Target （1） Fostering Solid Academic Abilities
Foster children’s attitudes to independently engage in learning, such as fundamental and basic knowledge and skills, thinking abilities, judgment, expressiveness, etc.
（Measurement Indicators） |
○ Improve education quality in early childhood
- Based on the Comprehensive Support for Children and Childrearing, enhance the quality of early childhood education, childcare, and childrearing support through improvement of the child-staff ratio and staff treatment, etc., and implement survey and research for correction and enhancement of the content of early childhood education and for establishment of evaluation methods of quality. In addition, build a system to implement early childhood education beyond the differences between public or private or beyond the type of facilities, such as the establishment of early childhood education centers for each local government or fostering and assignment, etc. of early childhood education advisers, and enhancement of training for personnel of early childhood education facilities, etc.
○ Steady implementation of the new National Curriculum Standards, etc.
- Disseminate thoroughly the purposes of the new National Curriculum Standards that are established in order to foster the competencies required in the new era, through promotion of lesson improvement from the perspective of proactive, interactive, and authentic learning, the establishment of curriculum management, etc., so that they are understood and achieved by each school, by developing educational materials, and by providing information related to practical cases of effective teaching, etc. In addition, textbook publishers are also encouraged to improve the contents and styles of textbooks, taking into account the situation of teaching in schools.
- In view of further enhancement of standards for curriculums in the future, implement practical research in pilot schools for research purposes.
○ Implementation, Analysis, and Use of National Assessment of Academic Ability
- Correct and enhance educational measures and teaching by implementing National Assessment of Academic Ability based on new directions, such as introducing the new Course of Study, English survey in lower secondary schools and continuous implementation of surveys with parents, etc., every year and with all students, and by using identification, analysis, and results of issues.
○ Promotion of upper secondary school education reform
- Review curriculums, correct learning and teaching methods, and increase the teaching ability of teachers, and engage in the enhancement of tailored actions for students’ diversified learning needs, including teaching related to basic knowledge, skills, etc. required by society. In addition, as promotion of multilateral evaluation, create a system for Primary Analysis of Learning for Students, which is a system where the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology certifies private tests, etc. that conform to specified requirements, and promote development and provision of measurement tools for diversified private sectors, etc. and their use. Thereby, promote activity of the PDCA cycle towards establishment of basic learning abilities of upper secondary school students.
○ Promotion of cooperation with each educational stage from preschool through higher education
- In each region, engage in the transmission of information related to curriculum design and teaching system models that can be used as a reference when implementing educational continuities from elementary through lower secondary levels so that collaboration between schools and educational continuities can facilitate transfers between each educational stage from preschool through higher education based on the actual status. Along with these activities, encourage the acquisition of teaching certificates of neighboring types of schools. In addition, in order to connect early childhood education and elementary school education, promote further implementation of activities where kindergarten, etc. and elementary schools collaborate with each other, such as holding exchanges between young children and students in elementary schools and joint training of teachers, etc. of kindergarten, etc. and elementary schools. Furthermore, conduct steady promotion of the reform of connections between upper secondary schools and universities.
Measures indicated later
○ Promotion of citizenship education （provisional translation）
○ Promotion of Education for Sustainable Development （ESD）
○ Promotion of education for creating sustainable communities, such as recovery from disaster, etc.
○ Securing learning abilities at school education [partially indicated later]
Target （2） Fostering Richness in Mind
Cultivate rich emotions and moral fiber in children; independently participate in forming society based on a sense of justice, sense of responsibility, normative awareness, respect of one’s own life and the lives of others, self-affirmation and a sense of usefulness, consideration of others, ability to build human relationships, sociality, attitude to respect individual values and to value gender equality, and public-mindedness; and foster mindsets of contributing to the development of society, mindsets to cherish nature and to contribute to environmental preservation, and the ability to proactively challenge oneself to achieve a goal, etc.
