Curry, omelet rice, pork katsu—these are some of the iconic Japanese dishes that have become popular in Japan.  What many people don’t realize is that these foods only became common in Japanese households after World War II.

The incorporation of western food culture is doing more than changing Japan’s diet. It is also diminishing Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate which remained stable for hundreds of years. Japan’s self-sufficiency in food fell from 73% in 1965 to 38% in 2021.  To turn that trend around it’s time for the agricultural industry to adjust crop types to match the changing food culture.

Initially, western food was reserved for the nobility and elite intellectuals, so the vast majority of Japanese people considered red meat a delicacy. Associated with modernization, called “bunmei kaika” (“the blooming of civilization”), consuming meat and bread became a sign of status and power. This was also the era when  “western Japanese” food was invented to make meat more desirable for the Japanese elite.

These changes in food culture become more common throughout Japan during the post-WWII economic boom. Gyu-don (beef on rice) and tonkatsu (fried pork) became as common as udon noodles and tempura. With the change in diet, dependency on meat also increased. But Japan didn’t (and doesn’t) have much suitable farmland for raising cattle or producing livestock feed.

Gyu-don. Photo by nmy

To meet the increase in demand for western diets, Japan increased its food imports. While diversifying food sources through imports does increase food security, the problem Japan has is just how low domestic production rates are to begin with. Japan does not produce corn for livestock feed. In fact, Japan imports about 15 million tons of corn annually, of which 11 million go to livestock — making Japan the third largest importer of corn in the world! Westernization also means lower rice consumption and higher bread consumption; Japan’s annual rice consumption rate dropped by half between 1962 and 2022, while imports of wheat increased. 

The consequences of Japan’s import dependence became clear this year when wheat prices jumped. Pasta prices shot up by 8%, along with udon and soba noodles, which are also made from wheat. Japan imports a significant amount of wheat from Russia and Ukraine. With the war disrupting supply chains, policymakers are seriously considering how to make the Japanese food industry more self-sustainable.

Asking Japanese citizens to switch the food culture back to what it was pre-WWII is unreasonable. Americans can’t live without steak, and Japanese people can’t live without curry.

What Japanese agriculture can do is adapt to support modern Japanese food consumption trends. Farmers can produce less rice (which has decreasing consumption rates domestically anyways) and switch land use to soybeans and other crops that have higher domestic consumption. The development of wheat strains that can grow in the Japanese climate can also reduce import dependency. Domestically made wheat mainly grown in Hokkaido has recently been developed, and other varieties that can withstand the mainland tropical climate are gaining traction.

The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture is now aiming to increase Japan’s domestic food production rate to 45% in the next decade. It might not be long until the traditional Japanese landscape, comprised almost entirely of rice fields, will give way to the sea of soy and amber waves of wheat.