Article 1Taking into account that promoting shokuiku (food and nutrition education) which will help the citizens nurture themselves in body and mind and cultivate humanity throughout their lifetime is an urgent issue, as the environment surrounding the citizens' diet have been changing in recent years, the purpose of this Act is to establish the basic principles of shokuiku; to clarify the respective responsibilities of the national government, local governments, and other organs; to advance measures regarding shokuiku comprehensively and systematically by providing for basic matters for the measures; and thereby to contribute to healthy and cultured living of the citizens and to a thriving and prosperous society at the present time and for the future.

Article 2Shokuiku (food and nutrition education) must be provided with the principle that it contributes to the promotion of the citizens' physical and mental health and the cultivation of humanity by helping them develop the ability to make appropriate decisions on their diet and keep healthy dietary habits throughout their lifetime.

Article 3When promoting shokuiku (food and nutrition education), consideration must be given so that the citizens will be more grateful and more deeply understand that their diet is benefited from nature and supported by various activities that people involved in it engage in.

Article 4Activities to promote shokuiku (food and nutrition education) are to be those for which voluntary intentions of the citizens, private organizations and other entities are respected, regional characteristics are considered, and participation and cooperation of local residents and other diverse entities constituting the society is obtained; and must be spread over the country in collaboration therewith.

Article 5When providing shokuiku (food and nutrition education), in order to actively participate in activities regarding promotion of shokuiku for children, parents and other guardians of children must be aware that each household plays an important role in shokuiku, and persons that provide child education, childcare or the like must be conscious of the importance of shokuiku in child education, childcare or the like.

Article 6Shokuiku (food and nutrition education) must be provided with the principle that the citizens will deepen their understanding of food and nutrition by carrying out various hands-on activities concerning food and nutrition from production to consumption or other stages in the food supply chain and by spontaneously performing activities to promote shokuiku, taking advantage of every opportunity they can find at places such as households, schools, childcare centers, and local communities.

Article 7When promoting shokuiku (food and nutrition education), consideration must be given for Japan's distinctive traditional food culture, diet reflecting their regional characteristics, and environmentally friendly food production, consumption and other stages of the food supply chain so that the citizens will deepen their understanding of Japanese supply and demand conditions for food, and contribution must be made to vitalizing rural areas whose economy is based on agriculture, forestry or fisheries and improving Japan's self-sufficiency rate through interactions between producers and consumers of food and other activities.

Article 8Taking into account that it is fundamental to healthy diet to ensure food safety so as to allow the citizens to consume food without risk, shokuiku (food and nutrition education) must be actively provided with the principle that the provision of a wide range of information on food and nutrition, including that on food safety, followed by an exchange of opinions thereon will deepen the citizen's knowledge and understanding of food and nutrition, and help them adopt appropriate dietary habits, while engaging in international collaboration.

Article 9The national government is responsible for formulating measures for the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education) comprehensively and systematically and implementing them in accordance with the basic principles of shokuiku as provided for in Article 2 to the preceding Article (hereinafter referred to as the "Basic Principles").

Article 10Local governments are, regarding the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education), responsible for formulating and implementing voluntary measures in which each local government makes the most of the characteristics of the areas it administers and for which their spontaneous participation is expected, while collaborating with the national government, in line with the Basic Principles.

Article 11(1)Persons engaged in duties concerning education, or social welfare, medical care and public health such as childcare or nursing care (hereinafter referred to as "Education, etc."), and relevant organizations and groups related to Education, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "Education-Related Persons, etc.") are to, taking into account their important role to arouse interest in and deepen understanding of food and nutrition, endeavor to actively promote shokuiku (food and nutrition education) while making the most of every opportunity and using any kind of places in line with the Basic Principles, and to cooperate with others in carrying out activities the relevant others engage in regarding promotion of shokuiku.

(2)Persons engaged in agriculture, forestry or fisheries, and groups relevant to agriculture, forestry or fisheries (hereinafter referred to as "Persons, etc. Engaged in Agriculture, Forestry or Fisheries") are to, taking into account that hands-on activities and other matters related to agriculture, forestry and fisheries are significant to arouse the citizens' interest in food and nutrition and deepen their understanding thereof, endeavor to deepen the citizens' understanding of the importance of benefits of nature and activities that people involved in food and nutrition engaged in while actively providing diverse hands-on opportunities concerning agriculture, forestry and fisheries in line with the Basic Principles, and to carry out activities regarding promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education) in collaboration with Education-Related Persons, etc.