（Measurement Indicators） |
○ Foster self-affirmation and a sense of usefulness in children
- Steadily implement the National Curriculum Standard that values activities of exchange between many generations and cross-age exchanges, and engage in improvement of educational quality from early childhood in order to foster an attitude towards learning through various experiences.
- Engage in support for education at home towards fostering self-affirmation and a sense of usefulness from infancy, and enhance various experimental activities so that children can obtain a sense of achievement or successful experience and can acquire a mindset to tackle issues.
- Promote coordination of space where all children, including those with various issues, can learn safely and securely.
○ Promotion of moral education
- Change to moral education for thinking and discussing so that every student in elementary school and lower and upper secondary school considers moral issues for which there is not only one answer, as their own problem and tackles them by providing a Special Subject, Morality, in elementary and lower secondary schools; and support activities in schools and the board of education in order to promote moral education through overall education activities at school, including upper secondary schools.
○ Provide thorough control of actions against bullying, etc. and promote human rights education
- Based on the fact that bullying can occur to any child and at any school, thoroughly disseminate the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent Bullying and the content of basic policies on the prevention of bullying, etc. In addition, encourage proactive recognition and sharing of information thoroughly in order to eliminate bullying at each school; and promote the enhancement of training, etc. for thoroughly implementing activities for the prevention of bullying and fostering leaders who are at the core of children’s independent activities. Furthermore, accurately identify and verify activity conditions based on the Act for the Promotion of Measures to Prevent Bullying with persons related to schools and relevant groups. In addition, implement actions against bullying on the internet and bullying students in elementary schools and lower and upper secondary schools who suffered from the Great East Japan Earthquake or who have evacuated due to the nuclear plant disaster.
- Encourage teaching, including school suspension, punishment, etc. for students in elementary schools and lower and upper secondary schools who engage in undesirable behavior, etc., for the purpose of growing the personalities of said students.
- In order to achieve education sites where everyone can feel safe, promote collaboration and cooperation between schools, boards of education and relevant institutions, such as the police, etc., for example, dispatching persons who used to be police officers, etc. handling undesirable behavior, etc. in schools, including the prevention of bullying. In addition, support activities in order to prevent suicide among students in elementary schools and lower and upper secondary schools.
- Corporal punishment is prohibited by the School Education Act and it should never be allowed in any case. Provide thorough control on prohibition of corporal punishment with all school personnel so that student guidance based on understanding of students in elementary schools and lower and upper secondary schools without corporal punishment is provided.
- Support correction and enhancement of activities of human rights education at the board of education and schools by disseminating the survey and research on human rights education models, etc. at schools and their outcomes and by collection and disclosure, etc. of practical cases, etc.
○ Enhancement of experiential activities and reading activities
- Based on the National Curriculum Standards which requires the enhancement of experiences, including group overnight trips, volunteer activities, nature experience activities, and participation in community events, engage in the enhancement of various experiential activities, including nature experience activities and group overnight trips at schools and centers for children and youth, international exchange experience, etc.
- Based on the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Reading Activities for Children, etc., promote reading activities for children through the development and enhancement of school libraries, such as fostering teacher librarians or the assignment of school librarians, the promotion of cooperation between public libraries and schools, and the dissemination and cultivation of the importance of reading activities for children, etc.
○ Promotion of education on tradition and cultures, etc.
- Implement education to accept the traditions and cultures of Japan and hometowns and to assimilate and develop them. Promote activities to enhance culture and arts education and experience opportunities while collaborating and cooperating with elementary and lower secondary schools, museums, theaters, and music halls, etc. Support activities to provide opportunities where children can encounter first-class arts or opportunities where they can learn the traditions and cultures of the region. In addition, promote martial arts that are traditional cultures unique to Japan.
- Promote education on the general cultivation of religion.
