Japan's education ministry has made an emergency call for safety-conscious dietary guidance after an elementary school boy died from choking on a quail egg served in a school lunch.

The education board in Miyama City in Fukuoka Prefecture says a seven-year-old boy began eating his school lunch on Monday when he stood up, apparently trying to cough-up the egg.

The boy became unable to stand. His classroom teacher and the school nurse performed a heart massage and CPR on him but his condition did not improve. The boy was transported to the hospital by a helicopter and pronounced dead there.

The boy is believed to have died from choking on a quail egg measuring about two centimeters in diameter. The boiled egg was served whole.

The education ministry sent an emergency notice on Tuesday to all prefectural boards of education across the nation, calling on them to ensure safety and confirm how to respond to a medical emergency of children choking on food.

The notice warns that children can easily choke on food that contains little moisture and round-shaped foods that they can be inadvertently swallowed. It says children should be told to cut such food into easy-to-eat pieces and chew well. Teachers are expected to keep an eye on children during school lunchtime.

The education ministry says that a fifth grade boy died after choking on bread served in a school lunch in 2021 in Sado City in Niigata Prefecture and a first grade girl in Osaka City died from choking on a quail egg in 2015.