School lunch in Japan

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A school meal (whether it is a breakfast, lunch, or evening meal) is a meal provided to students and sometimes teachers at a school, typically in the middle or beginning of the school day. In Japan, this usually refers to school meals served as lunch. The origin of school meals provided in Japan is in 1889, where an elementary school provided free meals for children who could not bring food to school. Post–World War II school meals usually had a loaf of bread and skimmed milk, although rice returned to school meals in 1976.

Contents

School nutritionists usually plan the menu for school meals in Japan, and students usually serve the food to students themselves. Local meals are served in some regions.

History

Reproduced Japanese school lunch, 1970s Japanese school lunch in the Showa period.jpg
Reproduced Japanese school lunch, 1970s

School meals in Japan were first provided in 1889 at an elementary school located in the current-day city of Tsuruoka, when the school provided free meals for children who could not bring food to the school. The system was encouraged by the government in 1923 and the school meal system spread across the country, until it was abolished due to food shortages. [1] After World War II, school meals started to be provided again with the support from the Allied forces in Japan and the American organization Licensed Agencies for Relief in Asia. [2] When the Treaty of San Francisco was signed in 1951, the American aid ended on June of the same year, putting the school meal system at risk of ending. [3] In 1954, the School Lunch Act was passed, which endorsed providing school meals in all schools. However, as this was not mandatory, some schools in Japan do not provide school meals to this day. [4]

These post-war lunches initially included items such as bread, bread rolls, and skimmed milk powder (replaced in 1958 by milk bottles and cartons). [1] Later, lunches were expanded to include flour donated by an American charity; a dessert; and a dish (such as daikon) that changed daily. [5] Rice was not served in school lunches until 1976, and lunches were based on bread before then. This is due to the low supply of rice in the post-war era, rice being expensive compared to bread, and high costs of installing equipment to serve rice. In 1967, as rice supply increased, and the government started to implement rice in school meals. [6]

Whale meat was served as well until the 1970s, although it made a comeback and was served in Osaka Prefecture in 2021. [7]

Participation

The School Lunch Act did not require schools to serve school meals. [4] However, the vast majority of Japanese schools serve school lunches; in 2014, 99.2% of elementary schools and 87.9% of junior high schools did so. [8]

The city of Yokohama did not serve school meals in middle schools until April 2018, when the city began providing them. [9] [10] A few middle schools in cities like Machida do not serve meals. [4]

Nutrition

Studies suggest that the school lunch program has contributed to Japan's low rate of overweight and obesity among children, [11] and closed socioeconomic gaps in intake of fruits and vegetables among elementary school students. [12]

A 2017 study concluded that school lunches improved the overall quality of the diets of Japanese students (especially with respect to increased vitamins and minerals intake) but provided insufficient dietary fiber. [8]

Issues

School meal costs

A survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology found that there is a significant disparity between schools on lunch costs, with the most expensive costing 1.4 times more than the lowest. [13]

Many municipalities find it difficult to maintain quality of school lunches with the rising ingredient costs, with chicken meat being provided instead of pork and beef in many schools. [14] Some municipalities, especially in urban areas, were found to be serving fewer school meals than the national guidelines. [15]

Failure to pay school meal bills

Some parents who have the ability to pay for school meals have been seen purposefully refusing to pay for them. Attempts to refuse serving school meals to children whose parents refuse to pay the bills has been criticized as violation of the law as discrimination on education. Additionally, parents who are in poverty cannot pay for the school meals. [16] In 2015, 4 middle schools in Kitamoto, Saitama, announced that the schools will refuse to serve school meals if the bills were not paid for 3 months, reducing the number of parents not paying them from 43 to 3. [17]

Allergy problems

There are over 527,000 students in public primary and middle schools in Japan with food allergies as of 2023, which is 6.3% of all students. [18] Overall lack of care for these students has been shown, mainly due to lack of staff and regulations. [19]

Current

In Japan, students set and clean the tables. SchoolLunch KyushokuToban.jpg
In Japan, students set and clean the tables.

Japanese school meals are not cooked from frozen ingredients, and sometimes they are cooked in the schools. In many schools, school nutritionists make the recipes for the meals. Students serve the meals themselves and also do a part of the clean-up, instead of hiring janitors. [20] According to Chico Harlan: [5]

Though Japan's central government sets basic nutritional guidelines, regulation is surprisingly minimal. Not every meal has to meet precise caloric guidelines ... Central government officials say they have ultimate authority to step in if schools are serving unhealthy food, but they can't think of any examples where that actually happened. ... And because this is food-obsessed Japan, those standard meals are restaurant-worthy; in fact, Adachi Ward publishes a full-color cookbook based on its best school meals. [However,] Japanese cuisine isn't automatically healthy; it includes crispy chicken, rich bowls of salty ramen with pork belly and battered and deep-fried tempura. But, like most cuisines, it can be healthy. ... You don't see dessert, other than fruit and yogurt. You occasionally see fried food, but in stark moderation.[ excessive quote ]

In both elementary school and middle school, students put on white coats and caps and serve their classmates, who then all eat together in their classrooms instead of in a cafeteria. [5]

Local meals, such as crabs in Toyama Prefecture and takoyaki in Osaka Prefecture, are sometimes served in schools around the country. [21] [22]

