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Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS IN JAPAN 1965 > CHAPTER3 4 (1) b

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CHAPTER 3 SUPPLY OF TEACHERS ANDPROVISION OF SCHOOL FACILITIES
4 Health and Physical Education
(1) Physical Education and Sports
b Facilities for Community Education


Since 1959 the government has been encouraging the improvement of community physical education facilities directly and through the provision of loans to local public entities. Local public entities have also been making a great endeavor in this direction year after year. However, there is still lack of such facilities, which retards development of sports activities. However, their improvement has been promoted by various over-all programs, at both national and local levels, including the organization of an annual National Sports Festival held in a different prefecture each year, the enactment of the Sports Promotion Law in 1961, programs for improving facilities with the 1964 Olympics as an impetus, and the five year plan for the expansion of physical education facilities which was started in 1964.

Physical education facilities which were under state supervision in 1964 included the National Stadium, the Sugadaira Physical Training Center, the National Gymnasium, and the Toda Rowing Course.

Some of the physical education facilities established by local public entities are shown in Table 52, and their number was increased by 15% in 1963 as compared with that in 1955. Gymnasiums and swimming pools have increased strikingly in recent years. As for the utilization of these public facilities throughout the year of 1962, swimming pools were made available to 13,130,000 persons, gymnasiums to 8,000,000, baseball fields to 7,060,000 and track fields to 4,940,000.

Table 52. Number of Public Facilities for Community Physical Education and Sports

In addition, some cities, towns and villages organize sports classes to provide working youth who are not able to engage in sports activities at their place of work or at home with an opportunity to participate in sports. At present there are more than 500 sports classes and part of their working expenses are provided by the government. Besides, the Ministry of Education prepared a draft sports test in 1963 and has encouraged its wide use. The test is intended to have people become aware of their present physical strength and native ability so that they may develop abilities that may be inadequate, enjoy various sports, train their mind and body, and lead a healthy life.

With a view to rearing healthy youth and adults, in recent years the promotion of physical education has been emphasized in various countries, where over-all planning and programming for the improvement of facilities have been actively encouraged.

In France, a Five Year Plan for the Improvement of Facilities for Sports and Out-of-school Education was adopted in 1961 for the physical development of the people and the promotion of sports, and for the implementation of the plan efforts are made to provide facilities for community physical education such as track fields, tennis courts, gymnasiums and swimming pools.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Golden Plan for Health, Sports, and Recreation, drafted by the German Olympic Committee in 1959, has been strongly supported by the federal, state, and local governments, and the construction of gymnasiums, playgrounds, and swimming pools has been effectively prosecuted.

In Great Britain, the Centra1 Council for Physical Education and Recreation made a proposal to the government in 1960 on the necessity for the expansion of indoor stadiums, track fields, swimming pools, physical education facilities for women, etc. for the promotion of local sports activities.


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