wagyu beef to the United Arab Emirates, has suspended transactions for two consecutive months. It planned to send 300 kilograms in March and 600 kg in April by air, but customers canceled their orders because of instability in air freight schedules and a decline in demand. Soaring fuel costs are also a concern for the company. "This situation is extremely disappointing," said Kosei Kamimura, the company's executive officer and head of sales. "As an alternative strategy, we are focusing on exports to Indonesia, which also has a large Muslim population, and European countries such as Spain and the Netherlands." The conflict has halted a wider trend of growing exports of Japanese ...