Background: Improving the gelatinization temperature (GT), gel consistency (GC) and amylose content (AC) for parental grain eating and cooking qualities (ECQs) are key factors for enhancing average grain ECQs for hybrid japonica rice. Results: In this study, a genome-wide association mapping (GWAS) for ECQs was performed on a selected sample of 462 rice accessions in 5 environments using 262 simple sequence repeat markers. We identified 10 loci and 27 favorable alleles for GT, GC and AC, and some of these loci were overlapped with starch synthesis-related genes. Four SSR loci for the GT trait were distributed on chromosomes 3, 5, 8, and 9, of which two SSR loci were novel. Two SSR loci associated with the GC trait were distributed on chromosomes 3 and 6, although only one SSR locus was novel. Four SSR loci associated with the AC trait were distributed on chromosomes 3, 6, 10, and 11, of which three SSR loci were novel. The novel loci RM6712 and RM6327 were simultaneously identified in more than 2 environments and were potentially reliable QTLs for ECQs, with 15 parental combinations being predicted. These QTLs and parental combinations should be used in molecular breeding to improve japonica rice average ECQs. Conclusions: Among the 10 SSR loci associated with GT, GC and AC for grain ECQs detected in 27 favorable alleles, the favorable allele RM3600-90bp on chromosome 9 could significantly reduce GT, RM5753-115bp on chromosome 6 could significantly increase GC, and RM6327-230bp on chromosome 11 could significantly reduce AC in hybrid japonica rice mixed rice samples.