Stephanie Assmann’s research interests are foodways and culinary politics, life in rural Japan, employment and diversity. She is co-editor of Japanese Foodways, Past and Present (with Eric C. Rath, 2010, University of Illinois Press) and editor of Sustainability in Contemporary Rural Japan: Challenges and Opportunities (2016, Routledge).

"Assmann demonstrates how Japan’s 'food education' (shokuiku) campaigns do more than promote healthy eating but respond to manifold problems including the country’s low food self-sufficiency rate, the decline of rural communities, and natural disasters. Her book is essential reading for understanding the connections between food and politics in modern Japan."– Eric C. Rath, University of Kansas "Stephanie Assmann’s meticulous research sheds new light on the ways in which food education in Japan has been a powerful force in shaping national identity and revitalizing rural communities. This groundbreaking study provides essential insights for all those with an interest in Japanese food studies, cultural politics, and rural sociology."– Jon Morris, Daito Bunka University

• Introduction Chapter One - Food Education: A Theoretical Framework Chapter Two - The Historical Trajectories of Food Education Chapter Three - The Shokuiku Campaign: Food Governmentality in Present Japan Chapter Four - Shokuiku Policies in Rural Areas Chapter Five - Food Education and Sustainability in Times of Crisis Moving Forward: Embracing Sustainability References