White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology2

Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 Section General Status of Earthquake Damage 1

1 General Status

The Great East Japan Earthquake, with its epicenter off the Sanriku Coast, occurred at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, recording a magnitude of 9.0. The seismic motion was devastating in a broad area, recording intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic scale in Kurihara City, and six in various municipalities of Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Tochigi Prefectures. Many aftershocks followed, and even earthquakes measure of six or higher magnitudes were recorded 89 times by July, 31. The earthquake caused a tsunami on the Pacific coast and its adjacent areas, and this gigantic tsunami caused significant damage particularly along the Pacific coast in the Tohoku and Kanto regions. It resulted in unprecedented catastrophe, with more than 15,000 deaths and over 4,900 people had been missing (as of July, 31). Regarding the situation of damage relevant to the Education, Culture and Science fields, the number of victims among pupils/students from kindergarten to university amounts to 617 deaths, 111 missing, 231 injured, and among school personnel amounts to 28 deaths, 14 missing, and 61 inured of the affected schools as shown in Fig. 1. As of July 29, the number of children under 18 years old whose parents are both dead or missing (including children under 18 years old who had single parent who is dead or missing) is 229, according to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Regarding property damage, more than 12,000 cases to schools/social education/physical education/cultural facilities in 24 prefectures nationwide were reported as shown in Fig. 2. Among these incidents, 193 schools need rebuilding or major repair due to the high degree of damage among kindergartens, elementary/junior high/high schools, secondary schools and schools for special needs education alone. Further, the disaster resulted in 21 private kindergartens that were fully or partially

Columns in the classroom collapsed by the earthquake (Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture)

A bus that was lifted onto the roof of the Citizens' Public Hall by the tsunami (Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture)

Damage in important preservation districts for groups of traditional buildings (Katori City, Chiba Prefecture)

A training aircraft for a specialized training college was swept away and damaged by the tsunami (Iwanuma City, Miyagi Prefecture)

Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan destroyed. In addition, many cultural properties were damaged as well, as shown in Fig. 3.

No. 1 Outcome from Disaster Prevention Education in Kamaishi City

Execution of tsunami evacuation drill at elementary/junior high joint schools

The Disaster Prevention Section and Board of Education of Kamaishi City had carried out the "disaster prevention education project – disaster prevention against a tsunami with a keyword safety for children" since FY 2008 until FY 2009 supported by the MEXT. The project accomplished its goals to developed learning tool, such as a revision of the "Animated Tsunami Hazard Map "to develop and implement the training curriculum targeting for elementary/junior high school teachers and disaster prevention leaders in the community, and to put together the "tsunami disaster prevention education manual." These materials have been actively used at elementary/junior high schools in the city to contribute to building a system which will protect children's lives well beyond FY 2010. Making practical use of the manual, each elementary school and junior high school is aiming to develop the capabilities for people to protect their lives on their own. To do so, they are providing open classes on disaster prevention against tsunamis. Also, tsunami evacuation drills are conducted jointly between elementary schools / junior high schools and children's parents or guardians. In the classes on prevention of tsunami disasters, they produce items such evacuation maps they can take home, and carry out volunteer activities jointly with local voluntary organizations for disaster prevention, which develop a pride and dedication to the community of Kamaishi in the students' mind. Appropriate evacuation activities are leveraged with learning through disaster prevention education when the earthquake occurred, such as the following cases: junior high school students at school guided elementary school students and elder people for prompt evacuation by following exactly what they learned through training of "the helper rather the helped" program; elementary school students at home proactively evacuated when notified of the earthquake, which urged adults to evacuate also; and children evacuated up to the third floor of their building, remembering that it's impossible to stand in fast current even it is only 50 cm deep.

Also, junior high school students proactively volunteered in making refugee cards and other items for those living in the shelters. Like these examples show above, the children in Kamaishi City were able to act using their own common sense at the moment the earthquake and tsunami struck, as well as during the days which followed, leveraging what they learned through regular disaster prevention education.

Fig. 1 Disaster Victims (as of 7:00 am on July 29, 2011) * Count the number of dead/injured by place (prefecture) at the time of the disaster, missing people are by school location (prefecture) they belong to. * The number in parenthesis indicates the number of school personnel.

National school Public school Private school Prefecture Total (number of victims) (number of victims) (number of victims) name Dead Missing Injured Dead Missing Injured Dead Missing Injured Dead Missing Injured 1 81 24 15 18 5 18 100 29 33 Iwate (3) (4) (1) (1) (1) (5) (4) (5) (6) 7 2 329 57 27 95 12 14 431 69 43 Miyagi (17) (6) (11) (3) (2) (7) (20) (8) (18) 1 73 12 6 10 1 11 84 13 17 Fukushima (2) (2) (1) (3) (2) (1) (5) 10 10 Ibaraki (2) (2) 16 4 20 Tochigi (4) (1) (5) 10 4 14 Gunma (1) (1) 2 6 2 10 Saitama

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 National school Public school Private school Prefecture Total (number of victims) (number of victims) (number of victims) name Dead Missing Injured Dead Missing Injured Dead Missing Injured Dead Missing Injured 1 3 4 Chiba (1) (3) (4) 5 2 68 2 73 Tokyo (2) (19) (2) (19) 2 3 5 Kanagawa (1) (1) 2 2 Niigata

9 10 483 93 94 125 18 127 617 111 231 Total (1) (22) (10) (22) (6) (4) (38) (28) (14) (61) 19 670 270 958 Grand Total (1) (54) (48) (103) U 8 10 (1) K 7 2 1 K 74 (3) 7 (2) 3 (3) K 81 (3) 9 (2) 4 (3) CT 1 ES 213 (12) 38 (5) 42 (14) HS 6 3 (1) 6 (2) ES 213 (12) 38 (5) 42 (14) JH 99 (5) 14 32 (5) SE 1 JH 99 (5) 14 32 (5) HS 153 (4) 25 (1) 11 (2) U 38 (1) 5 83 (18) HS 159 (4) 28 (2) 17 (4) 11 SN 10 (1) 3 (1) JC 3 SE 1 prefectures U 1 2 5 PTC 4 (2) 2 (1) 35 (15) SN 10 (1) 3 (1) JC 2 U 47 (1) 7 98 (19) PTC 10 (4) JC 3 2 CT 1 PTC 4 (2) 12 (5) 35 (15)

Fig. 2 Property Damage (as of 7:00 am on July 29, 2011) Social education, Research Cultural National school Public school Private school physical education, facilities Prefecture Properties etc. (number of (number of (number of cultural facilities overseen by Total name (number of victims) victims) victims) (number of MEXT (number items) facilities) of facilities) Hokkaido 2 4 3 4 13 Aomori 1 122 18 40 10 191 Iwate 5 424 67 372 68 936 Miyagi 6 805 221 654 88 5 1,779 Akita 2 29 1 24 11 67 Yamagata 5 82 38 11 136 Fukushima 6 751 161 530 62 1,510 Ibaraki 11 1,056 223 521 174 5 1,990 Tochigi 3 448 74 272 79 876 Gunma 3 254 51 125 60 493 Saitama 566 117 190 25 2 900 Chiba 8 766 142 224 38 1 1,179 Tokyo 14 485 250 224 47 6 1,026 Kanagawa 4 465 68 78 12 2 629 Niigata 1 129 12 49 3 194 Yamanashi 2 9 5 2 10 28 Nagano 13 2 9 1 25 Gifu 1 1 Shizuoka 1 75 12 35 3 126 Aichi 1 3 4 Mie 1 1 Kyoto 1 1

Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan Social education, Research Cultural National school Public school Private school physical education, facilities Prefecture Properties etc. (number of (number of (number of cultural facilities overseen by Total name (number of victims) victims) victims) (number of MEXT (number items) facilities) of facilities) Wakayama 1 1 Kochi 1 1 Total 76 6,484 1,428 3,394 704 21 12,107 U 60 K 358 K 583 SEF 1,784 NT 5 RC 4 ES 3,252 ES 17 CSF 1,315 ICP 156 24 CT 12 JH 1,652 JH 48 CF 278 SHS 6 prefectures HS 835 HS 146 EFG 17 HTS 89 SE 4 SE 3 SSB 5 SN 183 SN 3 SB 17 U 13 U 156 NM 16 JC 4 JC 34 IPB 6 CT 1 SM 438 ITF 3 SM 16 Other 411 Other 166 * This does not match with the total because of duplicate designation Major damage situation: collapsed or half-burnt school buildings and gymnasiums, washed away by tsunami, submergence, flood, land subsidence, level differences and cracks in schoolyard, fallen ceilings/outer walls, glass breakage, etc. Note: Legends for Fig.1 and 2. K: Kindergarten; ES: Elementary School; JH: Junior High School; HS: High School; SE: Secondary School; SN: School for Special Needs Education; U: University (including affiliated schools); JC: Junior College; CT: College of Technology; PTC: Professional Training College; SM: Specialized Training College/ Miscellaneous School; RC: Inter-University Research Institute Corporation; SEF: Social Education Facilities; CSF: Community Sports Facilities; CF: Cultural Facilities; ETF: Education and Training Facilities; NT: National Treasures; ICP: Important Cultural Properties; SHS: Special Historic Sites; HTS: Historic Sites; SSB: Special Places of Scenic Beauty; SB: Places of Scenic Beauty; NM: Natural Monuments; IPD: Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings; ITF: Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties

Fig.3 Major Cultural Property Damaged (Damage Status is in Parenthesis) Prefecture Type Item name (status of major damage in parenthesis) name Zuiganji Temple priest's quarter and corridor (some collapse and crack in the Japanese traditional plaster walls) Miyagi Zuiganji Temple main hall (Motohojo) (minor damage to sculptures, slippage of some National Treasures pillars) Osaki Hachimangu Shrine (damage to the wooden wall, lacquering, and sculptures) Fukushima Amidado hall (minor damage to door) Yamanashi Seihakuji Butsuden (damage with transom inside) Special Places of Scenic Miyagi Matsushima (huge damage from the earthquake and tsunami at various locations) Beauty Tokyo Rikugien (Rikugien Gardens) (slippage of azalea teahouse column) Special Historic Sites, Kodokan School, dating from the Edo period (the school bell destroyed, traditional Important Cultural Ibaraki Japanese wall plaster fallen off) Properties Iwate Motsuji Garden (garden stones inclined) Special Places of Scenic Hamarikyu Gardens (dents on the roof of Houbaitei, explosion of water pipe, collapse of Beauty, Special Historic Tokyo garden lantern) Sites Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens (cracks on the entrance stairs to Kantokutei) Tagajo-ato-tsuketaritera-ato Remains (increase number of cracks in the maintained Miyagi Special Historic Sites pavement of the main hall stylobate) Tokyo Edojo-ato Remains (some collapsed stone walls)

This earthquake caused disasters at the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear power stations operated by To-

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 kyo Electric Power Co., Inc. and this, in turn, caused radioactive material leakage from the No.1 nuclear power station. On March 11 at 9:23 pm, the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters (Chief of the Headquarters: Prime Minister Naoto Kan) established by the government declared the area within a three-km radius of the No.1 nuclear power station as the Evacuation Area, and within a three-to-ten km radius as a zone in which people must take shelter indoors. Further, on March 12, it then set the area within a 20-km radius from the No. 1 nuclear power station and 10-km radius from the No. 2 nuclear power station as the Evacuation Area. The Headquarters went on to designate the area within a 20-to-30 km radius from the No.1 nuclear power station as a zone in which people must take shelter indoors in an effort to respond to the ongoing situation. Even later, on April 21, the Headquarters declared the area within an eight-km radius from the No. 2 nuclear power station as an Evacuation Area, and the area within a 20-km radius from the No. 1 nuclear power station as the Restricted Area. Then, on April 22, the Headquarters designated the area beyond the 20-km radius from the No.1 nuclear power station, which included the Fukushima Prefecture towns of Hirono, Naraha, Namie, the village of Kawauchi, and parts of both Tamura and Minamisoma cities as the Evacuation-Prepared Area in case of Emergency. Furthermore, they also set the area beyond the 20-km radius from the No. 1 nuclear power station, which is comprised of the Fukushima Prefecture villages of Katsurao, Iitake, the town of Namie and a part of both Kawamata Town and Minamisoma City, as a Deliberate Evacuation Area. Consequently, no educational activities have taken place in the schools in those areas.