○ Fostering sound youth
- In order to protect youth from harmful content, provide education on information morals based on the National Curriculum Standards, and implement awareness-raising activities related to rules for the filtering and use of the internet by collaboration with the community, private groups, etc., including actions for dissemination of various internet devices including smartphones.
- Take support measures so that teachers, etc. can provide education and teaching effectively on issues related to sex, including damage from sexual assault, based on the development stage of students in elementary schools and lower and upper secondary schools.
○ Promotion of gender equality
- Enhance instructions on the importance of the mutual understanding of gender equality, joint participation in society by men and women, and the building of homes through cooperation between men and women based on the development stage of students in elementary schools and lower and upper secondary schools, and strive to raise awareness so that school personnel understand the philosophy of gender equality.
- Promote career guidance based on the viewpoint of gender equality so that both men and women can consider how to live, their capabilities, and suitability and can acquire abilities and mindsets to select a career independently; and enhance education and learning that enable the diversified selection of students in elementary schools and lower and upper secondary schools.
○ Promotion of citizenship education （provisional translation）
- In order to equip students with the ability to become independent in society as citizens with sovereignty, cooperate and collaborate with others, and survive society or the ability to voluntarily take on the resolution of issues in the community as a member of society based on the development stage, etc., implement activities to enhance the content of education based on the National Curriculum Standards in elementary and lower and upper secondary schools, etc. and raise awareness at universities, etc. in cooperation with relevant ministries, such as learning community issues, learning taxation and finance, learning laws, etc., and enhance activities by collaboration between schools, homes, and communities.
○ Promotion of consumer education
- Disseminate objectives of the National Curriculum Standards thoroughly in elementary and lower and upper secondary schools, etc. so that every single citizen can voluntarily judge and take actions with responsibility as a consumer, and promote consumer education by promoting use of consumer education materials that may be of some help as instructions. In addition, in order to promote consumer education at universities, etc., implement collaboration between universities, etc. and in consumer centers, provide information on prevention of consumer damages, and disseminate the activity.
○ Promoting Education for Sustainable Development （ESD）(*1)
- Enhance activities of UNESCO Associated Schools, which Japan situates as the hubs for advancing ESD, and widely transmit and share good practices throughout Japan. In addition, promote the practice and dissemination of ESD and exchanges between schools, and deepen ESD by collaboration between diversified relevant persons in the community （schools, boards of education, universities, companies, NPOs, social education facilities, etc.）. Foster leaders for creating a sustainable society through these activities.
○ Promotion of environmental education
- In order to foster leaders for a sustainable society, implement environmental education beyond subjects, etc. based on the National Curriculum Standard in elementary and lower and upper secondary schools, and conduct training for instructors by collaboration with relevant ministries. In addition, promote experiential activities, such as nature experience activities and agriculture, forestry, and fishery industry experiences, etc. in order to deepen understanding of environmental preservation in the community, etc. and to increase motivation, etc. for creating a sustainable society.
○ Promotion of Education on Olympic and Paralympic Games
- Promote the understanding and interest of citizens about the meaning and value of sports and these games, volunteer spirit, and diverse cultures, towards the success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the inheritance of sports, education, culture, etc. as their legacy.
- Using the Paralympic Games as a trigger, promote the understanding of citizens related to persons with disabilities and aim to achieve an inclusive society.
- Expand participation in sports throughout the lives of many citizens, including challenged persons.
○ Promotion of education for creating sustainable communities, such as recovery from disaster, etc.
- Promote activities for creative recovery education to deepen one’s own learning and promote the transmission of information on education practices for resolution of community issues in each region of Japan through activities in various opportunities including outside schools by setting the history of community recovery as a subject of learning in order to foster the ability to contribute to recovery from disaster and to create sustainable communities.
- Based on the lessons from the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and the “Strategies to Eliminate Negative Reputations and to Strengthen Risk Communication,”(*2) implement necessary activities for facilitating scientific understanding on radiation based on the development stage of students in elementary schools and lower and upper secondary schools.
