ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the foodways of Japan. It discusses the concept of Japanese cuisine and the role of key ingredients such as rice, but it also notes that people in Japan consume a wider range of foods than those typically associated with Japanese cuisine, and thus it examines the role of food imports and the adoption of foreign cuisines. The discussion examines contemporary issues pertaining to food such as the gendered division of household labour and cooking, changing dietary patterns, farming and the ageing of the agricultural workforce, and concerns regarding food safety, including the nuclear disaster of 2011.
