By CHIKA YAMAMOTO/ Staff Writer
June 13, 2024 at 18:42 JST
A school lunch provided at an elementary school in Tokyo (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
To support struggling families and encourage population growth, free school lunch programs have risen dramatically across Japan, although some municipalities are struggling to keep these going.
An education ministry survey found that about 30 percent of municipalities, or 547 entities, are offering free school lunches to all students in public elementary and junior high schools.
This marks a sevenfold increase from the mere 76 municipalities in fiscal 2017, reflecting a growing trend among local governments of implementing free school lunch programs as part of child-rearing support initiatives.
The survey was conducted in September and the ministry released its findings on June 12.
About 150 municipalities, or 8.2 percent, offer free school lunch for students from households that met certain conditions, such as having more than two children.
In some municipalities, free school lunch is only offered for students in certain grades.
An additional 40 local governments, or 2.2 percent, said they would introduce free school lunch programs by March.
Asked about the reasons for implementing free school lunch programs, 652 municipalities, or 90.3 percent, cited financial support for the households.
The survey found that 66 municipalities, or 9.1 percent, hope that free school lunches could help turn around their declining birthrates.
Furthermore, 37 municipalities, or 5.1 percent, launched free school lunch programs hoping to attract new residents and boost population growth.
Despite the progress made in recent years, local governments are facing challenges in continuing to offer free lunches for children.
Of the 722 municipalities with free lunch programs, both conditional and unconditional, 82, or 11.4 percent, said they would discontinue the programs by March 2024.
According to a ministry official, it is not uncommon for municipalities to introduce free school lunch programs with a limited time frame due to budgetary constraints.
The nationwide survey was conducted as part of a key child care policy unveiled by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government in June last year.
Based on the survey findings, the ministry will proceed with further analysis to identify and address the challenges associated with implementing a nationwide free school lunch program.
However, financial challenges pose a significant hurdle to achieving this goal.
The ministry estimates that providing free school lunches to all students in public elementary and junior high schools nationwide would require an annual budget of approximately 500 billion yen ($3.18 billion), equivalent to roughly 10 percent of the ministry’s total budget.
Given the significant financial implications, many within the ministry remain skeptical about the feasibility of this proposal.
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