According to a survey by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2021, 99% of elementary schools and 91% of middle schools served school meals. [23]

At the chōsen gakkō (North Korean schools in Japan), Korean foods, such as kimchee, are served. [24]

Role in education

School meals in Japan are considered a part of food education. In the Basic Act on Shokuiku, established in 2005, food education is positioned as "the basis of a human life which is fundamental to intellectual education, moral education, and physical education". [20]

Until the 1970s, school meals in Japan had a high priority in reducing picky eaters and curing malnutrition. As a result, some schools banned students from leaving out foods, and in rare cases, teachers fed food to students by force, or kept students in the classroom until they ate it, resulting in traumas. [25] [26] This practice was heavily criticized among people as a violation of human rights. [27]

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References

  1. 1 2 "昭和から令和まで、年代別にみる学校給食の変遷 - ふるさと給食自慢：農林水産省". www.maff.go.jp. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  2. ↑ "学校給食っていつからあるの？｜公文書に見る戦時と戦後 －統治機構の変転－". www.jacar.go.jp. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  3. ↑ "学校給食の歴史". 学校給食研究改善協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  4. 1 2 3 "町田市「中学校給食」問題、2万3000超の署名を集めるも不採択に 議員からは「給食は手抜き」「お弁当を作りたい人の気持ちを尊重」". ねとらぼ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  5. 1 2 3 Harlan, Chico (2023-05-18). "On Japan's school lunch menu: A healthy meal, made from scratch". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  6. ↑ "週5で食べる地域も！昔は給食の救世主、今では当たり前の「米飯給食」はなぜここまで浸透した？【#給食今昔物語】 | クックパッド". news.cookpad.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  7. ↑ "懐かしい？新鮮？給食に鯨の竜田揚げ……この肉はどこから来たのか：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  8. 1 2 Asakura K, Sasaki S. School lunches in Japan: their contribution to healthier nutrient intake among elementary-school and junior high-school children. Public Health Nutr. 2017 Jun;20(9):1523-1533. doi: 10.1017/S1368980017000374. Epub 2017 Mar 15. PMID: 28294086; PMCID: PMC10261553.
  9. ↑ "全国の政令市で唯一、中学校給食がない横浜市 来春からデリバリー型で実施へ 4事業者を選定". sukusuku.tokyo-np.co.jp (in Japanese). 2024-10-08. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  10. ↑ "ハマ弁、給食になっても冷めた弁当? 横浜市立中、8日から開始". 毎日新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  11. ↑ Miyawaki A, Lee JS, Kobayashi Y. Impact of the school lunch program on overweight and obesity among junior high school students: a nationwide study in Japan. J Public Health (Oxf). 2019 Jun 1;41(2):362-370. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdy095. PMID: 29873776; PMCID: PMC6636685.
  12. ↑ Mai Yamaguchi, Naoki Kondo, Hideki Hashimoto, Universal school lunch programme closes a socioeconomic gap in fruit and vegetable intakes among school children in Japan, European Journal of Public Health, Volume 28, Issue 4, August 2018, Pages 636–641, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/cky041
  13. ↑ "自治体の４割、学校給食無償化 地域格差が課題に 文科省調査 / 日本農業新聞公式ウェブサイト". 日本農業新聞公式ウェブサイト (in Japanese). 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  14. ↑ "「給食からパンが消えた…」東海3県、学校給食で広がる"地域格差"（中京テレビＮＥＷＳ）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  15. ↑ "「学校給食が少ない！」 給食費は5％ほどアップも…"物価高"で追いつかず 学校も業者も悲鳴 | 特集 | ニュース | 関西テレビ放送 カンテレ". ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  16. ↑ "学校の「給食費」を払わないと「児童手当」から徴収される!? 未納だと子どもは給食を食べられないの？ 給食費について解説（ファイナンシャルフィールド）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  17. ↑ "給食費３カ月未納で給食停止 通知後、支払い急増 埼玉".
  18. ↑ "食物アレルギーの子ども52万人超 前回調査より12万人増の原因は：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  19. ↑ "学校給食と食物アレルギー". www.jichiro.gr.jp. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  20. 1 2 "Lunch in Japanese schools". JAPAN Educational Travel. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  21. ↑ "あのメニューは地域限定だった? 大人になって知ったご当地給食". マイナビニュース (in Japanese). 2021-08-14. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  22. ↑ "ふるさと給食自慢。バックナンバー：農林水産省". www.maff.go.jp. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  23. ↑ "令和三年度学校給食実施状況等調査の結果をお知らせします。" (PDF).
  24. ↑ Yuri Kageyama, Schools teach Koreans in Japan pride in culture of homeland, Associated Press (November 2, 2017).
  25. ↑ 大槻, 健; 大麻, 南; 海老原, 治善; 室, 俊司; 境野, 健児 (1984). "学校論～現代学校の役割と機能～". 教育学研究. 51 (1): 70–76. doi:10.11555/kyoiku1932.51.70.
  26. ↑ Udaka, Junko; Kadota, Naomi (1982). "Studies on Nutrition Education in Terms of School Lunch". The Japanese Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics. 40 (3): 131–140. doi:10.5264/eiyogakuzashi.40.131.
  27. ↑ "学校給食は｢残すな｣より｢食べ残せ｣が正しい". 東洋経済オンライン (in Japanese). 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
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