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Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > JAPANESE GOVERMENT POLICIES IN EDUCATION, SCIENCE, SPORTS AND CULTURE 1995 > Special Report 2 (1)

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Special Report. The Response of the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake
2. Restoration of Educational Facilities and improvement of Disaster Prevention Systems
(1) Repair of Educational Facilities and Cultural Properties


The Government mobilized all available resources for the reconstruction of the Hanshin-Awaji region and declared the earthquake a "severe disaster." Efforts are now being made to restore educational facilities and cultural properties as quickly as possible. It is extremely important to ensure that repairs are implemented in ways appropriate to the cultural environment that has evolved in the region. The greatest possible support is being provided, including fiscal, financial, and taxation measures.

Fiscal support measures include the provision of approximately 15.3 billion yen in the second supplementary budget for fiscal 1994 (passed on February 28, 1995) for emergency repairs. Approximately 96.2 billion yen was provided in the first supplementary budget for fiscal 1995 (passed on May 19, 1995) for full-scale restoration efforts ( Table SR.2). These funds are being used to repair national school facilities and subsidize the repair of local public school facilities and other educational facilities, such as private schools, special training colleges, local public social education, sports, and cultural facilities, and important cultural properties. Special provision was also made for the subsidization of repairs to special training colleges and the construction of temporary buildings for private schools and special training colleges.

In addition to facility-related subsidies, special current expenditure subsidies were provided to enable educational institutions, especially private schools, to resume educational and research activities as soon as possible. The Government will continue to implement fiscal measures as necessary to facilitate the repair of educational and other facilities.

Financial support measures include the provision of long-term low-interest loans to private schools, special training colleges, and other educational institutions for use in repairing facilities and stabilizing operations. In addition, extra time has been allowed for the repayment of existing debts. These aid measures are being provided through the Japan Private School Promotion Foundation. The Foundation for In-Service Training and Welfare of Private School Personnel is providing interest subsidies for facility restoration loans.

Because the earthquake affected such a wide area and caused such massive damage, the Government implemented a tax-related support measure whereby donations to school corporations, quasi-school corporations, religious corporations, and other incorporated nonprofit organizations for use in the repair of buildings used in public service activities are tax-exempt "designated donations."

The severity of damage resulting from the earthquake is also reflected in the enactment of the Law Concerning Special Fiscal Assistance and Subsidies for Measures Relating to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Education-related measures under this law include the exemption of staff members of national, local public, and private schools from the requirement to pay part of their medical expenses.

To ensure that damage was repaired as quickly as possible, the Government adopted a flexible policy toward the implementation of surveys relating to the excavation of buried cultural properties. At the Government 's request prefectural boards of education throughout Japan sent personnel trained in dealing with buried cultural properties to Hyogo Prefecture. The Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education, and organizations concerned with cultural properties and art are cooperating to provide emergency protection for cultural properties that have suffered damage. The Relief Committee for Cultural Properties Damaged by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, popularly known as the Cultural Properties Rescue Team, was established for this purpose. To date it has retrieved and conserved 16 items, including Buddhist statues and other works of art.


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