https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8n9ZNSAbq4
Mike Moradi in a TED talk. I haven't watched enough of it to know his stance but he is the first one I've heard say that Japan has a higher incidence of diabetes than we do in the US. It is combined, types I & II, but it is attributed in the video to high rice consumption. I've seen it said they have more stroke, and maybe some other things, but never diabetes.

I've only recently heard that this is a recent change that mirrors their intake of sugar and junk food. Until 10-15 years ago, white rice was about the only starchy/sugary thing Japanese ate (and not in the huge quantities seen in the US).

It surprises me as well. I knew diabetes was rampant in India and dramatically increasing in China, but had not heard it was increasing in Japan.

I was in Japan for 2 weeks in 1999. It was amazing how much bigger (taller and wider) the teenagers were than their parents. I imagine that trend has continued.

Ramen noodle shops were all the rage when we were there.