Something I really envy Japan for is how quick and cheap food is available everywhere. You can be in and out of a ramen restaurant in 15 minutes. If you don’t want that you can grab a handful of onigiri from 7/11 for a few bucks and be full after eating them.

Maybe it signals my privilege, but I don’t want to think about food or prepare food. When I’m hungry, I want a quick solution so I can get back to whatever it is I’m doing. Preferably a cheap one.

This is lazy journalism. Has the author ever heard of "meal-prep" ? Does the author even own a freezer? Does the author even have basic cooking skills beyond spaghetti?

At most, a few hours of passive cooking and, at most, 20 minutes of bagging/wrapping on ONE day can set up a family for more than a WEEK with a variety of quick, easy, healthy, and tasty dinners.

My mom did it for our family when I was growing up and I have friends with multi-kid households that do it today.

I used to roll my eyes at opinions like these. Then I had kids, and now very much sympathize.

You don't "just cook some fish for dinner" with toddlers in the apartment. Take fishes out of refrigerator, put in sink, attempt to clean; youngest kid cries; wash hands with soap, comfort kid. Rinse soap from fishes. Start cutting fins and scaling. Kids fight. Wash hands with soap, stop the fight. Rinse soap from fishes. Finish scaling. Dry one fish with paper. Kid need toy from upper shelf. Wash hands with soap, climb on chair, get toy. Wash soap from subset of fishes remaining in sink. Attempt to oil the dried fish; oil bottle is empty. Get another oil bottle from pantry. Kids follow you to open pantry, see cookies, want cookies. "Ok, but only one cookie each". "No, two!" Attempt to season the fish. Salt shaker is empty. Get big salt box from pantry. "No more cookies today!" Kids unhappy, need to be comforted. Et cetera, et cetera, for each seemingly simple step of preparation; and I can easily see how some parents eventually begin to dread the experience of cooking some dinner for the family.

Why are they trying to "solve" dinner? Heaven forbid we don't rush around at all times to maximize the amount of time we can work instead of spending time with family.