- Support activities to develop education environments listed in the Fukushima Innovation Coast Framework(*3) and to expand human resources boundaries.
Target （3） Fostering Healthy Bodies
Foster the health and physical strength necessary to live strongly throughout life.
（Measurement Indicators） |
○ Enhancement of school health, school lunch, and Shokuiku （dietary education）, etc.
- Enhance systematic health education through overall school education activities by setting subject learning, such as physical education, health and physical education as the core, concerning cancer education, education to prevent drug abuse, etc. in order to foster the abilities necessary to live healthy throughout life; and promote health management, etc. in cooperation with schools, homes, and specialized institutions in the community through the establishment and revitalization of school health committees and using resources and information of groups related to school health in order to handle the health issues of children that are being diversified and deepened, such as mental health, allergic diseases, etc.
- In order to promote health education and health management, etc., increase the qualifications and abilities of school personnel, including nursing teachers, who assume their core roles, and promote the use of school physicians, school dentists, and school pharmacists, etc. Furthermore, facilitate the building of structures for cooperation between the board of education, departments under the direct control of the heads of the local governments, medical associations, dental associations, pharmaceutical associations, societies of school health, and relevant institutions, and implement activities by cooperation between relevant ministries.
- Promote Shokuiku （dietary education） through subjects, etc. in elementary and lower and upper secondary schools, etc. based on the National Curriculum Standards so that children can acquire correct knowledge on food and preferable dietary habits. In this case, enhance Shokuiku （dietary education） in cooperation with schools, homes, and communities by setting a diet and nutrition teacher as the core, such as giving practical instructions by using school lunches, which are live educational materials, in elementary and lower secondary schools. In addition, in order to enhance instructions on food, increase the implementation rate of school lunch and promote activities to use local products.
○ Support for establishment of basic living habits for children
- In consideration of the situation, such as changes in living hours by expansion of opportunities where children come in contact with information devices, develop activities to establish basic living habits for children and to increase their living patterns through instruction at schools and continuous implementation of the national movement titled “Early to Bed, Early to Rise, and Don't Forget Your Breakfast,” in order to implement activities towards an increase in educational abilities at home and to improve the living patterns of children by society as a whole.
- As part of education on information morals, promote activities through collaboration between schools, homes, and communities so that children can voluntarily and appropriately use information devices.
○ Enhancement of sports opportunities for children at schools and in the community
- Based on the Second Sport Basic Plan, remind children of the fun of playing sports through physical education activities at schools, foster qualifications and abilities to achieve a rich sports life throughout life and rich humanity and sociality, and enhance sports opportunities after school and in the community while using community resources, including professional human resources, such as fitness and sports physicians, etc. so that it leads to the establishment of exercise habits in children and increases their physical strength, including from the perspective of preventing lifestyle-related diseases.
Other Targets in Basic Policy 1
Target （15） Provision of Educational Opportunities Responding to Diversified Needs （to be indicated later）
＜Mainly at the Higher Education Stage＞
Target （4） Acquisition of Ability to Detect and Resolve Problems
Foster students with a broad range of knowledge and culture, the ability to practice and apply the knowledge and skills they have learned while proactively responding to changes, and the ability to identify and resolve problems voluntarily.
（Measurement Indicators） |
○ Conduct steady promotion of reforming the connection between upper secondary schools and universities
- Conduct integral reform of upper secondary school education, university entrance examinations, and university education in order to ensure the fostering of the three elements of academic ability and to conduct multilateral and comprehensive evaluation. Promote upper secondary school education reform, conduct a steady review of the implementation of the University Entrance Common Test from fiscal year 2020 as a university entrance examination reform, and encourage correction of multilateral and comprehensive evaluation for the three elements of academic ability also for entrance examination reform for individual universities. In addition, implement university education reform based on the Three Policies established by each university, and reflect items related to these Three Policies in accreditation from fiscal year 2018 as common evaluation items.