2 Impact on School Education

At the kindergartens, elementary/junior-high/high schools, secondary schools, and schools for special needs education in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures, serious damage from the earthquake and the nuclear power plant accidents has placed kindergarten and elementary school pupils and students in harm’s way in terms of school life due to the following conditions. The facilities are not available at a number of schools in the disaster area due to their complete/partial destruction, flooding, and land subsidence. Among the private kindergartens in Iwate/Miyagi/Fukushima Pre- fectures in particular, twelve kindergartens are still closed and as of July 4, have no prospect of resuming educational activities anytime soon. Also, even some open kindergartens are currently borrowing other facilities because their own got damaged. Public schools have resumed educational activities though they have delayed opening the schools. However as of May 16, 161 schools/kindergartens still use other schools or non-school facilities in Iwate/Miyagi/Fukushima Prefectures. There are many cases where two or three schools share a school building. Each municipality secures a way for the students to get to school by such means, for example, like operating school buses. After the earthquake, many educational facilities such as schools, Citizens' Public Halls, and gymnasiums turned into temporary evacuation shelters where teachers and staff served round-the-clock. At the peak of such activity (March 17), 581 public schools were used as temporary evacuation shelters; as of July 29, 83 of those schools continue to be used as temporary evacuation shelters. The number of public school grounds on which temporary housings have built or are to be built is 74 (38 schools in Iwate Prefecture, 36 schools in Mi- yagi Prefecture) as of July 29. As of July 4, 97 private schools and kindergartens have opened their facilities to refugees regardless of whether or not they have been designated as a shelter, and some schools have provided their school buildings to municipalities and other schools. In Fukushima Prefecture, which has been impacted by the nuclear power plant disasters in addition to the earthquake, 23 public schools/kindergartens and eight private schools/kindergartens in the Evacuation Area remain closed and have not been able to open as of July 4. In these schools, some measures have been taken, such as acceptance of students at schools in area where the students evacuate by means of transference or school attendance with no official procedure. Meanwhile, in the Evacuation Area which includes the cities of Minamisoma and Tamura, the towns of Okuma and Kawamata, and the villages of Kawauchi and Iitate, some schools have resumed by moving out to other schools or by using closed-down schools which are located outside of the area. It is common to see students from multiple schools sharing one facility and many school buses transporting these students to get to these locations.

Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan The number of kindergarten and elementary school pupils and students who have been accepted into other schools after the earthquake as a result of its impact is 21,769 total (as of May 1, 2011). Among them, 11,729 come from the three prefectures of Iwate/Miyagi/Fukushima and have been placed into schools outside of each affected prefecture. The number of those from Fukushima Prefecture is total 9,998. Also, at some of schools where radiation doses rose, measures have been taken such as limiting schoolyard use and construction which requires digging in the ground. Some municipalities are taking measures such as suspending or limiting the use of schoolyards and pools, and are urging teachers to conduct class with the windows closed in response to the anxiety expressed by local residents, especially the children’s parents or guardians. Moreover, the earthquake (and tsunami) and the disaster at the nuclear power plants resulted in wide- spread and temporary movement among foreign researchers and students at universities, specialized training colleges, and miscellaneous schools nationwide, as many returned to their home countries, and researchers and students who were planning to visit Japan ended up cancelling their planned travel. It is significant to note that 96% of foreign students who are enrolled in universities have confirmed they will stay within their commute areas as of May 20. Moreover, some international athletic events, cultural performances and exhibitions from overseas had to be canceled or rescheduled in many locations. Facing such conditions, in the sports arena, government officials such the Minister of MEXT explained Japan's status directly to the international sports officials visiting Japan. For example, President of FIFA, Mr. Sepp Blatter, as along with national sports associations, the national government and local governments worked together with the International Sports Federation, and they eventually A banner to help bring cheer to disaster victims is made by the Student determined that the international athletic events scheduled to Committee of Toyama Prefecture at the 2012 All-Japan High School Cultural Festival in Toyama City and presented to the Student Committee be held in Japan would go on as planned. These events include of Fukushima Prefecture at the All-Japan High School Cultural Festival in Fukushima. (Mascots of both cultural festivals – "Raito-kun" (Toyama Pref.) the FIFA Club World Cup and the World Gymnastics Champi- and "Peshu" (Fukushima Pref.) – have been drawn.) onships. Then, in July, the Olympic Council of Asia meeting was held in Tokyo, with many participants such as International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge and other IOC members. Also regarding domestic cultural and athletic events, the Inter-Highschool Athletic Meeting (Northern Tohoku Inter-high), which was planned for this summer (2011), and the National Cultural Festival for Senior High Schools in Fukushima Prefecture, were held with some modifications. Moreover, people involved in cultural or sports activities have come to visit the damaged area, and there have been many events to cheer up refugees and disaster victims.

Example of voluntary support to damaged area by athletes. (Photo from "Smile with Sports Project" by former badminton players and tennis players.)

In addition, immediately after the earthquake struck, a movement among people involved in education has spread across the nations to support schools and students in the damaged area. The Boards of Education of Hyogo Prefecture dispatched its Emergency and Rescue Team of Hyogo (EARTH) (comprised of prefectural school staff) to Miyagi Prefecture in less than a week. Also boards of education from various municipalities

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 nationwide dispatched their school personnel as support in the damaged area. For example, the Tokyo Metro- politan Board of Education sent Tokyo public school teachers and other staff members for assisting educational activities in general, offering mental health care, and providing instruction by making visits at schools where the students have been redistributed in response to a request from Miyagi Prefecture. Further, the Japanese Society of Certified Clinical Psychologists and The Association of Japanese Clinical Psychology established the Japanese Psychological Support Center for The Great East Japan Earthquake to provide a support system for the mental health care of students and other refugees.

No. 2 Efforts by EARTH from Hyogo Prefecture

(EARTH：Emergency And Rescue Team of Hyogo) (Dispatch/Mobilization History) 2000 Eruption of Mt. Usu, Hokkaido Prefecture In a gesture to return the support they received from people across the nation Earthquake in Western Tottori Prefecture during the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake (January, 1995), the Hyogo Prefecture 2003 Northern Miyagi earthquake Board of Education established on April 1, 2000 the "Emergency And Rescue Team 2004 Flood disaster caused by Typhoon No. 23 of Hyogo (EARTH)," an organization with the purpose of supporting education (Tajima region) recovery in disaster-struck areas. The team is comprised of 150 school personnel Chuetsu earthquake and other members as of FY 2011. 2005 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake Eighteen EARTH members were sent three times between March and April (60 2007 Chuetsu offshore earthquake more between July through August) in response to a request from Miyagi Prefecture Since 2008 Great Sichuan Earthquake (China) Board of Education in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2009 Food disaster caused by typhoon No. 9 2011. (Town of Sayo) The first group worked on support for schools that have been used as shelters in the town of Minamisanriku beginning from March 15, the fifth day after the earthquake occurred. During that period, in cooperation with the Miyagi Prefecture Board of Education, EARTH generated a checklist of necessary tasks to achieve a resumption of school following the earthquake and the checklist was actively used to make this happen.

In the following mobilization and sending, EARTH members, including school counselors, sought to provide training about the mental health care of children for local school personnel who were preparing to resume school. The EARTH members were presented various questions/challenges, such as helping to determine the trade-off between efforts to resume school and continuing support in operating the shelters, the way to best These materials were created and provided by the Hyogo Prefecture conduct delayed graduation ceremonies, the best way to interact Board of Education. verbally with children, way to carryout future evacuation drills. The Surviving through the Earthquake (1995) members shared what they experienced and learned through the EARTH Handbook (2005) Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake, and provided EARTH handbooks Understanding and Caring for the Mental Health of Children who and mental health care materials. have Suffered from Earthquakes, training material (2011) The teachers of schools which were used as shelters were also http://www.hyogo-c.ed.jp/~somu-bo/index.html refugees themselves, but they were focusing on shelter operations and preparing for the resumption of school. The Hyogo Prefecture of Board of Education will continue their support activities, making requests from the damaged area their highest priority.

(Contributed by Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education)

Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan No. 3 This Address was Given at the Graduation Ceremony for Kesennuma City Hashikami Junior High School by Graduate Representative Yuta Kajiwara, and It Touched People Nationwide

I sincerely thank you for holding a graduation ceremony for us even before the damage resulting from the unprecedented great earthquake has gone away. March 12, just ten days ago. It was a warm day as if it were spring. Fifty-seven of us were supposed to leave from this familiar school building with under the bright sunshine, full of hope all together. On March 11, a day before the celebration. Some friends opened the previously delivered photo album that was filled with various memories, and thought about the graduation ceremony that was taking place just over ten hours. They never thought of the tragic event called the Great East Japan Earthquake that was soon to come. Hashikami Junior High School is very well known as its disaster prevention education, and was rated very high domestically and internationally. We were also sufficiently trained. But, human beings are too helpless to fight against the forces of nature which brutally took our precious things and loved ones from us. That was far beyond the most horrible ordeal given to humans. I am just overwhelmed with grief and regret. The hands of the clock stand still, pointing at 2:46 pm. But, certainly, time itself is advancing. As one who remains alive, we have to go on with our life, positively, always considering others, and with a strong, fair, and vigorous mind. We paid too much for learning of the importance of life. But, even in times of these hardships, it is our role not to curse our fate but to with- stand the fate and to live through by helping each other from now on. Now each of us is taking our own first step forward. We will remember the time spent with friends in this land wherever we are and whatever we do, and keep the memory as our treasure throughout our lives. I would like to say something to you, younger students. Please think about how precious the days at Hashikami junior high school really are, days and friends that you may view as just "ordinary." Then respect them. Dear our teachers, we thank for your kind guidance. Now we understand very well how much you teachers have taken care of us. To people in the community, we appreciate the various types of support you have been providing. We still need your help. Dear father, mother, and family members, please keep watching us as we step forward. We will certainly become good members of society.

I am proud of being a student here at Hashikami Junior High School. As the last words, I would like to say thank you very, very much.

March 22, 2011 Representative of the graduates from the 64th class Yuta Kajiwara

In the disaster areas, various types of educational activities are being carried out under the many difficult situations described in the following columns.

