The death of an 11-year-old student who was allergic to dairy products after she ate a school lunch in Chofu, Tokyo, in December 2012 has prompted a public discussion of how to prevent similar tragedies at school. To this end, the education ministry in March 2013 instructed boards of education across the nation to take necessary measures. This month, the ministry also plans to establish a panel of experts to develop new ways to prevent a recurrence of food-allergy accidents at school.
Although the plan came late, not only the ministry but also local governments, school authorities, teachers and school-lunch providers should take adequate steps to ensure that students will not be given food that can cause allergic reactions.
According to the 2007 ministry data based on surveys of public elementary and junior and senior high schools, about 330,000 students, or about 2.6 percent of the total, had food allergies. Surveys taken by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government every five years show that the percentage of 3-year-olds having food allergies increased from 9.4 percent in 1999 to 21.6 percent in 2009. The cause of the increase in allergies is not well understood but is under investigation.