○ Achieve education from the student-oriented view
- In order to realize the correction of education programs and quality conversion of education, including conversion to the University System Based on Degree Programs, improve education environment standards, such as the number students per teacher （ST rate）, promote correction of education content, such as project-based education by conducting project-based learning （PBL）, and promote disclosure of information related to higher education through Japanese College and University Portraits(*5), etc.
- Examine the way to identify and disclose necessary information so that each university can identify knowledge and skill conditions acquired by individual students and the awareness and acts related to learning of students in light of the Three Policies, and can use them for appropriate and effective operation of educational and research activities, etc.
○ Increase mobility of teachers and student.
- In order to provide education that responds to rapid changes in economic society, take necessary measures to increase the diversity and mobility of teachers through personnel exchanges with groups other than higher education institutions, such as companies, etc., and increase the mobility of students through learning at higher education institutions other than the one the student attends, transfers between higher education institutions, exchanges between university students in urban areas and rural areas, etc.
○ Strengthen cooperation between higher education institutions to increase education quality and effective operation
- Promote education curriculum design, etc. in cooperation with other institutions, such as using e-learning, etc., forming a consortium in the community, etc. in order to effectively use the resources of each higher education institution and to increase education quality effectively and efficiently.
Re-posted measures
○ Promoting Education for Sustainable Development （ESD）
- Promote the practice of ESD by collaboration between a diversity of relevant persons in the community （schools, board of education, universities, companies, NPOs, social education facilities, etc.） and deepen ESD that contributes to the achievement of SDGs （Sustainable Development Goals） through interdisciplinary activities, etc. Through these activities, consider global issues as our own issues, and foster leaders for creating a sustainable society who have acquired the mindset of engaging in issues around us.
＜Stages of Our Lives＞
Target （5） Fostering Abilities and Attitudes Towards Social and Vocational Independence
Foster an independent and autonomous spirit, value relationships between work and life, foster a mindset to value work, and foster basic and general abilities that become the foundation for social and occupational independence.
（Reference Indicators） |
○ Promote career education and vocational education at each school stage in cooperation with industry
- Foster systematic career education at each school stage from early childhood education until higher education. At the elementary and secondary education stage, in order to contribute to fostering human resources who will lead the community, disseminate and implement experience with starting a company, worksite experience, and internship projects in collaboration with local companies, etc., and engage in support for specialized upper secondary schools that develop distinctive education and dissemination of outcomes. In addition, implement activities where upper secondary school students learn business methods, etc. with an awareness of work, and engage in activities to resolve local issues with adults in the community. At the higher education stage, additionally promote appropriate internship projects in cooperation with industry, and also promote the positioning of activities outside schools, such as volunteers, etc., as part of classes and the awarding of credits to these activities. In specialized training colleges, promote quality assurance and increase of overall specialized training colleges mainly with Professional Post-secondary Courses that collaborate closely with companies, etc., and implement activities to increase industry-academia-government collaboration systems for the development of organizational and independent educational activities.
○ Promote practical vocational education at higher education institutions
- Implement necessary preparation for implementation of the system from fiscal year 2019 concerning new higher education institutions, such as professional and vocational universities, and professional and vocational junior colleges, and professional and vocational faculties in universities and junior colleges, in order to foster professional and vocational personnel who have high theory-based practical ability as a strength, can lead professional operations and respond to changes, and can create new items and services.
- In order to implement practical education in cooperation with industry at universities and professional training colleges, etc., promote the use of the certification system for the Brush up Program for professionals （business practice skill development programs）, and Professional Post-secondary Courses.
○ Support for connections between schools and society in cooperation with relevant ministries
- Implement necessary activities for smooth implementation of integrated employment and recruiting activities between upper secondary schools, universities, etc., and financial circles through cooperation between relevant ministries, such as the development of systems, including the promotion of cooperation between upper secondary schools, universities, etc. and the Task Force Team for the Employment of New Graduates etc., and the further enhancement for support of the employment of students in lower and higher secondary schools and universities, etc. who wish to be employed.