Article 12Businesses engaged in manufacturing, processing, distribution or sale of food, or in the provision of meals, and groups organized by those businesses (hereinafter referred to as "Food-Related Businesses, etc.") are to endeavor to voluntarily and actively promote shokuiku (food and nutrition education) in relation to their business activities in line with the Basic Principles, and to cooperate with the national government or any local governments in implementing measures or other activities those governments engage in regarding promotion of shokuiku.

Article 13The citizens are to, in every sector of society such as households, schools, childcare centers, and local communities, endeavor to keep healthy dietary habits throughout their lifetime in line with the Basic Principles, and to contribute to the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education).

Article 14The national government must take legislative actions, financial actions, or any other necessary actions to implement measures for the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education).

Article 15The national government must submit a report on the measures it has taken for the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education) to the Diet each year.

Article 16(1)The Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku is to create the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku to advance measures for the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education) comprehensively and systematically.

(2)The Basic Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku is to provide the following matters:

(3)The Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku must, when creating the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), promptly report it to the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, notify the heads of relevant administrative organs of it, and release an outline of the plan to the public.

(4)The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis to changes in the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku.

Article 17(1)Each prefecture must endeavor to create a plan based on the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku with respect to measures for the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education) in the areas the prefecture administers (hereinafter referred to as the "Prefectural Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku").

(2)When creating or changing the Prefectural Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku, a prefecture (or the Prefectural Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku if the prefecture has established it) must promptly release an outline of the plan to the public.

Article 18(1)Each municipality must endeavor to create a plan based on the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku (or, if the Prefectural Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku has been created, the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku and the Prefectural Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku) with respect to measures for the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education) in the areas the municipality administers (hereinafter referred to as the "Municipal Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku").

(2)When creating or changing the Municipal Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku, a municipality (or the Municipal Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku if the municipality has established it) must promptly release an outline of the plan to the public.

Article 19The national government and local governments, in order to help parents, other guardians, and children deepen their interest in and understanding of food and nutrition and establish healthy eating habits, are to provide opportunities such as family cooking classes to appreciate food while learning about favorable eating habits; disseminate knowledge and provide information on proper nutritional management—for example, imparting knowledge on healthy beauty; provide nutritional guidance for pregnant and lactating women, and nutritional guidance for children including babies and infants considering their development stages; and take other measures necessary for supporting the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education) in households.

Article 20The national government and local governments, in order to help children adopt healthy dietary habits and nurture themselves in body and mind by effectively encouraging schools, childcare centers, and the like to organize activities regarding promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education) which will attract children, are to give assistance in creating guidelines for the promotion of shokuiku in places such as schools and childcare centers; build a guidance framework for dietary education that, for example, allocates teachers and school staff who are eligible to provide shokuiku, and raises instructors' awareness of their role to be played in promoting shokuiku; provide school meals that reflect the characteristics of each school, childcare center and the like, or of the community they belong to; deepen children's understanding of food and nutrition through various hands-on activities provided as a part of education such as work experience at a farm and other places, cooking food, and recycling food waste; impart information such as the effects of excessive thinness or obesity on physical and mental health; and take other necessary measures.

Article 21The national government and local governments, in order to encourage people in local communities to improve their dietary habits in terms of nutrition, eating habits, food consumption, etc., and to prevent lifestyle diseases so as to promote their health, are to formulate and disseminate guidelines for healthy dietary habits as well as imparting information about them; provide training for persons with expertise in promoting shokuiku (food and nutrition education), improve their ability, and utilize those persons in local communities; promote activities to disseminate shokuiku and to impart information thereof in places such as public health centers, municipal health centers, and medical institutions; improve the quality of guidance concerning dietary education to be given in such fields as medical education; assist Food-Related Businesses, etc. in their activities to promote shokuiku; and take other necessary measures.

