TOKYO — In Japan, school lunch means a regular meal, not one that harms your health. The food is grown locally and almost never frozen. There’s no “mystery’’ meat. From time to time, parents even call up with an unusual question: Can they get the recipes?

‘‘Parents hear their kids talking about what they had for lunch,’’ said Tatsuji Shino, the principal at Umejima Elementary School in Tokyo, ‘‘and kids ask them to re-create the meals at home.’’