EXCLUSIVE: Japan to Promote Safety Measures for School Facilities

August 22, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's education ministry will ramp up support for measures designed to ensure the safety of students in schools, including strengthening external walls and installing air conditioners, informed sources told Jiji Press on Tuesday.

In its budget request for fiscal 2019 from next April, the ministry plans to ask for over 240 billion yen in funds related to such support, more than triple the amount it received in the previous year's budget, the sources said.

The ministry is considering asking for 5,935.1 billion yen in total budget outlays for fiscal 2019, up 11.8 pct from the previous year.

The ministry's support for removing and upgrading concrete block walls at public schools that are at risk of collapsing comes after a girl was crushed to death under a collapsed block wall at her elementary school in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, in a major earthquake in June.

The ministry will speed up action to install air conditioners in classrooms following the extreme heat this summer, after an elementary school student died from heatstroke last month in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan.

The ministry is expected to increase sharply its budget request for safety measures for certified child care centers and national universities.

Among new measures, the ministry plans to enhance Japanese-language education for foreigners living in Japan, as the government plans to accept more foreign workers to the country through the establishment of a new resident status.

The ministry will also support moves by Japanese high schools in cooperation with companies and volunteer groups to provide career education to foreign high school students.

It will also start a regional revitalization model project involving about 50 high schools across Japan. Specifically, curriculums will be created for students to explore issues in areas such as tourism and healthcare and look for solutions through fieldwork.

The ministry will also lay emphasis on measures that ease the burdens of teachers.

For junior high schools, the ministry aims to boost the number of personnel who coach students in extracurricular activities in place of teachers from the previous year's 4,500 to 12,000.

In the science field, the ministry plans to newly set up a support program for universities and research institutions that foster researchers who can be successful both in Japan and abroad. Jiji Press