Strategic Initiative for a Healthy and Sustainable Food Environment - WHO Compendium Report on Multisectoral Action

An unhealthy diet is a major risk factor for noncommunicable diseases, and excess sodium intake is a particular problem in Japan. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, in cooperation with the Consumer Affairs Agency, an external organ of the Cabinet Office, and the Ministry of the Environment, launched the Strategic Initiative for a Healthy and Sustainable Food Environment, a multisectoral (across government sectors) and multistakeholder strategy, in March 2022. The Initiative aims to promote a healthy and sustainable food environment, with a primary focus on addressing excess sodium intake. This Initiative engages businesses and helps them set and implement ambitious action goals to tackle excess sodium intake and other nutritional and environmental issues by collaborating with the government, industry, academia and other stakeholders. The Initiative has succeeded in raising awareness among businesses of the importance of addressing excess sodium to achieve a healthy food environment. It has also raised public awareness of the role of businesses such as the food industry in tackling nutritional issues that put people at risk of noncommunicable diseases. Elements that need to be in place to facilitate collaboration and multisectoral actions include strong government leadership to manage and guide the involvement of diverse stakeholders with different agendas, and effective incentives to encourage the active participation of stakeholders in multisectoral action.

This country story is a brief excerpt taken from the detailed country case study in the WHO Compendium report on multisectoral actions for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases and mental health conditions. Read the full report or access the country story via below link.