The president of the Japan Vegetarian Society - Prof/Dr Mitsuru Kakimoto's research paper, ‘Vegetarianism and Vegetarian Diets - History and Types’, has appeared in The Japanese Journal of Clinical Nutrition, No. 4 (2009), the most prestigious academic journal in this field in Japan. Below is a short summary.

Considering that nowadays almost all the international airlines that arrive at and depart from Japan's airports offer vegetarian options for the airline meals, one can say that vegetarian food is world food. This article covers the history of vegetarianism, from its origin in India and Greece, to the modern vegetarian movement in Britain in 19th Century, to the foundation of IVU in 1908 as a global network of vegetarian organizations. The author further discusses the various types of vegetarians and explains that IVU's definition of vegetarian includes vegans, lacto vegetarians and lacto-ovo vegetarians. Reasons for becoming a vegetarian and trends in the U.S. and Japan are also discussed, by pointing out that many health conscious people in the U.S. have turned to vegetarianism because of the American Dietetic Association's 1997 recognition of the preventative effects of vegetarian diets. People are also moving towards vegetarian for global reasons, such as environmental protection, assistance to developing countries and animal rights. The journal’s next issue will carry an article by another leader of the Japan Vegetarian Society on vegetarian diets in hospitals.