School Meals Case Study: Japan

This school meals case study forms part of a collection led by the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition’s "Good Examples" Community of Practice. Developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the School Meals Case Study of Japan serves to document how the national school meals programme is organized, funded, and monitored throughout the country. The objectives of this case study include presenting an introduction to the country profile, outlining the design and implementation of school feeding programmes, describing their monitoring and evaluation processes, and highlighting lessons learned, best practices, and challenges. This case study is written as a working paper, and can be updated to reflect evolving circumstances. The ‘Good Examples’ Community of Practice supports the evidence generation of the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition, the evidence-generating arm of the School Meals Coalition. The Research Consortium’s objective is to carry out independent research across diverse sectors and generate solid, compelling, and actionable evidence regarding the benefits of school food programs to inform evidence-based decision-making on school health and nutrition policies and practices.