Controversy Over Ion Drink Ban in Japanese Schools... "Must Drink to Prevent Heatstroke"

Prohibition Due to "Excessive Sugar Intake"
Even Raised as an Agenda Item in Local City Councils

In Japan, school rules banning the bringing of ion drinks have become a controversial issue. Although ion drinks are effective in preventing heatstroke during the summer, many schools have not changed their ban policies, increasing the risk of heatstroke. The debate has intensified within Japan as the issue has even been raised as an agenda item in some local city councils.

On the 25th, the Mainichi Shimbun reported on the debate over the pros and cons of bringing ion drinks in the Nijashi City Council in southern Saitama. In Nijashi alone, 9 out of 17 elementary schools prohibit students from bringing ion drinks. At these schools, students are only allowed to bring water or tea in their personal bottles onto the school premises.

Looking at Japan as a whole, less than half of the schools fully allow the bringing of ion drinks. According to a survey conducted by Coca-Cola Japan from April to June 2020 of 1,623 kindergartens and schools, only 41.7% of schools fully permitted the bringing of sports drinks.

Japan Meteorological Association's student heatstroke prevention guidelines recommend replenishing fluids with sports drinks or barley tea without caffeine. (Photo by Japan Meteorological Association)

However, due to abnormal high temperatures caused by climate change, the number of heatstroke patients continues to rise. Last month, over 30 students practicing cheers for a sports festival at a high school in Itoshima City, Fukuoka Prefecture, suffered from heatstroke and were urgently transported to a hospital. At that time, three students were classified as severe cases, with one of them in a critical condition to the point of unconsciousness. Another ten students were classified as moderate cases, between severe and mild, which shocked people within Japan.

As a result of these incidents, opinions clashed at the city council meeting, with some arguing that "restricting students to only bring water or tea cannot prevent heatstroke," while others insisted that "schools should guide students to avoid excessive sugar intake."

The superintendent of education also stated during a Q&A session, "I believe ion drinks are effective in preventing heatstroke. I think it is acceptable for schools to allow them," but Mainichi pointed out that individual schools have not taken any action.

Mainichi cited the city board of education’s judgment, noting that schools banning ion drinks have concerns among health teachers such as "if students fill up on ion drinks, they won’t eat school meals," "drinking too many ion drinks increases tooth decay," and "the sugar in ion drinks causes bacteria to breed in water bottles, leading to stomachaches."

In fact, schools that ban ion drinks likely also prohibit other beverages besides water and tea, such as juice, similar to library reading rooms. The reason is that spills cause sticky floors or damage to grass. A current principal who allows ion drinks told Mainichi, "The previous school banned ion drinks because when sweet ion drinks were spilled, they became sticky and difficult to clean."

However, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology already issued a "School Heatstroke Countermeasure Guideline" in May 2021, stating that ion drinks are good for hydration. Additionally, in June 2020, the ministry urged all prefectural boards of education to take thorough measures to prevent heatstroke, including allowing students to bring water bottles. Because of this, the current controversy is analyzed as a clash between outdated rules that do not fit the current situation and new perspectives.

Miyake Yasufumi, head of the emergency center at Teikyo University Hospital, said, "In school life with a lot of physical activity, students inevitably consume a lot of energy and sweat. Ion drinks are effective not only for hydration but also for replenishing sodium and potassium," and added, "For places where ion drinks are not allowed, it would be good for teachers and parents to discuss allowing them."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.