No. 4 Current Situation in the Disaster Area (Iwate Prefecture) – Educational Activities Conducted in the Midst of Various Difficulties

Otsuchi Town got severely damaged by the tsunami, and all elementary/junior high schools except one of each were damaged. Students of four elementary schools out of the five in town became closer at Otsuchi Town Kirikiri Elementary School, where they have been taking classes. The students have insufficient opportunities to play music instruments or do experiments because most of the special-purpose classrooms are used for ordinary academic lessons. All the students from the Otsuchikita Elementary School in Otsuchi use the gymnasium as a classroom. It has been turned into a temporary classroom using wooden partitions, so everyone can hear voices from all the classes. Since sound echoes well in the gymnasium, it's very noisy there and very difficult to secure a quiet learning environment. Under such circumstances, the children are learning and playing, experiencing new things such as mixing with students from other schools or attending the same classes. Prefectural Takata Senior High School had their entire three-story building flooded, then resumed the class borrowing an empty building named Kayanaka school building from the Prefectural Ofunato Higashi High School. The students need to take a school bus to go to school since the school location has changed from Rikuzentakata City to Ofunato City, and the public transportation system has not recovered yet. Municipal Boards of Education runs school buses to support the elementary/junior high school students who lost their homes due to the tsunami then moved into a relative's home, evacuated to a shelter, or moved to temporary housing, which resulted in them staying in places far from the school, and students to be scattered throughout the area. Some municipal boards of education have been runningWhite Paper more on than Education, 20 bus routesCulture, to Sports, accommodate Science and the Technologyneed. 2010 While the school bus timetable limits learning and club activity time, the schools have been Classroom of Otsuchikita Elementary conducting educational activities efficiently, using their limited time with creativity and imagina- School set in the gymnasium of Kirikiri tion. Elementary School (Otsuchi Town, Iwate Also, with progress in the construction of temporary housing, these temporary housings have Prefecture) been built in many schoolyards. The Ofunato municipal Ofunato Junior High School also has its schoolyard filled with temporary housings, and this inhibits outdoor activities. Since a gymnasium is not available either, physical education classes take place in a small courtyard area and in school hallways. The impact on club activities is particularly significant; for example, in the case of both soccer and baseball, players must split into smaller groups to go to separate places to practice since multiple schools share the limited unused ground in the city, and this doesn't give them sufficient time, nor is a large space available. Despite these difficulties, students are putting out their best efforts to prepare for an upcoming prefectural tournament.

(Contributed by Iwate Prefectural Board of Education) No. 4 Current Situation in the Disaster Area (Iwate Prefecture) – Educational Activities Conducted in the Midst of Various Difficulties

Otsuchi Town got severely damaged by the tsunami, and all elementary/junior high schools except one of each were damaged. Students of four elementary schools out of the five in town became closer at Otsuchi Town Kirikiri Elementary School, where they have been taking classes. The students have insufficient opportunities to play music instruments or do experiments because most of the special-purpose classrooms are used for ordinary academic lessons. All the students from the Otsuchikita Elementary School in Otsuchi use the gymnasium as a classroom. It has been turned into a temporary classroom using wooden partitions, so everyone can hear voices from all the classes. Since sound echoes well in the gymnasium, it's very noisy there and very difficult to secure a quiet learning environment. Under such circumstances, the children are learning and playing, experiencing new things such as mixing with students from other schools or attending the same classes. Prefectural Takata Senior High School had their entire three-story building flooded, then resumed the class borrowing an empty building named Kayanaka school building from the Prefectural Ofunato Higashi High School. The students need to take a school bus to go to school since the school location has changed from Rikuzentakata City to Ofunato City, and the public transportation system has not recovered yet. Municipal Boards of Education runs school buses to support the elementary/junior high school students who lost their homes due to the tsunami then moved into a relative's home, evacuated to a shelter, or moved to temporary housing, which resulted in them staying in places far from the school, and students to be scattered throughout the area. Some municipal boards of education have been running more than 20 bus routes to accommodate the need. While the school bus timetable limits learning and club activity time, the schools have been Classroom of Otsuchikita Elementary conducting educational activities efficiently, using their limited time with creativity and imagina- School set in the gymnasium of Kirikiri tion. Elementary School (Otsuchi Town, Iwate Also, with progress in the construction of temporary housing, these temporary housings have Prefecture) been built in many schoolyards. The Ofunato municipal Ofunato Junior High School also has its schoolyard filled with temporary housings, and this inhibits outdoor activities. Since a gymnasium is not available either, physical education classes take place in a small courtyard area and in school hallways. The impact on club activities is particularly significant; for example, in the case of both soccer and baseball, players must split into smaller groups to go to separate places to practice since multiple schools share the limited unused ground in the city, and this doesn't give them sufficient time, nor is a large space available. Despite these difficulties, students are putting out their best efforts to prepare for an upcoming prefectural tournament.

(Contributed by Iwate Prefectural Board of Education)

No. 5 Current Situation in the Disaster Area (Miyagi Prefecture) – Students Forced to Commute Long Distances by Bus

Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School, located in Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture, and at a distance of less than 1 km from Yuriage shore, suffered catastrophic damage to all of its educational facilities, and equipment such as the school building and the farm were devastated by the tsunami caused by the earthquake on March 11. With the goal of securing places for learning and starting classes sooner as their highest priority, administration and faculty resumed classes from May 9 by splitting up and moving into three agricultural-related high schools. These are Shibata- nourin High School, Watari Senior High School, and Kami Agricultural High schools. All of them possess equivalent educational facilities and equipment to those of Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School. Among these three schools, the furthest one is Kami Agricultural High School where three first-year classes of agriculture-horticulture course, and one class each for first through third year students of agricultural machinery course, six classes in total, take place. This involves transporting 239 students using six buses, with a commute time of 1.5 hours for a distance 60 km each way. To make this tough decision regarding commuting, various factors had to be considered in a short period of time as major challenges to overcome: to mitigate the burden on students and their families as much as possible, to make sufficient considerations of what shelter life is like, and especially to respect their meal time, to secure enough the number of classes and support club activities, to secure a place for meeting and a bicycle parking lot (near the place where the bus picks up students), and to determine the roles and responsibilities of the school personnel. After that, a decision was made to conduct the first class period in the bus on the way to school, and the sixth class period in the bus coming home as a way to make effective use of the three-hour commuting time. Understanding and support from the students' parents or guardians and safety measures are necessary to run a bus. Some families who live along the bus route requested that their student be dropped off between stops, but they understood and adapted to the situation after hearing the explanation that classes are being conducted on the bus. Furthermore, the students who would commute too long a distance are given priority to stay at the training facility of "JA School Miyagi," provided as replacement facility for the Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School dormitory which also suffered damage similar to its school building. The safety of students is carefully considered with respect to the bus stop by securing a bicycle parking lot at the Natorikita High School site and borrowing the Natori Civic Gymnasium parking lot as a bus stop. To ensure safety during the commute, the bus uses the highway to make the commute time as short as possible and make the ride as smooth as possible. Restroom breaks are taken at the service area on the highway and an escort car is provided to support students who get sick. The class on a bus is fifty minutes, and is conducted with Q&A style handouts that are designed to prevent carsickness and a practical use of audiovisual teaching materials such as DVDs and video tapes. Polytechnic schools, the audio-visual center in Osaki City, and various publishers cooperate to support this effort by providing audiovisual teaching materials to be used in the classes. It has been two months since the class on the bus started. While there is an air of tension, the students are concentrating on learning, on club activities and on regularly attending the class, while the school is keeping tight communication with home. Students struggle with the hard commute caused by the irregular Japan Railway (JR) timetable due to aftershocks and heavy rains, and we still need to support quick measures against outbreaks of infectious gastroenteritis and mumps. Although the unpredictable situation continues, growth in the students can be observed in positive quotes such as, "I thank our teachers for giving us learning opportunities using their creativity and imagination," and "I feel we have grown much more united by living together in this tight environment." We would like to quickly build a recovery plan for Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School so that the school personnel and students are able to focus on school as soon as possible, living with a clear goal and having hope. In addition, we are prepared to make every 10 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan effort to realize the agricultural high school mission of "agricultural education rooted in the community" as the foundation for recovery in this area.

(Contributed by Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School) No. 5 Current Situation in the Disaster Area (Miyagi Prefecture) – Students Forced to Commute Long Distances by Bus

Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School, located in Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture, and at a distance of less than 1 km from Yuriage shore, suffered catastrophic damage to all of its educational facilities, and equipment such as the school building and the farm were devastated by the tsunami caused by the earthquake on March 11. With the goal of securing places for learning and starting classes sooner as their highest priority, administration and faculty resumed classes from May 9 by splitting up and moving into three agricultural-related high schools. These are Shibata- nourin High School, Watari Senior High School, and Kami Agricultural High schools. All of them possess equivalent educational facilities and equipment to those of Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School. Among these three schools, the furthest one is Kami Agricultural High School where three first-year classes of agriculture-horticulture course, and one class each for first through third year students of agricultural machinery course, six classes in total, take place. This involves transporting 239 students using six buses, with a commute time of 1.5 hours for a distance 60 km each way. To make this tough decision regarding commuting, various factors had to be considered in a short period of time as major challenges to overcome: to mitigate the burden on students and their families as much as possible, to make sufficient considerations of what shelter life is like, and especially to respect their meal time, to secure enough the number of classes and support club activities, to secure a place for meeting and a bicycle parking lot (near the place where the bus picks up students), and to determine the roles and responsibilities of the school personnel. After that, a decision was made to conduct the first class period in the bus on the way to school, and the sixth class period in the bus coming home as a way to make effective use of the three-hour commuting time. Understanding and support from the students' parents or guardians and safety measures are necessary to run a bus. Some families who live along the bus route requested that their student be dropped off between stops, but they understood and adapted to the situation after hearing the explanation that classes are being conducted on the bus. Furthermore, the students who would commute too long a distance are given priority to stay at the training facility of "JA School Miyagi," provided as replacement facility for the Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School dormitory which also suffered damage similar to its school building. The safety of students is carefully considered with respect to the bus stop by securing a bicycle parking lot at the Natorikita High School site and borrowing the Natori Civic Gymnasium parking lot as a bus stop. To ensure safety during the commute, the bus uses the highway to make the commute time as short as possible and make the ride as smooth as possible. Restroom breaks are taken at the service area on the highway and an escort car is provided to support students who get sick. The class on a bus is fifty minutes, and is conducted with Q&A style handouts that are designed to prevent carsickness and a practical use of audiovisual teaching materials such as DVDs and video tapes. Polytechnic schools, the audio-visual center in Osaki City, and various publishers cooperate to support this effort by providing audiovisual teaching materials to be used in the classes. It has been two months since the class on the bus started. While there is an air of tension, the students are concentrating on learning, on club activities and on regularly attending the class, while the school is keeping tight communication with home. Students struggle with the hard commute caused by the irregular Japan Railway (JR) timetable due to aftershocks and heavy rains, and we still need to support quick measures against outbreaks of infectious gastroenteritis and mumps. Although the unpredictable situation continues, growth in the students can be observed in positive quotes such as, "I thank our teachers for giving us learning opportunities using their creativity and imagination," and "I feel we have grown much more united by living together in this tight environment." We would like to quickly build a recovery plan for Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School so that the school personnel and students are able to focus on school as soon as possible, living with a clear goal and having hope. In addition, we are prepared to make every effort to realize the agricultural high school mission of "agricultural education rooted in the community" as the foundation for recovery in this area.