Article 22(1)The national government and local governments, in order to ensure that activities regarding promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education) voluntarily carried out by the citizens, Education-Related Persons, etc., Persons, etc. Engaged in Agriculture, Forestry or Fisheries, businesses such as Food-Related Businesses, etc. or groups organized thereby, or private bodies engaging in activities to stabilize and improve people's lives as consumers will be spread over the country in close collaboration with each other while reflecting their regional characteristics, and also that the exchange of information and opinions among the persons concerned will be encouraged, are to hold events to disseminate the promotion of shokuiku and impart information thereof, designate a period for the intensive and effective promotion of activities regarding promotion of shokuiku, and take other necessary measures.

(2)The national government and local governments, in promoting shokuiku (food and nutrition education), are to take into account the importance of the role of volunteers involved in activities to improve dietary habits and other activities regarding promotion of shokuiku, and, in collaboration and cooperation with these volunteers, take necessary measures so that those activities will be vitalized.

Article 23The national government and local governments are to help producers and consumers build a trusting relationship between them through encouraging them to interact each other or in other ways so as to ensure food safety and promote the effective use of food resources as well as deepening the citizens' understanding of food and nutrition and arousing their interest therein; and, in order to make contribution to vitalizing environmentally friendly agriculture, forestry and fisheries, the national government and local governments are to encourage those industries to offer hands-on experiences in production of agricultural, forestry and fishery products as well as in manufacturing, distribution, or other stages of the food supply chain, to promote the consumption of agricultural, forestry and fishery products within the community where they are produced in ways such as using them for school meals and the like at local schools, to reduce and recycle food waste in creative ways, and to take other necessary measures.

Article 24The national government and local governments, in order to give encouragement to pass down Japan's excellent traditional food culture some of which is associated with traditional events or manners and some of which is locally distinctive, are to impart information thereon, disseminate knowledge thereon, and take other necessary measures.

Article 25(1)The national government and local governments, in order to help all generations choose appropriate dietary habits, are to research and study on food safety, nutrition, eating habits, food production, food distribution, food consumption, and circumstances of food waste occurrence and its recycling situation in relation to dietary habits of the citizens; and also take necessary measures to collect, arrange, and provide various required information, maintain databases, and promptly provide accurate information on food and nutrition.

(2)The national government and local governments, in order to contribute to the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education), are to take the necessary measures to collect information on dietary habits in foreign countries such as food safety, nutrition, and eating habits, to participate in worldwide professional exchanges among researchers and other persons studying shokuiku, to exchange information on activities regarding promotion of shokuiku, and to promote global interactions.

Article 26(1)The Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku is established in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

(2)The Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku takes charge of the functions set forth in the following items:

Article 27The Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku consists of a Chairperson and a maximum of 25 members.

Article 28(1)The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries serves as the Chairperson.

(2)The Chairperson presides over the functions of the Council.

(3)When the Chairperson is unable to attend to the duties, a member designated by the Chairperson in advance performs the Chairperson's duties on behalf of the Chairperson.

Article 29(1)The persons set forth in the following items serve as members:

(2)Members under item (ii) of the preceding paragraph serve on a part-time basis.

Article 30(1)The term of office of a member under paragraph (1), item (ii) of the preceding Article is two years; provided, however, that the term of office of a member who fills a vacancy is the remaining term of the predecessor.

(2)Members under paragraph (1), item (ii) of the preceding Article may be reappointed.

Article 31Beyond what is specified in this Chapter, matters necessary for the organization and operation of the Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku are specified by Cabinet Order.

Article 32(1)Each prefecture may, in relation to the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education) in the area the prefecture administers, form a Prefectural Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku pursuant to the provisions of ordinance to create the Prefectural Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku and promote its implementation.

(2)Matters necessary for the organization and operation of the Prefectural Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku are specified by ordinance of the prefecture.

Article 33(1)Each municipality may, in relation to the promotion of shokuiku (food and nutrition education) in the area the municipality administers, form a Municipal Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku pursuant to the provisions of ordinance to create the Municipal Plan for the Promotion of Shokuiku and promote its implementation.

(2)Matters necessary for the organization and operation of the Municipal Council for the Promotion of Shokuiku are specified by ordinance of the municipality.