Vegetarianism in Japan
After We Started to Eat Meat, Diseases Followed
By Hiroko Kato
Western people may think Japan is a vegetarian country. Surely, meatless meals have been our traditional style — rice is a vitally important food — and vegetables, seaweed, and beans are eaten with rice. In reality, Japan can only claim to be mostly vegetarian, because a fish-eating habit is also deeply connected to Japanese life. Since the 1960s, however, Japanese lifestyle has rapidly been Americanized because of its economic growth. Now, many Japanese are suffering from several diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Moreover, the younger generations are becoming fat. All these problems are believed to be the result, in part, of over consumption of animal fat and protein.
Since Japan accepted Buddhism around the 6th century, people tended to shun eating meat as something dirty. Despite some exceptions, this tradition persisted until the 19th century, the end of the Edo period (1600 - 1868), in feudal times. In order to catch up with ?progressive? Western countries, the government began to recommend that people eat beef, as well as dairy products. Officials believed that Japanese people would gain good physical constitutions like Westerners by eating a lot of meat, and this was a way to compete with the modern industrialized world.
After World War II, animal product use in Japan was dramatically increased by the American occupation force. The Americans thought that Japanese needed more animal protein to improve their health condition, and with the high-speed growth of Japan's economic power, the mission was achieved.
In 1955, Japanese intake of animal protein was 31.7% of total protein.1 The percentage became 35.4% in 1960, 49.7% in 1980, and in 1990, it reached 52.1%. The protein from meat for one person per day was 3.6g in 1965, 8.4g in 1975, 12.4g in 1985, and 14.2g in 1990. The protein from marine products was 15.5g, 17.7g, 18.5g and 18.8g, respectively. Beef and pork consumption quadrupled in these 25 years, and poultry consumption increased fivefold.2
Some scholars in Japan believe such changes in dietary habits led to increased longevity. In 1947, Japanese average life span was about 50 years, and in 1992, it became 82.2 years for females and 76.1 for males.3 Scholars assume that the increased intake of animal protein made Japanese bodies stronger and resulted in reduced risk of tuberculosis, the number one cause of death for Japanese before World War II. Many factors, however, had changed which probably led to improved health, including eating habits, better sanitation, access to medication, and so on. Nevertheless, many Japanese dietitians continue to recommend that people eat meat in order to maintain good health.
Even if animal protein helped to lengthen Japanese life span, at the same time it appears that Western type dietary habits brought Western type diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke to Japan. These diseases were barely experienced in Japan before WWII. Colon cancer and breast cancer rates have increased, while stomach cancer and uterine cancer rates are decreasing. The change in major types of cancers indicates that Japanese are suffering the same maladies as Westerners.
Obesity in Japanese children has occurred, too. The percentage of children who are overweight for their height was 1.4% in 1981, and it doubled in 1991.4 Because of their taste for fast food and high-calorie food, the youngsters' eating habits are totally different from those of their grandparents. If they keep eating such food, heart disease will become the top cause of death, replacing cancers, American scholars warn.
In contemporary Japan, beef is no longer a food just for rich people as it was 20 years ago. McDonalds, which started their business in Japan in 1971, and the lifting of the ban on beef imports in 1991, are two of the factors that changed the situation. Now, Japan is the country that imports the largest quantity of grains in the world for feeding livestock.
The growing meat consumption has resulted in decreased intake of rice, long considered the most essential food for Japanese. In 1993, rice consumption was just half of what it was in 1960.5 This means that the traditional Japanese diet has been altered. While rice consumption decreased, the intake of fat drastically increased. Fat supplied 26.5% of calories in 1991, almost four times more than in 1947. Animal protein (from meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products) intake became 80.2g in 1991, compared to 59g in 1947.6 We are consuming cholesterol-rich fats and foods high in sugars and calories, low in fiber and readymade meals: We certainly are not vegetarians now.
Vegetarianism is not currently popular in Japan, compared to Western countries. The members of the Japan Vegetarian Society, the only vegetarian organization in Japan, number around 500. It is difficult to find vegetarian friendly restaurants or meat-alternative foods in Japan, and people tend to treat vegetarians as strict Zen Buddhists or eccentric people.
On the other hand, though, Japanese have begun to notice the problems caused by eating an excessive amount of meat. Numerous cookbooks insist we should eat more vegetables; the media pour out a vast amount of health information every day. In addition to health-consciousness, people favor natural and/or organic food for ecological reasons, and some supermarkets and restaurants are featuring these items these days. Considering such movement, it is possible that the Japanese can one day accept vegetarianism. From now on, we should take a lesson from Western vegetarians and our ancestors.
1. National Survey of Japanese Nutrition. 1996. Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan.
2. Food Consumption Statistics. 1991. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.
3. National Survey of Japanese Hygiene. 1993. Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan.
4. School Health Statistics. 1992. Ministry of Education of Japan.
5. Food Consumption Statistics. 1991. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.
6. National Survey of Japanese Nutrition. 1996. Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan.
Hiroko Kato is a Japanese freelance journalist. She is currently interning at VRG through the International Internship Program.