(Contributed by Miyagi Prefectural Agricultural High School)

No. 6 Current Situation in the Disaster Area (Fukushima Prefecture) – Opening Prefectural High School Satellite School –

There are ten high schools (including two branch schools) in the zones designated as the Restricted Area and Deliberate Evacuation Area as a result of the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Station operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. Most students have evacuated to other areas. The Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education has designated cooperating schools primarily in the areas where most of the evacuated students reside, and they have opened satellite schools for the students of those nine schools (one school is excluded since it has moved and resumed operations) so that the high school students can continue learning at the location where they evacuated to without transferring elsewhere.

List of satellite schools for prefectural high schools in Fukushima (as of July 1st) Cooperating school Cooperating school Futaba → Fukushima Minami, Asakakaisei, Aoi, Iwaki Haramachi → Fukushim Nishi, Soma Namie → Adachi, Yoshima Soma Agricultural → Soma Its Tsushima Branch → Nihonmatsu Culture Center Odaka Commercial → Fukushima Commercial, Soma Higashi Tomioka → Fukushima Kita, Konan, Inawashiro, Iwaki Sakuragaoka Odaka Technical → Nihonmatsu Technical, Koriyama Kita Technical, Futaba-Shoyo → Adachi Higashi, Ono, Sakashita, Taira Commercial Aizu Technical, Taira Technical, Soma Higashi

At the satellite school, most teachers are from the original school and they conduct classes using a part of the cooperating school's building and a temporary school building. And the Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education is working on fine-tuning support for the students commuting to satellite schools by providing for their school expenses, and assigning them both career counselors and school counselors.

Photo of satellite class (Futaba High School) (Contributed by Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education) taken at Asakakaisei High School

Section 2 MEXT’s Responses to the Great Earthquake

This section provides an overview of MEXT's response when the great earthquake occurred, concentrating on its efforts from the time when the earthquake struck through July, 2011. We are planning to discuss a more comprehensive perspective of the damage and to detail the efforts made to support recovery and reconstruction in the 2011 White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

1 Organization in MEXT (1) The Earthquake-Response System within MEXT Immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, MEXT established an Emergency Operation Headquarters and Emergency Operation Center, and later, on April 11, set up a Restoration and Reconstruc- tion Headquarters in response to the disaster.

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 11 MEXT is also making efforts to understand the extent of damage and requests for help from the disaster areas by dispatching its staff members to Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures and having them remain there for a long term. It also sent the Minister and other related staff members to visit the disaster areas. Furthermore, MEXT has been hastening smooth communication by not only making requests to related organizations in writing but also by holding the Conference of Prefectural or Ordinance-designated Cities' Board of Education Superintendents on April, 20. (2) Release of Message

On April 6, the Prime Minister and the Minister of MEXT delivered a message to the students and those concerned with schools across the nation*1. Further, on April 12, the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs delivered a message entitled "Cultural activities for the Time Being" to those concerned with culture and arts across the nation*2.

Message from Prime Minister Naoto Kan and the Minister of MEXT To all Junior High and High School Students

To all Students Facing the New School Year, For those of you entering junior and senior high school, and to those students promoted to the next grade level, we would like to express our congratulations to you all at the start of the new school year. This April was supposed to be a season full of hope. Spring, however, turned out to be a painful time for everyone. As you are all well aware, an unprecedented, massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11. I believe there are students who have lost family members or are commuting to schools directly from temporary shelters. We have heard of many cases in these shelters where students have taken the initiative in helping the elderly and disabled through cleaning up and preparing food. I have also heard that many of you have actively taken part in volunteering. I sincerely thank you for all your great help. For all those students who have suffered from the effects of this disaster, you must now face this huge trial during your teens which is a time of great growth for young people. You may never be able to completely escape from all the pain and worry you now face. It is my hope that by finding at least one thing you can devote yourselves to, whether it is your studies, sports, arts/ cultural activities, or volunteering, it will help you face and overcome this sadness in time. Schools will support you in various ways so that you may transcend these adverse circumstances. I have a request for those students living in areas which were not directly hit by this disaster. Please warmly welcome fellow students taking shelter in your areas. Even if there aren’t such classmates right near you, please think of those students living far away under such severe circumstances as your friends. Please also listen to those who have fallen victim to this earthquake. Our nation and society must make great changes due to this major disaster. How can the country rebuild itself? Japan has always lived in harmony with nature. What must we do to redeem this way of life? In the process of reconstruction, it is, of course, important to encourage one another to do our best. At the same time, however, in order to build a new society and new relationships, you must also lend an ear to the weaker voices of the vulnerable who are often silenced by bigger voices. Kenji Miyazawa, who grew up in the Tohoku region, devoted his entire life to improving the lives of Tohoku farmers. Through the power of arts, science, and religion, Miyazawa tried to help these farmers who often faced poor harvests or crop failures due to the cold weather. Through accepting the opinions of others, I hope you will be able to make rational decisions by developing true wisdom. At the same time, please foster compassion which enables you to pray and cry for

*1 Visit: http://www.mext.go.jp/english/incident/1304823.htm *2 Visit: http://www.bunka.go.jp/bunkazai/tohokujishin_kanren/chokan_message_2.html

12 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan others. Furthermore, do not forget to enjoy life through the arts and sports as well. There is a phrase from Kenji Miyazawa’s novel Night on the Galactic Railroad. “I’m no longer afraid of such darkness. I will search for everyone’s true happiness. Let’s go on this journey together wherever it may lead.” What does Miyazawa mean by “true happiness”? I would like all of you to think about this during this difficult time. If we reach the point where we find ourselves truly considering the meaning of Miyazawa’s words, I believe we can all progress on this journey together. Eventually, we will be able to reach a new Japan that is far better than before. Please do not forget that it is not only the Japanese people who are going on this journey. Ever since the Great Tohoku Earthquake hit, Japan has been receiving assistance from all over the world. The international community has commended our people for maintaining their sense of calm even during this time of crisis. The entire planet is with us. Please do not forget all those firefighters, members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and the em- ployees of Tokyo Electric Power Company sacrificing their lives to contain the accident at the nuclear plant. There are also the policemen, medical staff and, most of all, please remember the school teachers who risked their lives for you. By continuing to train your body, mind and soul, I hope that in time, you will develop the compassion to be able to devote yourself to others. The future of Japan lies on your shoulders. Your laughter and smiles will give those who are now fighting hard to support their families and communities, courage and hope. We will do our best to support all of your efforts. Let’s walk together and find the true meaning of happiness.

Naoto Kan Prime Minister Yoshiaki Takaki Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

2 Support of the Disaster Area and Injured People (1) Support by University Hospitals To support medical care in the disaster area, MEXT requested all national/public/private university hospitals to dispatch Ja- pan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) on the day the earthquake struck. In response to the request, 57 universities (346 people) worked on medical activi- DMAT activity (Asahikawa Medical University.) Checking the medical systems (Nagasaki University, Fukushima Medical University) ties in the disaster area at its peak (March 13). Afterwards, these workers have continued to support the medical care and radiation measurement of local residents. Furthermore, in response to the requests from university hospitals located in the disaster zone, drugs, etc, fuel and food were transported from university hospitals located outside of the disaster areas. In addition to these activities, 635 man-days worth of radiologists were dispatched to take the radiation measurements of local residents up until July 8, and about 5,500 man-days worth of medical teams worked on medical support activities on site until July 11. They used a long-term sustainable process by taking into consideration the burden on dispatch side so that multiple university hospitals built medical assistance teams by region, and by regularly rotating the support teams over a set period.

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 13 (2) Various Types of Support, such as Accepting Disaster Victims in Accommodations, Providing Relief Goods, and Dispatching Experts

Each national youth education facility, university and other educational organization has allowed disaster victims to use its accommodations in response to requests from the disaster areas, and also many universities and Specialized Training Colleges transported relief goods that have met needs in the disaster area, and they have also dispatched experts. Also, in response to requests from the disaster area, MEXT officials (architec- tural engineers) were dispatched to conduct safety checks of 527 school facilities and provide other technical support. Furthermore, the National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health makes practical use of the Sports Promotion Lottery (toto) subsidy to support the designing of facilities for the urgent recovery of J-league stadiums and supports the mental health care of children in the disaster area through sports. In addition, the Art and Culture Experience Program for Children who will lead the Next Generation, which was originally budgeted for FY 2011, is actively used to send artists into elementary/junior-high schools according to the status and needs of each area, and to offer experiential culture/arts projects. In the space arena, MEXT has provided disaster-related ministries and local governments with emergency information such as observation images taken by the Advanced Land Observing Satellite "DAICHI", as well as a "DAICHI disaster-prevention map" to support disaster-prevention measures. Furthermore, since communications infrastructure was down in the disaster area and this affected recovery activities, MEXT made practical use of the Wideband InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite "KIZUNA" (WINDS) and the Engineering Test Satellite VIII "KIKU No.8" (ETS-VIII), and contributed to facilitating the telecom- munications environment for internet and television conferencing.

(3) Support of Volunteers Working with Disaster Victims

In an effort to improve the environment for volunteers as they work with disaster victims, MEXT has produced "On Volunteer Activities by Students Followed by the Great East Japan Earthquake" (notice by the Senior Vice Minister of MEXT, April 1, 2011),. In this document, MEXT aims to enhance the environment which motivates volunteers by means such as notifying each university about the necessary conditions for safety management and the provision of information about volunteer activities so that students can join the activities with ease. As a result, students are very active in volunteer pursuits. Further, in response to a call from the National Association of Vocational Schools of Japan, many students at Specialized Training Colleges are carrying out various volunteer activities at shelters, schools, and extended care facilities for the aged, leveraging their highly specialized knowledge and skills. In addition, students of other schools are involved in a range of volunteer activities for disaster victims.

No. 7 Volunteer Activities by Students

[Example of volunteer activities by university students] Iwate University established the Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and provides support in response to requests from disaster areas. As a part of this organization’s response, some students made a one-day trip to Ofunato city in Iwate prefecture for volunteer activities. The activities were to enhance environment to resume class such as cleaning of classrooms, playing with children, and providing instruction for club activities. One hundred and thirty-eight man-days worth of student volunteers participated for three days – April 6, 7 and 14. Miyagi University of Education organized a team to support the disaster victims and build relationships with the Miyagi Prefecture Board of Education and the Sendai City Board of Education. Now they are making efforts to understand the needs from each municipality and school. At Miyagi Prefectural Ishinomaki School for Special Needs Education, they helped children with disabilities who were victims of the disaster in both life and learning skills, with university students giving a total of Student volunteers teach how to Student volunteers carry 90 man-days worth of time, as they participated from April 11 damaged goods (Ofunato City, make a toy top to evacuated Iwate Prefecture) pupils (Jyoetsu City, Niigata through May 12. Prefecture) Joetsu University of Education established a disaster 14 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan assistance office and carried out volunteer activities to provide opportunities to learn and play with children who evacuated to Joetsu City and Itoigawa City in cooperation with the NPI Joetsu School Information and Resource Center. The activity was held at Joetsu University of Education for ten days from March 27 to April 5, and 125 man-days worth of student volunteers (including current teachers) participated.

