Shokuiku - Food Education
Japan
Desirability, Norms and Preferences, Social Capital
National
Citizens/Consumers
Ongoing
The policy is spreading knowledge about ingredients, cooking and healthy habits through programmes in public schools and universities. The classes include information on healthy food habits, e.g. how much to eat of what, how many times to chew your food and different needs for different ages. There is a clear focus on the necessity to know where and how the food is produced, the prevalence of additives, as well as traditional Japanese farming and fermentation methods. The social aspects of eating, e.g. eating and cooking together, and learning from older generations is acknowledged. Visits at farms, factories and fisheries are possible. The policy is addressing the rising numbers of families not eating together, children skipping breakfasts and the number of people buying their foods in convenience stores.
In Japan, there has been a growing concern on increase of obesity and the metabolic syndrome among middle-aged men. Additionally, child obesity has also become one of the important health problems. The increased obesity among them is possibly associated with inappropriate dietary habits (eg skipping breakfast, excessive fat intake and insufficient vegetable). Under this circumstance, the "Basic Law on Shokuiku" was enacted in 2005, which was the first law that regulates one's diets and eating habits. For effective implementation of Shokuiku program, dietitians and registered dietitians would play important roles in various settings. Japan has a long history of dietitian system as well as school-lunch programs. Later, in order to further enhance the school-based Shokuiku programs, the Diet and Nutrition Teacher System was established in April 2007. Miyoshi M, Tsuboyama-Kasaoka N, Nishi N. School-based "Shokuiku" program in Japan: application to nutrition education in Asian countries. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2012;21(1):159-62. PMID: 22374574.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is responsible for the Shokuiku programme.
The interest in attending the classes has rissen steadily since the introduction in 2005. More and more prefectures are offering the classes, and in 2020 89% of municipalities has created plans for offering Shokuiku classes.