Packing a child's lunch in Japan can take more than an hour, since moms create bento lunches that take lunch ingredients and transform them into cute characters. Ham and rice can be made into Pokemon, cute animals, or famous people. It's called character bento, or kyaraben, and there's a lot of pressure to produce these food creations. In Japan, women are highly educated, but about 70 percent quit working after having children. Thus a lot of talent and creative energy is sometimes going into creating competitively cute lunches. Listen to hear more about the lunch making culture in Japan.
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August 23, 2016
1:34
A Japanese emperor hasn't voluntarily stepped away from the throne in nearly 200 years. In a televised speech, the current Japanese leader, Emperor Akihito, hinted that he may step down. He talked about his failing health and his difficulty in keeping up with his duties. Changing the Japanese law would be a break from tradition, as Japan has the world's longest-running hereditary monarchy: 2,600 years. Listen to hear more about the Japanese monarchy and tradition.
Read MoreJanuary 14, 2016
3:23
Child care is at the center of economic policy in Japan. As Japan’s population ages and shrinks, the country is looking to give the economy a boost by attracting more women to the workforce. The problem is young mothers have a difficult time finding daycare due to limited child care options. And Japanese culture sees caretaking and household duties as women’s domain, so parents typically do not share the work at home equally.The government is taking steps to help more women join the workforce.
Read MoreAugust 16, 2015
8:14
The search for food that is low cost, tasty and slow-to-spoil has been an ongoing goal of the military, especially during World War II. That’s why military science has influenced the food in school lunches, as well as other convenient foods such as granola bars and juice boxes. Military research and ingredients are found in many foods, including the McDonald’s McRib Sandwich. A new book encourages people to think more about where convenient, non-perishable food comes from and whether this food science should be used so commonly outside the military.
Read MoreNovember 14, 2014
4:38
Every day across the country, school cafeterias try to balance serving food that students want to eat and food that is healthy for students to eat. When federal nutrition standards increased the amount of fruits and vegetables students must have on their plate each day, schools and school districts adopted creative approaches to make sure that these fruits and vegetables didn’t go directly in the trash. This public radio story takes us to one of these innovative lunch rooms in Fort Collins, Colorado.
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