[Example of volunteer activities by Specialized Training College students] Students of the Advanced Automobile Maintenance course at Honda Technical College Kanto (Saitama Prefecture aim to become a development engineers for automobile engines, so they were able to use their skills to provide parts replacement for scooters and repair flat tires on bicycles, both which were in high demand by teachers of the course in shelters located in the Miyagi Prefecture cities of Ishinomaki and Kesennuma. Additionally, students from the Tokyo College of Welfare, who aim to become certified care workers, visited Long-Term Care Health Facilities in the Iwate Prefectural cities of Ofunato and Rikuzentakata, and helped disaster victims (elderly people who needed care) in their daily lives. It is significant to realize that, based on the notice from Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and MEXT, this volunteer activity is treated as a basic subject and the colleges will award credit to students who participated. A volunteer repairs bicycles in a Volunteers exchange sheets at a shelter. (a student of Honda nursing facility (students of Tokyo [Example of volunteer activities by junior high school Technical College Kanto) College of Welfare) students] The brass-band/chorus club of Sendai City Hachiken Junior High School was going to participate in two national ensemble competitions of brass band and chorus, but they had to give it up because of the March 11 earthquake. After the earthquake, they engaged in volunteer activities such as carrying relief supplies and preparing meals with other students for those staying in a shelter. On Saturday, March 19, the day when the competitions were to be held, this group invited refugees who were residents of the Gamo/Arahama areas in the eastern part of Sendai city and who were staying at Hachiken Junior High School as an evacuation shelter following the tsunami, and they held a concert in the Budokan of the school. After they played the music they were planning to play at the national competition, as their final number they sang a song entitled "The Day Named Tomorrow." They had learned this song just before the earthquake, and felt that the song might give refugees energy and encouragement. Many people who listened to the song shed tears and were deeply moved. This performance was broadcast via TV and made waves across the nation. Following, the school received a lot of mail and phone calls to cheer them up. Afterword, the brass-band/chorus club of the school participated in charity concerts held along neighborhood shopping streets and in the city of Sendai, and they initiated fundraising activities. Through the encouragement of a private advertising agency that was impressed by the TV video broadcast and the group’s activities, as well as help from the Sendai City Board of Education, they were able to release a CD called "The Day Named Tomorrow," with all profit donated to public bodies in Sendai and other cities affected. Through the TV broadcast and the CD, the song reached people across the nation, and moved many people.

(Contributed by Sendai City Board of Education) Performance on March 19 (Sendai City Hachiken Junior High School) No. 7 Volunteer Activities by Students

[Example of volunteer activities by university students] Iwate University established the Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and provides support in response to requests from disaster areas. As a part of this organization’s response, some students made a one-day trip to Ofunato city in Iwate prefecture for volunteer activities. The activities were to enhance environment to resume class such as cleaning of classrooms, playing with children, and providing instruction for club activities. One hundred and thirty-eight man-days worth of student volunteers participated for three days – April 6, 7 and 14. Miyagi University of Education organized a team to support the disaster victims and build relationships with the Miyagi Prefecture Board of Education and the Sendai City Board of Education. Now they are making efforts to understand the needs from each municipality and school. At Miyagi Prefectural Ishinomaki School for Special Needs Education, they helped children with disabilities who were victims of the disaster in both life and learning skills, with university students giving a total of Student volunteers teach how to Student volunteers carry 90 man-days worth of time, as they participated from April 11 damaged goods (Ofunato City, make a toy top to evacuated Iwate Prefecture) pupils (Jyoetsu City, Niigata through May 12. Prefecture) Joetsu University of Education established a disaster assistance office and carried out volunteer activities to provide opportunities to learn and play with children who evacuated to Joetsu City and Itoigawa City in cooperation with the NPI Joetsu School Information and Resource Center. The activity was held at Joetsu University of Education for ten days from March 27 to April 5, and 125 man-days worth of student volunteers (including current teachers) participated.

(Contributed by Sendai City Board of Education) Performance on March 19 (Sendai City Hachiken Junior High School)

In addition, to promote support for volunteers in disaster areas, the Na- tional Institution For Youth Education held a volunteer coordinator training and a "Young Volunteers Emergency Meeting" (April 15 to 16, July 1 to 2) which targeted students and young people desiring to volunteer for earthquake recovery efforts. They also convened a "Young Volunteers Follow-up Meeting" (May 21). Volunteer coordinator training at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center (Shibuya City, Tokyo) (April 15)

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 15 (4) Setting Up a “Portal Site to Help Affected Students’ Learning”

MEXT launched an internet “Portal Site to Help Affected Students’ Learning” on April 1*3. The site provides lists of both the needs of disaster victims and the support available, making it easier for children in disaster areas to receive the support they need. On this site, every local government, board of education, school, and citizens' public hall may resister what support they need in the disaster area by organization; at the same time, boards of education, schools, enterprises, NPOs nationwide can register the support they are able to provide. We aim for smooth, coordinated support in the disaster areas through this site, as it enables direct communication between parties requesting support and parties providing support through visiting the website. Various support menus are listed on the site: material support such as school supplies, equipment, and regular books, as well as human support such as the dispatching of teachers and school staff, school counselors, and volunteers. It made possible support for needs at school education sites, such as the provision of desks, chairs, pencils, and notebooks necessary for schools to resume, as well as equipment needed by school counselors. As of July 29, 2011, 824 matches were made through this website. MEXT also uploaded other pages about "summer camps" and "scholarship loans," which each local government and various private groups are working at, and matches have been made by providing further information.

1) 2)

Screen shots from “Portal Site to Assist Affected Students’ Learning” 3) 4)

1) Sailboats provided to high school (sailing club) in Iwate Prefecture 2) School bus provided to Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education 3) Wind instrument provided to junior high schools in Miyagi Prefecture 4) School supplies provided to high schools in Fukushima Prefecture

In addition, the National Institute for Educational Policy Research has been providing information which is helpful for educational activities at the disaster sites by creating the website*4 "Everybody's Information for Support- ing School Management in the Disaster Area". This site enables school teachers and educational administrators to share useful knowledge and the past experiences for school management, such as curriculum planning, educational guidance and educational counseling.

"Everybody's Information for Supporting School Management in the Disaster Area" *3 Visit: http://manabishien.mext.go.jp/ *4 Visit: http://www.hisaichi-gakkoushien.nier.go.jp/

16 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan (5) Creation of "Great East Japan Earthquake Special Condolence Fund"

Although the Injury and Accident Mutual Aid Benefit System,*5 operated by the National Agency for the Ad- vancement of Sports and Health shall not apply its mutual benefits for disasters to cases where an extraordinary disaster inflicts damage upon a large number of residents, a new system which differs from the standard disaster mutual benefits has been established. It is known as the Great East Japan Earthquake Special Con- dolence Fund and is based on the significance of the disaster damage from this earthquake and the requests from disaster areas. With the establishment of this fund, it has been decided that the National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health is to pay special condolence money to the parents or guardians whose children were killed by the earthquake and related disasters since the quake struck while they were on school grounds and under the school management.

3 Support for Educational Activities at School (1) Acceptance of Kindergarten and Elementary School Pupils and Students Affected by the Disaster MEXT has requested boards of education to promptly accept kindergarten and elementary school pupils and students through as flexible treatment as possible when presented with requests from kindergarten and elementary school pupils and students affected by the disaster in its report, "On ensuring educational opportunities for students in the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake disaster zones” (Report given by MEXT Senior Vice Minister, March 14, 2011). MEXT also has worked to ensure broader awareness of points to receive concrete consideration regarding this flexible acceptance policy through its office communications, MEXT website, and Elementary and Second- ary Education Bureau mail magazine. Furthermore, MEXT has posted inquiry contacts regarding school changes in each affected prefecture and various designated cities, as well as information about the reopening of schools in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures on the MEXT mobile website, which disaster victims can easily access with their mobile phones.

No. 8 Progress in Acceptance of Kindergarten and Elementary School Pupils and Students Affected by the Disaster in Various Forms

Due to the earthquake and tsunami, approximately 22,000 kindergarten and elementary school pupils and students have been taken in by schools different from the ones they went to before the earthquake through school transfers or school attendance in another municipal district.

• School transfers School transfers take place when students change the school they attend but remain in the same grade because of a change of address. The earthquake caused 20,515 kindergarten and elementary school pupils and students to transfer schools as of May 1, 2011.

• School attendance in another municipal district Fairly large numbers of public elementary/junior-high school children, as well as those attending schools for special needs education (elementary/junior-high school department) were taken in through school attendance in another municipal district. Children at the elementary/junior-high school level are to attend schools established for the area in which they are registered as residents, and to which the local municipality has assigned them. However, based on Article 9 of the Order for Enforcement of the School Education Act, children are allowed to enter schools established by municipalities other than that in which the child resides, and this is called school attendance in another municipal district. As of May 1, 2011, 10,884 children were taken in through the provision of school attendance in another municipal district.

Also, a flexible measure that allows for kindergarten and elementary school pupils and students affected by the disaster to attend another school while registered at the original school has been adopted.

*5 The system which pays medical expenses, disability benefits, or death benefits to the students', parents or guardians for, wound, sickness, injury or death of students who were under the school management.

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 17 (2) Provision of Textbooks

Flexible operations were taken so that pupils and students who changed schools because of the earthquake are able to receive textbooks without the certificates that confirm previous issuance of textbooks that are usually required in order to receive them. Because many of textbooks prepared for FY 2011 were lost or damaged, MEXT has requested the relevant parties to supply the needed textbooks by additional printing and those have been provided in time for the resumption of school. Schools start their fiscal year on April 1 in Japan.

(3) Support for School Attendance, University Application and Job Search

Since the earthquake occurred, MEXT and its associated organizations have been offering the following support for schooling, admission to universities and employment.

1) Support for children who are going to kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, secondary schools and schools for special needs education (Financial schooling support and lenient requirements) MEXT requested boards of education to respond as quickly and flexibly as possible in acknowledging kindergarten and elementary school pupils and students who require study assistance due to the earthquake and subsequent payment of school supplies and school lunch expenses. MEXT also requested boards of education to be flexible in completion of a course and approval of graduation for pupils and students who are disaster victims. Furthermore, regarding the standard number of classes defined by the Ordinance for Enforcement of the School Education Act, MEXT has stated that consideration in the planning of Curriculum, for example, allow for shortages in class hours in the case of unexpected circumstances such as disasters. Furthermore, in the FY 2011 first supplementary budget passed on May 2, Extraordinary Subsidies for Study Assistance Offered to Students Afflicted by the Great East Japan Earthquake was created to support school attendance at every school stage. This measure allows each prefecture to establish a fund for the following project expenses: (1) the Promotional grant for kindergarten enrollment which mitigates kindergarten fees for young children who attend kindergarten; (2) the Study Assistance Project to support the costs of school supplies, commute, and on-site medical care for elementary school or junior high school students; (3) Scholarship loans to high school students; (4) the Promotional program for school enrollment which mitigates the required attendance cost for kindergarten and elementary school, pupils and students who go to schools for special needs education; and (5) tuition reduction for private schools, specialized training colleges, and miscellaneous schools. (Support in job hunting) MEXT is making every effort in cooperation with other relevant ministries to support employment of new graduates from the disaster area because it is concerned with the severe employment environment among FY 2012 high school graduates in this region. These efforts include joint requests from the Minister of MEXT and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare to major economic players for additional job placements of new high school graduates from the disaster area.

