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industrially prepared foods (excluding canned food that had already been
popularized earlier) at first proceeded less rapidly (from 3,000 tonnes in
1960 to 64,000 tonnes in 1970), but their production surpassed a million
tonnes only four years after frozen foods. 18 In 1996, only 31.8 per cent of
food consumed by an average Japanese was in the form of fresh foodstuffs
cooked at home, as opposed to 41.6 per cent of foods purchased in a prepared
form, 9 per cent in the form of ready-to-eat meals delivered to
homes, and 17.6 per cent consumed while dining out. Between 1965 and
1996 the share of unprocessed foodstuffs in the Japanese diet declined by
nearly 17 per cent. 19 This rapid change was generated by the persistent
influence of the media and the advertising power of the food industry.
However, the impact of the school lunch system initiated in 1951 should
not be underestimated. Since school lunches differed remarkably from the
meals most children ate on a regular basis at home, they not only influenced
the children, but also, by extension, the attitudes of their families
toward hitherto unknown foods.
Like military diet, school lunches were composed with the goal of
efficient nourishment in mind. The aim of 600 kilocalories and 25 grams of
protein specified in the directive of 1950 were to be provided by a roll, a
glass of milk and a warm dish. Further details were left to the discretion of
A selection of instant curry in a rural supermarket, 2006.
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