- Implement activities to foster understanding of labor laws based on the development stage.
○ Establish a new flow of people into local areas through learning
- Implement activities to learn and to expose students to the appeal of abundant nature, history, tradition, and culture, etc. unique to local areas from childhood, and activities to establish a flow of students returning to local areas.
Target （12） Promotion of Re-learning of Working People to Acquire the Knowledge and Skills Necessary for Work Throughout their Lifetime （to be indicated later）
Target （6） Increasing Educational Abilities of Home and Community, and Promotion of Cooperation and Collaboration with Schools
Support for education at home by the community as a whole for diversified home environments. In addition, create a place where children can engage in activities safely through various relationships with local communities, and foster in children the abilities necessary for the coming period as well as attachment to and pride in the community. In addition, implement cooperation and collaboration between homes, community, and schools.
（Measurement Indicators） |
○ Increase in education abilities at home
- Relevant ministries cooperate with each other, establish a cooperation system between the childrearing support and the support for education at home in the community in order to achieve consistent support from the pregnancy period until school-age and thereafter, and promote sharing of information and collaboration related to children and homes that require support, between the boards of education and other departments and between relevant institutions and relevant persons.
- Strengthen support for homes, children, and parents who have various issues, but are isolated from the community, and for whom it is difficult to access a consultation site voluntarily, such as fostering human resources who will be support members for education at home, enhancing visit-type support for education at home, and collecting and disseminating good practices related to smooth and appropriate sharing of necessary personal information.
- Government and private sectors implement activities together to spread school holidays, to promote taking paid leave, and to secure opportunities for diversified activities so that adults and children can spend time together.
○ Increase educational abilities in the community and promote cooperation and collaboration with schools
- Introduce the School Management Council System, which is a system where community residents and parents, etc. participate in school management, in all public schools. Promote the introduction of Community Schools and enhance their management by securing and fostering human resources who lead their promotion in each community.
- Implement Community Cooperation Activities for Learning and Education throughout Japan through the participation of a wide range of community residents and diversified institutions, groups, etc. in the community in all elementary and lower secondary school areas, by promoting the assignment of Community Coordinators who connect the community and schools, by enhancing training, and by developing a Community Cooperation Networks for Learning and Education. In this case, the relevant ministries cooperate with each other to promote the enhancement of learning and experience programs after school and on Saturdays, etc. and the use of external human resources, etc., such as companies, etc.
- Promote activities where students in elementary schools and lower and upper secondary schools participate in community events and volunteer activities and upper secondary school students learn business methods, etc. and resolve local issues with adults in the community. In addition, foster understanding in society concerning the important duties of teachers.
*1 Education to acquire ability to consider global issues as student issues and to consider and take action by themselves towards their resolution, in order to foster leaders for creating a sustainable society.
*2 In December 2017, under the Minister for Reconstruction, it was determined by the Task Force on the Nuclear Hazard's Influence Including the Negative Reputation Impact. After seven years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, there are still negative reputations that are not based on scientific evidence and unjust prejudice and discrimination. These are strategies to implement activities in cooperation with relevant ministries concerning transmitting information widely to citizens, such as correct knowledge on radiation, food safety in Fukushima prefecture, and the current status, etc. of the reconstruction of Fukushima, and other information.
*3 A concept designed in June 2014 in order to build a new industrial foundation in the community to recover industries in the Hamadori area, etc. where they were lost by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear accident.
*4 In the Second Sport Basic Plan that was established in 2017, it is stipulated to aim to raise the physical strength level of children to the level around 1985, by 2021. Therefore, indicators in 2022 and after will be considered based on the achievement status by 2021.
*5 It is a common system to use and disclose education information using databases.
（Education Policy Bureau Policy Division）