2) Support for university students (In education and learning) MEXT has requested universities to do universities’ best to enable students to have the opportunity to sit for the entrance examinations for example, changing the examination day. MEXT has also requested universities to give special consideration for learning among the student disaster victims. Further, MEXT notified universities that they were allowed to handle the terms of classes at the beginning of FY 2011 in a flexible manner, assuming that universities took measures to reserve the class hours determined by Standards for the Establishment of Universities. (Consideration for students)

18 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan MEXT has requested universities to postpone the collection/ allow for an exemption of enrollment and tuition fees from university student disaster victims, and consequently, many universities implement reductions or waivers of tuition and enrollment fees, scholarship loans, and housing assistance. The Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) made a plea to urgently offer interest-free scholarship loans for students who need them due to sudden changes in their household finances resulting from the earthquake, and it accepts applications on an ongoing basis. In addition, MEXT provided return air tickets to Japan for the government- financed foreign students who were forced to temporarily return home, and JASSO offered honors scholarships to privately-financed foreign students who are facing financial difficulties but are excellent students. Furthermore, in the FY 2011 first supplementary budget, MEXT has planned to include urgently adopted interest-free scholarship loans and reductions or waivers of tuition and enrollment fees at higher educational levels. In addition, MEXT has extended the application period for the Upper Secondary School Equivalency Ex- amination that will be held in August (first round) specifically for the disaster victims. (Support in job hunting) To prevent the student employment environment from worsening, the Minister of MEXT and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare have issued a joint request to major economic groups to consider not with- drawing job offers and helping student disaster victims to continue their job hunting. This has been done in cooperation with the relevant ministries that can provide free housing accommodations for job hunting, such as the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare together with the help from the National Institution for Youth Education.

(4) Mental Health Care of Children

In order to support the mental health care of children who lost their parent(s) due to the earthquake or associated disasters, and to care for children with disabilities, MEXT is making the following efforts: - MEXT has requested local governments to appropriately work out problems related to the mental health care of child disaster victims, such as conducting health consultations that include mental health care. - MEXT has dispatched clinical psychologists to the disaster areas, the cost which has been fully covered by national treasury impositions under the urgent and practical implementation of the FY 2010 "Compre- hensive cooperation program by local experts to protect children's health." - Actively using the Program for Emergency Assistance by School Counselors included in the FY 2011 first supplementary budget and financially covered through national treasury impositions, MEXT has dispatched school counselors to kindergartens, elementary/junior-high/high schools, secondary schools, and schools for special needs education in the areas which were affected by the disaster or had taken in student disaster victim to support the mental health care of them and both to advise and assist the school personnel and the children's parents or guardians. - MEXT reprinted the reference materials for teaching (The Mental Care of children in Disasters) that had been distributed in September 2010, and delivered those materials to prefectural and municipal boards of education in the disaster zones in response to their requests for additional copies*6. MEXT also made a request to the boards of education for special treatment deemed necessary as instruction to the schools that take in children who have been forced to change schools as a result of the disaster. It urged them to encourage each school to work on creative ways to warmly welcome the displaced children, provide appropriate explanations to the children's parents or guardians and the new neighborhood, mitigate the problem of bullying, and generally smooth the way for these children to adapt to their new school. MEXT requested boards of education to have schools check the status of children with disabilities in cooperation with the related Department for children with disabilities, and to take the necessary steps to support their education, including mental health care using school counselors. The National Institute of Special Needs Education (NISE) has produced "Handbook for teachers who support children with developmental disabilities after the Great East Japan Earthquake," and has distributed it to every prefectural board of education along

*6 Visit: http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/kenko/hoken/1297484.htm

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 19 with posting it on the NISE website*7.

(5) Efforts Related to School Lunches

MEXT made the following efforts in order to resume and provide school lunches. - For school lunches at educational facilities in the disaster areas, MEXT requested boards of education lend their support in providing school lunches as frequently as possible with the start of the new fiscal year on April 1. The request stipulates them though the amount of provision may vary depending on availability of supplies, to take care in sanitary management by washing and disinfecting facilities and equipment, and attempt to manage the nutritional balance and content in the foods provided. - In the FY 2011 first supplementary budget, MEXT has supported the recovery of school lunch facilities through the disaster recovery program for schools. - MEXT has created Extraordinary Subsidies for Study Assistance Offered to Students Afflicted by the Great East Japan Earthquake in the FY 2011 first supplementary budget, which has enabled prefectures to establish a fund to cover costs for school lunches and provide side dishes in kind. In terms of ensuring school lunch safety, MEXT requested the boards of education to take precautions in providing information about shipment restrictions and consider providing necessary information in response to inquiries from children's parents or guardians. MEXT also requested verification for whether schools lunches contained beef that could have possibly be fed using radioactive contaminated straw, and to report if this is the case.

(6) Allocation of Additional Numbers of Teacher to Public School Personnel

During this earthquake disaster, many public schools have been used as long-term shelters, and teachers and staff have been working around the clock. In such situations, individual instruction is required to support students who need mental health care due to the disaster or to those who are behind their learning schedule. Also making instructional rounds at various facilities is required of teachers with schools where the buildings and facilities underwent severe damage and the school’s student population was split up among them. Furthermore, at schools where a number of students lost their families and their homes, and are also in a severe home environment, the school personnel is required to work together to cooperate, consult, and connect families, relatives and the concerned administrative authori- ties such as welfare facilities. In this way, it is important to secure the necessary number of school personnel for the complete recovery and smooth operation of educational activities at school. For this reason, MEXT urgently implemented, on April 28, additional measures for compulsory education schools to allocate additional number of teacher in four prefectures. These include the disaster areas of Iwate (134 number of teacher), Miyagi (216 number of teacher), Ibaraki (23 number of teacher), and Niigata (10 number of teacher), as well as 41 number of teacher for high schools in the two prefectures of Iwate (21 number of teacher) and Miyagi (20 number of teacher), for a grand total of 424. In addition, on June 24, MEXT took additional measures to allocate a total of 603 number of teacher to five prefectures allocating Iwate (68 number of teacher), Yamagata (14 number of teacher), Fukushima (481 number of teacher), Ibaraki (26 number of teacher) and Tochigi (14 number of teacher) as compulsory education school teachers, and 53 number of teacher to three prefectures allocating Iwate (12 number of teacher), Miyagi (8 number of teacher) and Fukushima (33 number of teacher) as high-school teachers. This resulted in a grand total of 656, within the end, 1080 additional number of teacher were allocated through additional measures which were implemented in April. Note that in addition to the allocation of additional teaching staff mentioned above, upon receipt of request from the Board of Education of Miyagi Prefecture for dispatching teaching staff, MEXT asked the Boards of Education in prefectures that were not affected by the disaster to dispatch and provide information from Boards of Education that responded to the dispatch request for teaching staff issued by the Miyagi Prefecture

*7 Visit: http://www.nise.go.jp/cms/6,3758,53.html

20 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan Boards of Education. This resulted in the dispatch of five teachers and six nursing teachers by the Boards of Education of Akita, Tochigi, Ishikawa, Hyogo, Ehime and Kumamoto Prefectures.

(7) Restoration of School Facilities and Social Education Facilities

In the FY 2011 first supplementary budget, MEXT has allocated expenses to undertake projects that are able to be launched sooner, such as construction of emergency temporary school buildings and early restoration of schools / citizens' public halls which damage was relatively minor. This is so that damaged school facilities and social education facilities, and physical education/cultural facilities can be available for prompt use. MEXT also conducted field surveys about damaged school and social education facilities.

(8) Enhancement in Education and Research Functions at Universities

In order to maintain and enhance the level of education and research at universities in the disaster area, the following support is necessary: - Support in quick recovery of facilities and equipment for education and research. - Support in operation of private schools. - Support for school personnel at private schools, such as provision of special disaster-related payments and an exemption from paying private school mutual aid premiums. - Support in securing electric power and use of alternative facilities in order to continue R&D activities. - Promotion of the return of foreign students and researchers who went back home due to the disaster. Therefore, MEXT is taking measures to enhance recovery in facilities and equipment, and in operations support, for private schools with FY 2011 supplementary budget so that education and research activities at severely damaged universities can be improved sooner. MEXT also provides air tickets for foreign students to return to Japan and honors scholarships with foreign students. The efforts are expected to create employment with the maximum use of education and research power at universities and to develop and improve the vocational ability of human resources who will be responsible for new industries in the disaster area and creation of a new society.

No. 9 Efforts for Recovery at Universities in the Disaster Area

Here are some examples of various activities and efforts done by universities in the disaster area.

[Tohoku University] To drive research, education and social contributions that lead to a recovery and rebirth of the earthquake region from the earthquake, they created the "Institute for Disaster Reconstruction and Regeneration Research" and are working on recovery in the Tohoku region and the rebirth of local areas through leveraging the intellectual capital received through such endeavors as the construction of an international research center focused on disaster science, and the rebuilding of local medical services, recovery support of local industries by innovation, and the creation of a global industrial area. [Fukushima University] University leaders established the "Fukushima Future Center for Regional Revitalization" to work on surveys, research and support when disasters strike, such as that caused by the accidents at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Stations, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. It can also be used for earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as to help the prefecture and local governments to generate a regional vision. [Ishinomaki Senshu University] Open the all-weather stadium as a Open the athletic field as a temporary storage facility for the volunteer center accommodation for volunteers The university opens its multi-purpose grounds as temporary troop accommodations for the Self-Defense Forces and volunteers, as a warehouse for the United Nations World Food Program, and as a heliport. They also started the Recovery Project for Human Coexistence as support for educational/cultural activities and local recovery through integrated research based in the region. Open the parking lot to be a storage facility (temporary tent) for United Nations World Food Program

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 21 4 Support for Restore and Rehabilitation of Cultural Properties

MEXT figures out the status of damage to Cultural Properties resulting from the Great East Japan Earth- quake through its Prefectural Boards of Education. MEXT also sends out its Cultural Properties Specialist from the Agency for Cultural Affairs to give instructions and advice about repair and recovery of damaged cultural properties in response to requests from disaster area. MEXT has been urgently deploying a Cultural Property Rescue Program to rescue, as well as temporarily treat and retain these items from museums in order to salvage movable Cultural Properties. It has also been deploying Dispatch Conservators for Historic Monuments to conduct damage-status surveys, emergency measures, and technical support for immovable Cultural Properties. Furthermore, MEXT has approved flexible treatment of Buried Cultural Properties, following guidelines laid out in recovery/reconstruction projects. These include confining the area necessary for excavation surveys and sending a notice (dated April 28) to the related organizations requesting proper handling depending on the size of the project.

