Fukuoka City School Lunch Menu with Only One Karaage Fried Chicken Draws Criticism; Mayor Vows to Improve School Meals

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:42 JST, June 12, 2025

FUKUOKA – The Fukuoka City Board of Education has set up a study group with outside experts to improve the school lunch menu at elementary and junior high schools in the city, following a photo of a school lunch containing only one piece of karaage fried chicken as the main dish was posted on social media, prompting criticism such as “it looks meagre.”

The meal in question, served in April, consisted of rice, miso soup, milk in addition to one piece of karaage. The city board of education explained that the meal provided the necessary nutrition, but also said: “The large size of the bowl made [the karaage fried chicken] look relatively small. We must consider the appearance as well.”

Fukuoka City Mayor Soichiro Takashima told The Yomiuri Shimbun on Wednesday that he plans to increase the city’s school lunch budget and said: “We will move away from the preconceived notion of school lunches as ‘efficient and nutritious,’ and include the perspective of a professional who provides ‘meals that people want to eat.’”