TOKYO -- In a country known for gastronomic indulgence, not least its love of fatty, marbled wagyu beef, it may come as a bit of a surprise to see the burgeoning popularity of lean New Zealand meat.

But as demand for lean cuts rises from an increasingly health-conscious public, more and more grass-fed New Zealand beef has appeared on Japan's supermarket shelves.

In June, Co-opdeli Consumers' Co-operative Union switched from grain-fed Australian beef to meat from pasture-grazed New Zealand cattle for its home delivery service.

Livestock tends to be raised in a more environmentally sound manner in New Zealand than major beef-producing countries.

While the weather can be a bit dreary in the land of the long white cloud, abundant rainfall does make for rich and plentiful pastures. There are even farmers who specialize in grass for livestock feed, growing fiber-rich ryegrass and clover for its minerals.

Grazing on specially grown grass rather than weeds leads to fine, delicate meat, according to a Co-opdeli official.

When put out to pasture, livestock is rotated through various different fields in order to maintain a supply of healthy, nutritious forage.

The safety of the meat is another big selling point. There have been no reported cases of mad-cow or foot-and-mouth disease in the country.

Co-opdeli sells bottom round for 498 yen ($4.54) per 220 grams, 20% cheaper than similar cuts of Japanese-raised beef.

Despite being priced higher than its Australian or American counterparts, sales of Kiwi beef have risen steadily. SAN-A, a supermarket chain operator in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, is on the track to sell 700 tons of New Zealand beef this year, double the figure for 2005, when the company started selling it. The low-fat, high-protein meat has proved extremely popular, said a sales manager.

The New Zealand beef industry is on the path to recovery after drought in 2013 caused significant damage. At the end of June the number of cattle was 2.9% higher than a year earlier.

Japanese imports of New Zealand beef have picked up accordingly; about 9,500 tons were shipped in the first half of this year, up 23% from the same period last year.

Just 3% of all Japanese beef imports in fiscal 2016 came from New Zealand, but it would appear the country can make inroads into a market currently dominated by Australian and American beef.

Anzco Foods Japan, the Japanese unit of the prominent New Zealand meat provider, has gone as far as opening a specialty restaurant in Tokyo's upmarket Minato Ward.

The Wakanui Grill Dining Bar Tokyo serves up high-grade Kiwi beef and lamb and is currently running a campaign pairing the meat with Kiwi cheese in partnership with the Japanese arm of New Zealand's leading dairy exporter, Fonterra Co-operative Group.

"We hope customers will eat more New Zealand beef at home after tasting it at the restaurant," said Akihiro Shimizu, head of the beef department of Anzco Foods Japan.

If the grill's Camembert cheeseburger is anything to go by, he is unlikely to be disappointed.