5 Counter-measures Taken toward the Accidents at the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 Nuclear Power Stations Operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (1) Implementation of Environmental Radiation Monitoring

In response to the accidents at the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 Nuclear Power Stations operated by Tokyo Elec- tric Power Co., Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “the accident”), MEXT is conducting environmental radiation monitoring with making use of various means to understand the status of the release of radioactive substances around the power stations, and contribute to the safety and bring relief to the people and play an appropriate part in the government’s response*8. Specifically, MEXT is carrying out monitoring of the air dose rate in the area around the power stations in cooperation with Fukushima Prefecture and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, etc, and it is taking sample surveys of dust in the air and the soil, etc. MEXT is also conducting a survey on the sea using Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology vessels, and is measuring the air dose rate around the power station by aircraft. These monitoring results are quickly posted on the MEXT website. Additionally, MEXT leads and holds radiation Accumulative equivalent dose of radiation exposure to internal organs (preliminary monitoring coordination calculations between 6:00 am on March 12 through 0:00 am on March 24) meetings to synchronize estimated by SPEEDI Equivalent dose of radiation exposure to internal organs Date and time: 2011/03/12 06:00– the radiation monitoring 2011/03/24 00:00 Accumulative dose

Area: 92km x 92km conducted by the concerned Nuclide name = Total Iodine Subject’s age = one-year old infant Organ name = thyroid gland ministries, local govern- [legend] Equivalent dose lines (mSv) ments, and nuclear opera- tors, etc, aiming to carry out radiation monitoring regarding this accident in a reliable and systematic manner. MEXT also has been maintaining and im- Preliminary calculation results contain various uncertainties such proving the environmen- as at estimation of source term tal radiation monitoring information, and do not coincide with actual measured values. in Fukushima Prefecture, Example of preliminary calculation of the accumulative dose by SPEEDI (with inverse estimation of the source term by the Nuclear and has taken necessary Safety Commission)

*8 Environmental radiation monitoring is a regular or continuous monitor/measure of radioactivity in the environment.

22 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan measures to budget for enhancements of monitoring posts nationwide, and the maintenance of analysis equipment in the FY 2011 first supplementary budget. Still more, with respect to the System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI) which is maintained and operated by MEXT, a quantitative forecast of change in the concentra- tion of radioactive material in the air was impossible to achieve as originally planned because the source term information was not available. Although it was used complementarily by estimating source term information, allowing for a preliminary calculation of the accumulative dose based on the estimation, and has served as a reference to define the survey area for monitoring, the usage system and the means through which announce- ments are made need to be improved.

(2) Efforts in Reducing the Dose that Students Receive at School

In response to a pronouncement of the Establishment of Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters which is based on advice received from the Nuclear Safety Commission under the Cabinet Office, MEXT submitted to the Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education a paper entitled, "Preliminary approach" in deciding how to use school buildings and schoolyards in Fukushima Prefecture"*9 (April 19, 2011, Notice from the Director of Lifelong Learning Policy, Director-General of the Elementary and Secondary Education Bureau, Director- General of the Science and Technology Policy Bureau, and Director-General of the Sports and Youth Bureau. Hereinafter these ideas will be referred to as the “preliminary approach”). In order to check the dose that students receive, MEXT is continuously checking the actual radiation dose by having school personnel who represent students' behavior wear accumulative dose meters as well as continuous monitoring at schoolyards. The "preliminary approach" states that it is best to reduce the dose that students receive as much as possible in the future. In order to discuss counter-measures to reduce the air dose rate at school, the Japan Atomic En- ergy Agency took a field survey of soil-recovery efforts made at schoolyards of Fukushima University-affiliated junior high school(s) and kindergarten(s). MEXT reported the survey results to the Nuclear Safety Commis- sion, and also made the Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education aware of the results on May 11th so that schools could use the results as a measure of reference to mitigate the air dose rate. On May 27, MEXT released a statement concerning an "immediate response aimed at reducing the dosage level that students receive at schools in Fukushima Prefecture,” The statement outlines goals to 1) monitor levels by providing integrating dosimeters to all elementary schools and junior high schools in Fukushima Prefecture; 2) keep the dosage amount that students receive at school to 1 mSv or less during the current fiscal year; and 3) provide financial support for soil recovery at schools with schoolyards or kindergarten grounds having an air dose rate of 1μSv per hour or more depending on the school administrations' request. Furthermore, MEXT has investigated and organized a variety of matters related to radiation protection for the daily lives as well as the physical and mental health/growth of students, and it has conducted public hearings by experts to provide schools and homes with scientific and comprehensive information which can be easily understood. On June 16, MEXT issued a statement "On the use of outdoor pools at schools in Fukushima Prefecture" (administrative circular), and indicated that the monitoring of pool water shall be done twice a day for some time. It also stipulated that MEXT would estimate the dosage level that the students would likely receive if radioactive substances are detected in the pool water. Since no radioactive substances had been detected in Fukushima Prefecture tap water in recent days, they deemed it would be necessary to reconsider a revision of the provisional regulation values for drinking water. On June 20, MEXT decided to also offer financial support to schools outside of Fukushima Prefecture which have schoolyards or kindergarten grounds that have air dose rates of 1μSv or more per hour, depending on the school administration's request.

*9 The following idea is described in the notice. The amount of radiation between 1 and 20 mSv per year, is a "reference level for the general public after settlement of an emergency situation" and is defined by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). It is set as a temporary guideline, while continuous efforts are underway to reduce the dose that students receive as much as possible. In concrete terms, it is best to limit outdoor activities as much as possible, both when children are at school and when they are not, if the air dose rate at a schoolyard is 3.8 μSv per hour or more.

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 23 No. 10 Radiation and Its Impact

Radiation A radioactive substance is a general term for a substance that emits radiation, and its atoms are "unstable." A radioactive substance tends to change into more stable substance, and emits energy when it changes (radioactive decay) to more stable substance. The energy is called "radiation." When the radioactive substance becomes a stable substance, it no longer emits radiation. "Radioactivity" is the ability to emit radiation. The amount of the radioactive substance that changes to a stable substance every second is called a Becquerel (Bq), and Bq is used as a unit of radioactivity. Since radioactive substances change to more stable substances, the radioactivity gets weaker as time passes. For example, the time that the radioactivity decreases to half (physical half-time) is eight days with Iodine 131, and approximately 30 years with Cesium 137. And the time for the radioactive substance which is taken into a body to leave it by metabolic turnover or excretion (biological half-time) varies with substance and the subject’s age. For Iodine 131 it is 11 days in an infant, 23 days in a five-year-old child, and 80 days in adult (over 20 years old); for Cesium 137, it is nine days in a child up to one year old, 38 days in a child up to nine years old, 70 days in an adult up to 30 years old, and 90 days in an adult up to 50 years old. We are surrounded by various types of radiation. Radiation exists in nature and is found in the earth itself, as well is in buildings and food. It also pours down onto earth from outer space. All of these types of radiation are called "background radiation." Man-made industrial and medical radiation is called artificial radiation. The most familiar examples of artificial radiation are computed tomographic scanning and chest x-rays at medical institutions. As a matter of fact, we receive radiation when getting an x-ray and boarding aircraft for travel abroad.

Radiation's impact on the human body When humans receive radiation either on or into their body, it is called "exposure," and the magnitude is expressed by the unit called a Sievert (Sv)*. The impact on a body is identical whether the radiation is background radiation or artificial radiation if both amounts are the same. There are two types of exposure – external exposure and internal exposure –, and both actually have the same impact on the human body. External exposure is caused mainly by radioactive substances adhering to clothes and skin. Internal exposure occurs when a radioactive substance is taken into the body. There are two types of impact to a human body caused by radioactive substances. These are known as the stochastic effect and the deterministic effect. The stochastic effect leads to cancerogenesis and genetic alterations, and all other impacts are considered the deterministic effect. A deterministic effect has a threshold that is the minimum dose level which no symptom appears at all with. For example, a temporary drop in white blood cells is observed with doses over the threshold of 250 mSv. No genetic alterations in the stochastic effect among humans (including people exposed to the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear bomb tests, and the explosion at the Chernobyl power plant) have been reported. In recent times, one out of three people in Japan die from cancer. The risk of death by cancer caused with a radiation level of 100 mSv is expected to increase by approximately 0.5%. Radiation in the amount of 100 mSv a year or less has not been confirmed to cause a clear increase in cancer risk; rather it is other factors which increase the cancer risk. The important idea here is, however, that prevention against unnecessary exposure to radiation should be taken whenever possible. As measures to mitigate the impact from radiation, measures against hey fever, such as washing hands and gargling, are effective. Special care is necessary in the case of internal exposure, since it cannot be washed out. But, the impact of radioactive substances will decrease even if they are taken into a body once since they can come out through excretion, and also the radioactivity itself naturally weakens. Even if we receive radiation, it does not lead to our bodies emitting radiation. Further, even if radioactive substances adheres to or are absorbed into our bodies, that radiation, no matter what level, cannot transfer to the surrounding people.

* Sievert (Sv) = 1,000 millisievert (mSv) = 1,000,000 micro Sievert (µSv)

(3) Implementation of "Refresh Camp"

Since children in Fukushima Prefecture face stress in their daily lives, for example restriction of playing outside and using their pools due to this accident, MEXT and the National Institution For Youth Education held a "Refresh Camp" which provided opportunities for children to play outside, do sports, and enjoy hands-on nature activities through a four-day camp that sought to refresh and nurture growth in children's physical and mental wellbeing. The camp was held at the National Nasukashi Outdoor Learning Center and National Bandai Youth Friendship Center in Fukushima Prefecture with approximately 5,000 participants. (Camps take place over four-day periods during the July 21 through August 31 summer vacation.)

(4) Screening of Residents in the Disaster Areas

MEXT has dispatched experts belonging to universities and Incorporated Administrative Agencies to Fuku- shima cooperated with Fukushima Prefecture (more than 2,000 experts were dispatched until the end of July

24 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan Daily life and radiation Radiation dose (microsievert)

[250,000 µSv/year] 250,000 Upper limit for emergency work

[50,000 µSv/year] 50,000 Upper limit for radiation worker and police/firefighting worker for disaster prevention

[10,000 µSv/year] 10,000 [6,900 µSv at each examination] Chest X–ray computed tomography examination (CT scan), one time Radiation at Guarapari, Brazil (per year, from ground, etc.) [2,400 µSv/year]

1,000 From space 0.39 Through food 0.29

Background radiation [600 µSv at each examination] From the earth Through radons for one person 0.48 in the air 1.26 X-ray mass examination of stomach

Gifu Pref. Kanagawa Pref. [1,000 µSv/year] Limit of dose for general public (except for medical) [200 µSv per one roundtrip] Flight between Tokyo and New York (roundtrip) 100 (increase of cosmic rays due to higher elevation) Difference in background radiation across the nation [400 µSv/year] (Maximum difference in the averages by prefecture)

Estimated value of radioactive substances [50 µSv at each examination] [22 µSv/year] released from reprocessing plants X-ray mass examination of chest

Estimated reference that is used [10 µSv/year] when calculating clearance level 10

* Sv (sievert) = Constant for the biological effects depending on the type of radiation (*) x Gy (gray) * 1 for X-rays and γ-rays

Generated by MEXT based on the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy Nuclear Power 2002

2011) and has conducted screenings*10 of residents, making use of the dispatched experts, under the leadership of Fukushima Prefecture. Also, MEXT has dispatched experts to assist screenings of residents and their goods during their quick returns to their homes in the Restricted Areas, beginning in May. Furthermore, MEXT organized a system which involves national/public/private university cooperation across the nation to accept patients so that they can receive appropriate medical treatment even in cases of high-dose exposure. The National Institute of Radiological Sciences（NIRS）actually accepted people who might have been exposed to high-dosage levels, and both examined and treated them, taking radiation measurements of more than 2,000 people through the end of July 2011. Also, MEXT set up the Health Counseling Hotline with help from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency on March 17, and has received radiation-related questions nationwide. It dealt with more than 37,000 questions, including radiation exposure-related health consultations from the National Institute of Radiological Sciences（ NIRS）as of the end of July 2011. MEXT also has helped carry out health surveys of prefectural residents which are conducted by Fuku- shima Prefecture, leveraging the capabilities of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences（NIRS）and universities. For that purpose, in the FY 2011 first supplementary budget, MEXT provided for the costs to estimate radiation doses in nearby residents. These dosage levels are derived from a behavior survey which was conducted by Fukushima Prefecture supported by NIRS and related municipalities targeting the residents in the evacuation area.

