The Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Japan Association for Improving School Lunch was established in 1960 and became a public interest foundation in 2011, and right from its inception, the association has been consistently implementing the purport of its establishment - “activities to protect the mental and physical health of precious children through school lunch.”

The social environment surrounding dietary habit has changed rapidly in recent years, and children’s imbalanced nutritional intake, their irregular lifestyle habits, as well as obesity and underweight are being increasingly pointed out. This has further increased the importance of the role being played by school lunches.

Against this background, it became more important than anything else to promote food related guidance so that children will develop rich humanity and acquire the zest for life. The Basic Act on Food Education was thus enacted in 2005, and various legal improvements in relation to the Act has been underway since then.

As a dietary education promotion project that is based on the objective of its establishment, the association is supporting the initiatives of diet and nutntion teachers and school nutritionists, who play the most important role at the center of dietary education at schools, and to improve their quality. The association is implementing a series of activities and is working towards spreading and enhancing school lunches, which is imperative for enhancing the health of children.

We hope the association’s initiatives help the people involved and the society as activities that contribute to the sound mental and physical growth of children who are the bearers of this country’s future.

Soichiro Tanaka

Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Japan Association for Improving School Lunch

We at Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Japan Association for Improving School Lunch research, improve, and supply school lunches and lunch materials. At the same time, we subsidize the school lunch business and promote dietary education on school lunches and the healthy growth of schoolchildren. By doing so, we aim to contribute to the development and improvement of the school lunch business and nurture schoolchildren’s sound mental and physical growth.

The foundation carries out the following projects with the primary aim of promoting school lunches and dietary education.

• Promoting dietary education
• Providing subsidies related to the school lunch business
• Researching and studying the conditions surrounding school lunches
• Researching and studying school lunch materials and the supplies thereof
• Conducting other related activities

November 1, 1960

The foundation was established by the nine leaders, including Fujimaro Kubota, who founded the school lunch project at the Ministry of Education, Kunitaro Arimoto, the director of the National Institute of Nutrition (currently the National Institute of Health and Nutrition), and Giichi Ariyoshi, the president of SN Foods Co., Ltd., as a private organization designed to contribute to the improvement and enhancement of school lunches in Japan.

July 9, 1962

The foundation was approved by the Ministry of Education as an incorporated foundation in accordance with Article 34 of the Civil Code.

March 25, 2011

The foundation was approved by the Prime Minister as a public interest incorporated foundation in accordance with Article 44 of the Act on Authorization of Public Interest Incorporated Associations and Public Interest Incorporated Foundation.

April 1, 2011

Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Japan Association for Improving School Lunch was established.

The provision of school lunches in Japan officially began in 1941 on the order of the Ministry of Education, but the onset of World War II brought about a temporary suspension of school lunch service. Provision resumed after the war in 1946 via an official notice, titled “Encouragement of school lunch promotion,” by the three Ministries of Education, Welfare, and Agriculture and Forestry.

With the US government also providing assistance from 1950 onward, the program evolved into a complete lunch system. However, the Government Appropriation for Relief in Occupied Area Fund (GARIOA), which was the source of the assistance, was discontinued at the end of June 1951.

The School Lunch Program Act then took effect in June 1954, establishing the implementation structure for school lunches. Tireless efforts by the Ministry of Education have made the school lunch structure an integral part of education. The passage of time has brought challenges, however; in fiscal year 1960, for example, school lunches were on the brink of discontinuation for a variety of reasons.

School lunches have been making immeasurable contributions in education, such as improving the physique of students—who represent the next generation—as well as reforming dietary lifestyles and spreading knowledge of nutrition.

The future of school lunches in Japan depends on cooperation across society, including the domestic public and private sectors. To further improve the effectiveness of school lunches in Japan, we need to continue researching the supply of high-quality, nutritious school lunch ingredients from the Japanese agricultural sector and implement a complete school lunch system in a smooth fashion from the country’s unique standpoint.

Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Japan Association for Improving School Lunch was established with that objective.

November 1, 1960
Fujimaro Kubota
Founder and President

The Association receives great support based on understanding and approval of its administrative philosophy and activities.

The association implements various initiatives to improve school lunches.

The association holds cooking workshops for diet and nutrition teachers and school nutritionists throughout Japan.

The objectives of the cooking workshops are as follows:

• The diet and nutrition teachers and school nutritionists use the food products they developed to understand the features of the products, and they develop menu items utilizing the products based on the experience in the workshop.
• Diet and nutrition teachers and school nutritionists study menus and cook the dishes to promote understanding and improvement of cooking skills.
• The workshops are utilized as a forum for the participants, who otherwise have few opportunities to meet due to busy schedules, to exchange information regarding school lunch.

The recipes used at the cooking workshops are posted on the association’s website. The website has an enhanced recipe search function and the recipe can be searched using multiple conditions.

The association co-sponsors school-based and community-based cooking classes for families. Diet and nutrition teachers and school nutritionists who are active in the school lunch field give instructions and conduct the classes.

