LONG‐TERM CHANGES IN FOOD CONSUMPTION IN JAPAN*

Abstract

The Japanese economy has shown a high rate of growth compared with European countries and America. Food consumption in Japan, however, has risen less rapidly than in these countries. The purpose of this paper is to explain the prewar rigidity in food consumption in Japan and to show how this has changed in the postwar period. The main factor in the rise of food consumption is usually the increase in per‐capita income. Consumption of starchy foods generally decreases at certain levels of percapita income. In Japan, however, this level of income is lower than in other countries. While in the West the decline in demand for starchy foods has generally been due to the increased substitution of livestock products, in Japan this has been due mainly to low caloric consumption. Before the Second World War, starch intake in Japan remained fairly constant despite the rise in per‐capita income. One reason for this rigidity is Japan's fondness for rice. In the postwar period, however, income elasticity for food and drink has doubled and livestock products have become more important, thus raising total caloric intake. This shift in food consumption, however, has caused problems for food production and agricultural incomes.