Abstract
There are a number of food, nutrition and health issues in Japan: an increase in irregular and nutritionally unbalanced meals, the rise in obesity and lifestyle-related diseases, excessive desire to be slim, especially among young females, a series of incidents related to food safety, over-dependence on food from abroad.
In response, the Shokuiku Basic Act was formulated in June 2005 to promote Shokuiku, or Food Education. In March 2006, the Shokuiku Promotion Basic Plan, which consists of basic principles for policies related to Shokuiku promotion, items related to the targets in Shokuiku Promotion, issues related to comprehensive Shokuiku promotion, and issues necessary for comprehensive and systematic promotion of the policies of our country regarding Shokuiku promotion, was implemented.
Based on the Basic Act and the Basic Plan, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is promoting Shokuiku in cooperation with Cabinet Office (CAO), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). For example, MHLW and MAFF decided the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top, which shows the approximate recommended amount and menu of dishes for a day, and MAFF had popularized the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top through national media.
The Shokuiku Promotion Basic Plan will be revised by March 2011. MAFF is taking part in the consideration of revision of the Basic Plan with CAO and relevant Ministries.
