About 20 percent of Japanese men in their 20s did not eat rice during the previous one-month period, according to a recently released survey that suggests younger people are shunning the nation’s staple food.

The nationwide survey on traditional Japanese food culture in everyday life was conducted by the farm ministry last October on those aged 20 to 69, drawing responses from about 10,000 people.

Of the total, 93.2 percent said they had eaten rice during the previous month, but the figure stood at 81.6 percent among men in their 20s; 91.5 percent among women in the same age group; and 88.5 percent among men in their 30s.

In comparison, 96.3 percent of men in their 60s and 97.1 percent of women in the same age group said they had eaten rice during the past month.

Asked what they had eaten during that period in a multiple-choice question, 84.2 percent said bread, 80.9 percent said fish, 80.5 percent said meat, 58.5 percent said instant noodles and 14.8 percent said various local foods.

KEYWORDS food, rice