The objectives of the family cooking classes are as follows:

• The cooking classes offer a forum for the family to think together and solve dietary issues through enjoyable experiences.
• The classes offer cooking experience for children to take interest in food, learn about the activities of those involved in food, gain correct knowledge and basic actions of cooking and apply what they learned in their daily dietary life (including cooking on their own).
• Diet and nutrition teachers and school nutritionists help deepen the involvement of the parents and people from the local community in dietary education.

Comments from the participants

• The recipe was easy and even I was able to prepare it. I would like to cook it also at home. (a fourth grader)
• My child told me that school lunches are good and I was convinced about it once we cooked the same menu items and tasted them. The taste of properly prepared dashi was impressive. I would like to prepare it also at home. (a parent)

*In collaboration with the School Dietitian Conference of Japan, the association conducts research on foodstuffs for school lunches, develops food products, and inspects the manufacturers’ plants to confirm the products’ quality. These products are sold under the brand of “ZENGAKUEI.”

School Dietitian Conference of Japan: An association made up of diet and nutrition teachers and school nutritionists engaged in work primarily related to school lunches. It carries out projects with the aim of improving the quality of its members.

The association imports high quality skimmed milk from Australia and New Zealand and offers it through the school lunch associations. Its use is limited to meal services for schools, etc. and is exempted from customs duties as a special measure to enhance children’s health.

Special Jury: Koji Kinutani
Professor Emeritus, Tokyo University of the Arts, and Advisor to the association

The association engages in activities to disseminate the very important role played by school lunches and dietary education in sound growth of children at various exhibitions targeting both people involved in school lunches as well as the general public.

A mother and her child visiting the annual food education convention participate in a game to learn nutritional balance.

Japanese children, through their daily school lunches, learn various things including nutrition, hygiene, food culture, local produces, table manners and sense of gratitude. The School Lunch Program Act was enacted in 1954 and school lunches are being provided as part of school education activities.

The above is a standard menu for a school lunch. In addition, there are special menus consisting of festive dishes.

Users can search for various recipes on the Japanese language site, but the English language site is not provided with the function yet. Those interested in the search system on the Japanese site, please click the following link:

http://www.gakkyu.or.jp/recipe/

A high percentage of elementary and junior high schools provide school lunches.

Reference: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology website Survey on school lunch implementation status

Based on the Results of the Survey on the Meal Situation of Children, etc. conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Council of Collaborators in Studies and Research on School Lunch Nutrition Standards was set up in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Based on a report by this Council, the Standards for Provision of School Lunches were revised according to the following table on April 1, 2021.

Before revision → After revision(the changed part is in red)

April,2021

Notes:

• In addition to the items listed in the table, take into consideration the intake requirement regarding the following:
  Zinc: Pupil (6 to 7) 2mg, pupil (8 to 9) 2mg, pupil (10 to 11) 3mg, student (12 to 14) 3mg
• These intake standards show the nation-wide average and should be applied in a flexible manner taking careful consideration of the real situation of individual health and life activities as well as the actual situation in the local community.
• When determining the menu, take into consideration the appropriate combination of diverse foods.

Scope: Ideal range is ones within the prescribed values
Reference: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology website

History of School Lunch

Pamphlets on Japanese school lunch

Examples of Japanese school lunch featured in overseas media

This one-page, two-sided A4-size brochure summarizes and introduces Japan’s school lunch, which has been positioned as part of education since its legislation in 1954 to this day.

The brochure is published in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean.

In particular, the English version has been widely utilized in various ways such as in English classes at junior high schools in Japan. The brochure in other languages are also distributed to involved parties overseas.

The newsletter disseminates information regarding school lunch- and dietary education-related initiatives and activities from various perspectives aimed at sound development of children’s mind and body through school meals.

The association distributes the newsletters not only to public elementary and junior high schools, diet and nutntion teachers and school nutritionists but also to various government ministries and agencies, education boards of prefectures and municipalities, school meal-related parties, teachers colleges and other various institutions and organizations in Japan and abroad for broad utilization.

The original food education-themed picture-story show materials were produced and distributed in the latter half of 1970s to the first half of 1980s by the association. The reprinted version consists of seven stories from the original versions, which were reedited under the supervision of the School Dietitian Conference of Japan to reflect current teaching contents.

The seven stories enable children to enjoy learning about food education and are currently widely utilized in the field of education including at schools.

Japan experienced unprecedented damages in the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011. Majority of people in the affected areas faced food shortage in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. There was also the issue of food supply for children who were forced to remain in schools immediately after the earthquake as well as children with allergies.

In response, diet and nutrition teachers and school nutritionists at schools throughout Japan work together and, based on strict criteria typical of specialists, developed emergency food that would help school children survive for 72 hours till relief supplies arrive.

The packet contains rice and curry, which is tasty even at room temperature.

Contains lots of vegetables. The soup is thickened so that it can be scooped with spoon.

Includes brown rice for enjoying the food texture

Includes glutinous brown rice for enjoying the food texture

Designed and conceived by diet and nutrition instructors who had experienced the disaster, with an image that would bring relief to children and students upon receiving the emergency food, even when they are in a tough environment.

Uses the character Kyu, one of the kanji characters of Kyushoku, or school lunch, inside the heart symbol.