Japan beats France

JAPAN has overtaken France in the battle for the greatest number of three-star Michelin restaurants.

It now has 29 three-star restaurants while France has just 25.

The two countries now share more than half of the 101 three-star restaurants in 22 countries across the world, with Tokyo having 14 and Paris 10.

Of the 14 in Tokyo only two serve French cuisine, with the others offering Japanese dishes. Five offer only sushi or the toxic pufferfish which needs highly-skilled preparation.