The objectives of this research are to analyse food consumption patterns in Japan and to conduct an econometric analysis of Japan's food demand structure. Two specific food demand studies were undertaken for this report: 1) the demand for 11 aggregate food groups, including rice; and 2) the demand for seven meats. The basic conclusion of the paper suggests that rice is consumed in Japan as a normal good, contrary to the results of previous studies. In addition, Marshallian uncompensated and Hicksian compensated own-price elasticities for rice are highly elastic, while the own-price elasticity for meat is relatively price-inelastic. Results from the meat model show that meat expenditure and price elasticities are very similar to those of Western nations. These results show that the Japanese meat consumption pattern has become Westernized. This paper makes a significant contribution to the literature on the consumption patterns.
