This paper aims to form a hypothesis about factors that affect the dietary lives in mother-to-child households by qualitatively analyzing information obtained from face-to-face interviews about the current daily lives in these households and the dietary lives experienced by the mothers in their childhood. We conducted semi-structured interviews ranging from one and a half to two and a half hours long with eight mothers from mother-to-child households living in the Hanshin region, all of whom were either introduced directly by NPO organizations or by other interviewed mothers. Although all participants were experiencing economic hardships in their daily lives, their educational attainment was high and their childhood dietary life was good. Since they were trying to provide their children with well-balanced meals at regular times, their children generally enjoyed a favorable dietary life. However, almost all of the participants who had to work to support their families in addition to undertaking various domestic duties on their own suffered from mental instability and chronic fatigue as a result of objectively limited time, along with negative experiences-such as divorce and harassment from ex-husbands-and anxiety about the future. In addition, they felt strongly that their time is limited subjectively due to mental instability, poor physical conditions, insufficient family support, and/or objectively limited time. In the case of mental instability and/or poor physical conditions, it can be difficult for individuals to perform domestic duties, such as cooking and shopping, which can temporarily aggravate the dietary intake of mothers themselves as well as their children. Therefore, emergency support measures, such as social safety nets for mother-to-child households, should be strengthened to counteract these negative effects of mental instability and/or poor physical conditions in daily life.

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The initial efforts to fulfill Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Japan were considered as issues for the central government and large enterprises to address, though local governments and local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are becoming more interested. However, while these local entities understand the need to take action, they are limited by their knowledge of what they can actually do. On the other hand, in the Tohoku and Miyagi regions, all local stakeholders worked to restore a sustainable food system in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake. These efforts not only match the basic principles of the SDGs, but also represent an advanced approach that contributes to the realization of the SDGs. In other words, these efforts offer an important point of discussion related to the SDGs in the Tohoku and Miyagi regions. At this symposium, four presenters first provide examples of local efforts related to the SDGs goals, and subsequently hold discussions focusing on the relationship between the Great East Japan Earthquake and a region's sustainability, including that of its food systems.

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The purpose of this paper is to examine the current challenges faced by the agricultural system in Tohoku from the perspective of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, an overhaul in farming methods in Sendai City, which was heavily damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, has demonstrated ways to combat weakening of the agricultural production base. In response to the sudden decrease in the number of farmers in flatlands, agriculture has been shifted to a corporate management system. This has been carried out with the support of JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperatives) through expansion of management bodies and combination of cultivated items; and has benefitted extensively from the 6th industrialization in Japan. In mountainous areas, which represent the other extreme in farming, a consumer cooperative supports agriculture in affected areas. Taken together, the local food network supports sustainable production in both flatlands and mountains and enables a stable supply of agricultural produce in a dramatically changing consumption niche.

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Our Non-profit Organization Foodbank Tohoku AGAIN is the oldest food bank in the Tohoku area. We work in three fields: in food bank activities; in local community support activities such as the “Children's Cafeteria”; and in welfare activities for people with disabilities.
Food is life. Food also connects various lives. In the old days in Tohoku, we customarily gave thanks to nature's blessings and shared food in the spirit of “AGAIN,” which means “please eat.”
To build a society that saves everybody peacefully and connects people with each other (and people to nature through food), we will work to help those who cannot afford food, in the spirit of “AGAIN.”

