Indonesia takes school lunch cues from Japan, China and India

JAKARTA -- Indonesia is seeking expertise from Asian countries for a nationwide school meal program to be rolled out by the next administration, with Japan keen to help develop human resources and build facilities for the massive project.

Defense Minister and President-elect Prabowo Subianto, who will succeed incumbent leader Joko Widodo in October, promised ahead of February's presidential election that he would provide free school lunches and milk to 78.5 million students at some 400,000 schools across the nation, aiming to reduce malnourishment and curb cases of stunted growth.