Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > JAPANESE GOVERMENT POLICICIES IN EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND CULTURE 1994 > PART I Chapter 2

A semimonthly five-day school week will be introduced in April 1995, the start of the 1995 school year. Under the new system, the second and fourth Saturdays of each month will be holidays. The five-day school week is being introduced in the context of a review of the educational roles of schools, families, and communities. The aim is to enable children to develop the qualities and abilities they will need as citizens by enhancing the educational functions and interaction of schools, families, and communities.

A monthly five-day school week system, with the second Saturday of every month designated as a school holiday, was introduced in September 1992. In the two-year period to September 1994, schools, families, and communities have worked together in various ways to put the five-day school week in place. In addition, research and surveys concerning the transition to a semimonthly five-day school week system have been carried out at pilot schools.

This chapter examines the situation under the monthly five-day school week system and research and surveys concerning a semimonthly five-day school week. It also analyzes the basic thinking behind the five-day school week and discusses preparations for the nationwide implementation of the semimonthly five-day school week system.