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GLOBALG.A.P. (G-GAP), an international farm assurance program of good agricultural practices, has attracted attention with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan. The Miyagi University School of Food Industrial Sciences Affiliated Farm at Tsubonuma (Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan) received G-GAP certification for our leek production on 1 December 2018 (to 30 November 2019). We began working towards compliance with the over 200-point checklist in the summer of 2016. It is important for the person in charge to pay attention to food safety, traceability and quality management, workers' safety and health, soil, fertilizer and pesticide management, integrated pest management and sustainable water management. The checklist consists of All Farm Base(AF), Crops Base(CB) and Fruits and Vegetables(FV). We recognized five major benefits of this practice. 1) Communication about the farm work between faculty members and field staff became easier than before. 2) We had a common direction to acquire the G-GAP certification. 3) The practice of G-GAP is involved in all aspects of agricultural issues. 4) G-GAP can lead to themes in the academic issues. 5) The practice can be incorporated into the training curriculum at our farm. We thought that the mission of G-GAP and the Sustainable Development Goals are similar in several points, with ‘sustainable’ being a common word in both. We think that G-GAP can be an effective tool for students to practice farm work, and we intend to incorporate G-GAP into our training curriculum.

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When one lives in an island nation like Japan, one realizes the reality of the phrase, “Resources are limited.” This paper, focusing on islands, introduces examples from both overseas and Japan dealing with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 14 and 15, and explains how to introduce innovations to solve these issues. It is important not only to discard old things and embrace new ones, but also to make use of old things to meet the needs of the present day. However, when working on innovations, there will be trade-offs such as cost benefits. Therefore, it is always necessary to consider such potential trade-offs. Using Noto in Ishikawa, Japan, as an example, trade-offs were discussed because the indiscriminate adoption of new technologies aimed at technological innovation, efficiency, and high yields could cause further deterioration in the environment and deplete resources in fisheries. In the case of Noto, collective decisions needed to be made to adopt or reject this technology. Such cases may offer important suggestions as to the potential solutions and pathways for achieving the SDGs.

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When the aggregation of goods is not based on economic theory, a possibility for bias exists in the estimation of price elasticity and welfare analysis. However, the Generalized Composite Commodity Theorem (GCCT) test has not been conducted using non-aggregated data assumed by economic theory. Further, the test results are unclear when it comes to the possibility of spatial aggregation. We used POS data to test the GCCT for milk products in a spatial context; the results rejected GCCT for most products, in contrast to many previous studies that supported GCCT aggregation.

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This paper clarifies the factors related to the reception environment in Japan for Taiwanese who have visited Japan and practice vegetarianism. Results indicated that the level of satisfaction with meals for vegetarian tourists has a positive effect on their willingness to revist Japan. In addition, enriching food, such as eggs, is a relatively simple way for improving satisfaction with meals for the vegetarian tourists. Furthermore, vegetarian tourists are forced to change their behaviors at restaurants in Japan, which causes a psychological burden and reduces their satisfaction with meals.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify characteristics of municipalities that use agriculture-related specialty goods as thank-you gifts for furusato nozei (hometown tax donation program implemented by the Japanese government). An analysis was performed based on the results of a postal questionnaire survey of municipalities. Approximately 60% of respondents used agriculture-related specialty goods as thank-you gifts for furusato nozei and approximately 70% expressed a willingness to use agriculture-related specialty goods as thank-you gifts for furusato nozei in the future. The results of logistic regression models showed that several factors, including staff assignments, promotion measures, and financial capability index, are characteristics of municipalities using or expressing a willingness to use agriculture-related specialty goods as thank-you gifts for furusato nozei.

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The African Swine Fever (ASF) is one of the swine diseases with a high mortality rate. Thus far, there is no effective vaccine that has been developed, and there are no alternative means to stop the spread of infection other than killing the infected swine. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of ASF prevalence in Japan. We evaluate the impact of reduction in swine production by 10% due to the prevalence of ASF by using inter-regional input-output model. The result shows the value added is deduced by around 31 billion yen in cases where ASF pervades Kanto or Kyushu region – the area where experts think the ASF most likely strike.

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Genome editing is being applied in various fields of life sciences, such as medicine, agriculture, food and energy. Regarding the regulatory status of genome editing in Japan, policies are being issued by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Ministry of the Environment, and applications to the fields of agriculture and food are being widely considered. However, there has hardly been any explicit discussion on the differences between applications for plants and animals. We argue there are several points that should be taken into account. In this paper, we clarify the unique regulatory issues that separate genome edited animals from plants, in particular, safety assessment, consumer perception, and animal welfare.

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This report clarifies that the effectivity of in-store display that shows “the quality of product process” of gelato made from milk that were fed self-supplied feed. We investigated the feature of consumers' information processing and the effectivity of information provision with protocol analysis by thinking aloud method and purchase experiment. As a result, we found that provision of the place of feed production alongside that of milk production gains consumers' interests in feed.

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Through eye tracking and a questionnaire survey, this study aims to grasp the situation that causes information over-load among young consumers when purchasing fruits. The findings are as follows: 1) Eye tracking suggests a possibility of information overload when the consumers have many choices, while it is not the case when consumers have a lot of information. 2) The results of the questionnaire survey revealed there is a possibility that consumers tend to experience confusion when presented with lots of choices. This tendency is common among consumers who do not regularly eat fruit.

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Using a questionnaire survey and eye-tracking, this study aims to reveal elderly people's purchasing behavior characteristics for daily foods. For this purpose, we examined whether elderly people experience choice overload, particularly when shopping for food online. In the experiment, participants were asked to choose from either limited or extensive choices. The results revealed that participants felt difficulty when presented with extensive choices, while most of them were eventually able to choose. The results of eye-tracking suggest that participants try to reduce the choices unconsciously.

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Wooden barrels have been traditionally used for fermenting miso. Recently, wooden barrels have been replaced by plastic and steel barrels to reduce commercial costs. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of different types of barrels on the flavor and taste of miso. For this purpose, we fermented our own rice miso in either wooden or steel barrels. We then compared the flavors and tastes through sensory evaluation. After eleven months of fermentation, the miso prepared in wooden barrels had a significantly stronger intensity of saltiness and sourness compared to that of the miso fermented in steel barrels.

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Currently, in Japan, population aging is increasing and the medical expenses are exerting pressure on people’s finances. For improving public health and reducing medical expenses, promoting the use of food with health claims is important. However, consumer’s perceptions of food with health claims are vague. Thus, for clarifying the perceptions of these claims, we apply two methods－network analysis and sentiment analysis̠－in this paper. According to the analysis results, some consumers could not recognize the correct usage. Therefore, it is necessary to spread awareness regarding the correct intake method. Moreover, as the results suggest, Food for specified health uses most likely has a pioneer advantage against Foods with function claims and food with nutrient function claims.

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This paper aims to clarify retailers' preferences for regional brands. We assess retailers' willingness to pay (WTP) for the brand-name vegetables Edosaki kabocha (a type of pumpkin) and Kurosaki chamame (a type of edamame) using CVM, and we examine the determinants of WTP using bivariate interval regression analysis. The results are as follows. First, retailers who greatly value quality and method of production when they stock vegetables have strong preferences for both brands. Second, retailers who think taste is more important have a low preference for Kurosaki chamame. Third, retailers’ awareness of the Geographical Indication (GI) protection system has a positive impact on WTP for Kurosaki chamame.

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The Japanese edible oil market has changed substantially over the last few decades. In fact, healthy oils such as perilla, linseed (flaxseed), and olive oil are gaining popularity among consumers. Using the Dirichlet model, this study analyzed scanner and survey data to better understand how health consciousness affects oil consumption. The results of the estimation indicate that health-conscious consumers pick healthier oils over unhealthy ones. By contrast, consumers suffering from chronic diseases (high blood pressure and diabetes) reduce their oil intake, while those suffering from cholesterol consume more healthy oils.

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Food safety concerns have been growing in Taiwan in recent years. Primarily, consumers' need for food products that are certified organic and trustworthy has increased. This study aims to clarify the role and challenges of specialty retailers in building an organic food system in Taiwan, specifically the case of organic specialty store Leezen, which is the largest organic supply chain in Taiwan. The findings of this research clarify the following. The existence of specialty stores such as Leezen builds partnerships between farmers and consumers and offers consumers the opportunity to purchase organic food products. Moreover, specialist retailers are working to establish and promote Taiwan's organic supply chain.

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This study examines the role of ritual ceremony in improving the dietary variety of child-rearing households in a highly commercialized area in rural Indonesia. The major findings are as follows: (1) dietary variety at a ritual is more than usual in child-rearing households clearly; (2) at a ritual, child-rearing households prepare food for more guests than the other households do, and a return gift from the guest is not always necessary. Therefore, the ritual ceremony is considered to create social networks, through which many children can take more various food than usual prepared by their family and neighboring households.

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We evaluated distribution expansion factors that affect environment-friendly agricultural products in South Korea. By using statistics and policy documents regarding the environment-friendly agricultural products, we determined the characteristics of the changes in the products' distribution channels that have occurred in recent years. We also investigated the products' supply system for school lunches in South Korea, and our investigation clarifies the extended mechanisms of the production and consumption of these products. Stable suppliers of environment-friendly agricultural products such as school lunches can help motivate farmers to produce these products. Our findings also indicate that the emergence and formation of environment-friendly agricultural products’ public value contribute to the expansion of the distribution for these products.

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A substantial amount of time has passed since retailers went overseas. However, even though numerous case studies exist and international process studies have been well researched, there is a lack of empirical consensus. Global retail firms have been exiting the overseas markets for years and have indicated that they experienced difficulties obtaining sufficient profits overseas and would invest more to increase their profit margins in the e-commerce market. Therefore, this research aims to empirically determine the internationalization and business performance of retail firms. To examine the effect of their business achievements, I hypothesize both international and domestic business performance factors as well as the e-commerce activity factor.

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High-quality sake-brewing rice is in demand. We examined methods of evaluating quality of sake-brewing rice. Currently, visual inspection is the common method used. We evaluated the deviation between results of visual inspection and component analysis using “Ginnoyume” as an example. A simple evaluation method was also considered. We found that there was heterogeneity in quality both among and within grades. In addition, a simple, relatively low-cost evaluation method for component analysis was devised.

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This paper clarified five facts based on the interview of two small and medium-size food manufacturers which had applied HACCP. (ⅰ) Hazard analysis, critical control point decisions, and critical limit settings were conducted without reference to the previous procedures. (ⅱ-1) People not in the HACCP team were not educated well. (ⅱ-2) The person in charge was isolated and the top manager was lonely. (ⅲ) Support from local governments contributed significantly. (ⅳ) They hesitated to cost. From these findings, three solutions were proposed. (Ⅰ)Acquiring validation skills with the support of local governments. (Ⅱ)Encouraging commitment of the top management. (Ⅲ)Arranging support system based on close collaboration among industry, government and academia.

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The 791 food product recalls in 2018, which were against food-related laws in Japan, were classified by food-related laws and causes, and some countermeasures for recall prevention were considered. The recalls for which food product manufacturers were responsible accounted for 662 (about 84% of the total), and it was suggested that an HACCP system and food safety management system such as JFS certification would be effective countermeasures in 368 recalls (about 47% of the total), while law checks during the process of design review in ISO9001:2015 would be effective for 153 recalls caused at the product design stage.

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The aim of this study is to examine food safety regulation in Japan. Food safety regulations are classified into direct regulation, rule-based regulation, and incentive-based regulation. First, food safety regulations are compared with other safety regulations in Japan; for example, drugs and consumer goods. Then, focusing on direct regulation, Japanese food safety regulations are analyzed through comparison with EU food safety regulations.

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The objectives of this study are, first, to clarify the situation of allergen contamination based on the real confectionery production environment at support facilities for people with disabilities, and secondly, to correctly quantify the allergen contamination. Upon assessment, wheat allergen was detected at 1 ppm level in a confectionery sample at the support facilities A. Based on the observations made during the survey and allergen testing, educational programs for facility staff by external professional experts using product specific equipment, and improved washing procedures have been proposed.

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