*10 Screenings are to measure contamination on a body’s surface with radioactive substances using the Geiger-Mueller survey meter to screen. If the measurement results exceed the criterion value, then decontamination operations are required.

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 25 (5) Efforts to apply the nuclear liability system

After this accident occurred, a number of residents have been forced to evacuate or to give up business activities including manufacturing and sales as a result of the government instructions to evacuate or to take shelter indoors. Therefore, it is necessary to relieve the victims promptly, fairly and appropriately. To allow smooth compensation for nuclear damage, MEXT established Dispute Reconciliation Committee for Nuclear Damage Compensation on April 11, 2011 pursuant to the “Act on Compensation for Nuclear Dam- age” in order to 1) formulate general guidelines for determining the scope of nuclear damage for voluntary resolution, and 2) mediate reconciliation of any dispute concerning compensation for nuclear damage. From the perspective of immediate relief to the victims, the Committee formulated guidelines to determine the scope of nuclear damages concerning evacuation and shipment restrictions according to the government instructions in order of priority starting with high probability. The Committee established “The First Guide- lines on Determination of the Scope of Nuclear Damage Resulting From the Accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant” (April 28, 2011), the Second Guidelines (May 31, 2011), as well as the Addendum to the Second Guidelines (June 20, 2011). The Interim Guidelines, which provide an overview picture of the scope of nuclear damage, have been formulated by integrating extra investigation results to the contents determined and released in the First and the Second Guidelines, and in the Addendum to the Second Guidelines, described above. Furthermore, financial security payment to TEPCO under the indemnity agreement for compensation of nuclear damage, and costs to establish a system for prompt resolution of disputes have been included in the FY 2011 second supplementary budget. In addition, the “Act on the Emergency Measures for Damage Caused by the 2011 Nuclear Accident” was enacted on July 29, 2011. This Act defines the criterion for provisional payments by the Government in order to provide early aid for the victims of this nuclear accident. Moreover, with consideration to likelihood that claims for huge amounts of compensation of nuclear damage will occur, the Government passed the “Nuclear Damage Compensation Facilitation Cooperation Act” on August 3, 2011 to establish a system-centered support organization that can allow for compensation payments for nuclear-related damage in the future.

6 Electricity Supply-Demand Measures

Regarding the planned power outage due to significant reductions in the power supply capacity in the service areas of Tohoku Electric Power Co. and Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc., MEXT notified the related educational and research organizations, such as boards of education, universities, and Incorporated Administrative Agen- cies that are located in either service area about the outage. Further, MEXT requested that the related educational and research organizations carry out systematic power-saving measures and support the promotion of effective power-saving measures such as holding ex- planatory meetings in response to the goal of reducing maximum power consumption by 15% as a power-saving target for each consumer in its proclamation, "Electricity Supply-Demand Measures in Summer," which was established by the Electricity Supply-Demand Emergency Response Headquarters of the government. Furthermore, in response to the tight power supply situation in the service areas of the five power companies in western Japan (Kansai, Hokuriku, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu), a document entitled "Electricity Supply-Demand Measures Taken by the Five Electric Utilities in Western Japan this Summer" was established by the Electricity Supply-Demand Review Meeting of the government (Former Electricity Supply-De- mand Emergency Response Headquarters). It indicated to reduce maximum power consumption by at least 10% as the power-saving target in the Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. service area, and similar, non-disruptive efforts in the other four areas. MEXT requested that related education and research organizations related to power companies in these five areas of western Japan carry out power-saving measures. The related educational and research organizations are making various efforts to respond to this tight power supply-demand situation. For example, Tokyo University built a "the Power Crisis Countermeasures Team," setting aggressive goals such as reducing its maximum power consumption levels by 30% while maintaining research and educational quality because of university responsibilities to play a leading role among society. They are making various ef-

26 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan forts, including efficient operating air conditioners, only using partial lighting, consolidating computer server machines, allowing consumers to view their levels of power consumption (available on the university's website), and shifting activity times to reduce usage.

Overview of the FY 2011 MEXT First Supplementary Budget

Restoration of school facilities etc 245 billion yen ・Public schools 96.2 billion yen ・Private schools (including Specialized Training Colleges, etc.) 108.1 billion yen Facility restoration 64.3 billion yen Interest-free loans for Private School Agencies (5 years) 22.6 billion yen Cost-recovery expenses for education and research activities 21.2 billion yen ・National universities, etc. 26.5 billion yen ・Public social education / physical education / cultural facilities 8.7 billion yen ・R&D institutional facilities, etc. 5.5 billion yen

Financial schooling support at each school stage 18.9 billion yen [Elementary and secondary education] ○ Creation of Extraordinary Subsidies for Study Assistance Offered to Students Afflicted by the Great East Japan Earthquake 11.3 billion yen To establish a fund at the prefectural level to support kindergarten and elementary school pupils and students who have difficulty attending school due to the disaster. ・Scholarship loan program, private high school tuition reduction/waiver program, school supplies and other benefits program ・Promotional program for school enrollment on special needs education, promotional program for kindergarten enrollment ・Private specialized training colleges /miscellaneous schools tuition reduction/tuition waivers

[Higher education] ○ Expansion in emergency adoption of scholarship loans 3.5 billion yen Emergency adoption of scholarship loans due to sudden changes in household finances (approximately 4,700 students) ○ Expansion in measures to reduce or offer waivers for tuition and enrollment fees 4.1 billion yen Expansion in reductions or tuition and enrollment fee waivers to ensure that students affected by the disaster still have learning opportunities (National universities: approximately 1,400 students (800 million yen), private universities: approximately 4,600 students (3.4 billion yen)

Mental health care support ○ Emergency assistance by school counselors (approximately 1,300 counselors) 3 billion yen

Response to Fukushima nuclear accident 2.4 billion yen ○ Radiation measures (monitoring, radiation emergency medicine, etc.) 2.4 billion yen ○ Office work/operation costs for nuclear damage compensation, etc. 60 million yen

Disaster prevention measures program

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 27 ○ Improvement of earthquake resistance of public school facilities (approximately 1,200 school buildings) 34 billion yen

Total 303.4 billion yen

Overview of the FY 2011 MEXT Second Supplementary Budget

1. Regarding the Act on Compensation for Nuclear Damages (1) Compensation based on the indemnity agreement to compensate for nuclear damage 120 billion yen * This applies to the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Station only. For the Fukushima No. 2 Nuclear Power Station, the following supplementary budget and reserve fund is to be used (includes a reserve fund for recovery/rebuilding from the Great East Japan Earthquake). (2) Business consignment expenses related to compensation payments 300 million yen (3) Expenses for establishment of more effective structure to resolve disputes 1 billion yen

2. Improvement in environmental monitoring in Fukushima prefecture and across the nation 23.5 billion yen* (1) For "Urgent request towards efforts to protect Fukushima's children" (Fukushima Prefecture) 11 billion yen* 1) Building of a real-time radiation monitoring system 2) Deployment of portable monitoring posts, etc. 3) Personal use of the accumulative dose meter (film badges, etc.) lending program* (2) Improvement in radiation measurement according to the plan adopted at the Monitoring Coordination Meeting 12.5 billion yen 1) Improvement in the radioactivity survey system across the nation 2) Improvement in wide-area environmental monitoring 3) Continuous execution of environmental monitoring around the Fukushima nuclear power plant 4) Improvement in environmental monitoring in cooperation with related ministries

3. Radiation reduction program for schoolyards and other areas both in Fukushima Prefecture and elsewhere 4.5 billion yen To provide financial support within the framework of the disaster recovery program to public/private schools which have radiation levels of 1 μSv per hour or more (approximately 400 schools) Total 149.3 billion yen * The item marked with an “*” includes a program of the Nuclear Health and Children Victims Fund (some 4.3 billion yen).)

(Reference) << Response to the health of adult and children nuclear disaster victims across government ministries>> ○ Creation of Fukushima Prefecture adult and children’s nuclear disaster victim’s health fund Creation of a fund based on requests from Fukushima Prefecture and other parties to conduct mid-/long-term programs to secure the health of children and other residents affected by the nuclear disaster.

[Health care, survey programs (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)] 78.2 billion yen ・Implementation of basic surveys/long-term health surveys of all people, including children, who reside in Fukushima Prefecture ・Implementation of mid-/long-term cancer screenings which target children ・Implementation of mid-long-term cancer check which targets children ・Maintaining physical/mental health programs for children, such as Refresh Camp, etc.

28 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan [Special urgent decontamination operations program (Cabinet Office)] 18 billion yen ・Decontamination of schoolyards, etc. ・Installment of air-conditioners in school buildings, etc. ・Support of community activities which carry out decontamination operations along school routes, etc.

Section 3 Response Aiming at Reconstruction 1 Lessons from the Great Earthquake Disaster

This great earthquake and disaster was the worst disaster Japan has faced since World War II, and it killed a great number of people. Also the accidents occurred at the Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 Nuclear Power Stations, and the serious situation continues, with 87,000 people still forced to live in evacuation shelters (as of July 28, based on Cabinet Office material). Under such circumstances, the top priority is to enable disaster victims to resume ordinary life as soon as possible. Further, based on the lessons learned from this earthquake and disaster, giving consideration to Japan’s ideal future is proving an important driving force in the recovery process. Some lessons learned through this experience are the importance of taking the possibility of disaster into account as people go though their ordinary daily life, and the value of ties between people as well as among communities. These lessons have helped the nation overcome such a difficult time. We also realized that we easily forget these important things. In the recovery and reconstruction following the Great East Japan Earthquake, there is a strong desire to build communities and schools that can serve as an advanced model for the rest of the nation based on these lessons learned, while keeping the reconstruction of regions and communities the primary focus.

2 Efforts of the Government and Disaster-zone Prefectures

Given these circumstances, the government established Reconstruction Design Council in Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake (Chairman: Makoto Iokibe, President of National Defense Academy and Profes- sor Emeritus, Kobe University) on April 11, 2011 in order to give bright hope for the future and encouragement to residents in the disaster areas, and to build a reconstruction design which all people can share, one that leads to a rich and vibrant renaissance of Japan. The Council held a broad range of discussions about reconstruction design, and published, "Towards Reconstruction –Hope beyond the Disaster-" on June 25. Various concrete measures have been proposed, recognizing that, while it is not possible to completely prevent natural disasters from occurring, focusing on the idea of "disaster reduction" and recognizing the value of "the local community" and "human resources who can connect people with each other" is of highest importance. Keeping the terms "Disaster reduction" and "(human) connections" in mind, the paper considers recovery from the following four standpoints: (1) "A new Concept for Rebuilding the Region;" (2) "Restore Life and Livelihood;" (3) "Work towards Reconstruction after the Nuclear Accident;" and (4) "Open, Reconstruction." Particularly in the field in which MEXT is involved, efforts are proposed to ensure equal educational opportunities and levels in recovery support to schools, financial schooling support to kindergarten and elementary school pupils and students affected by the disaster, and enhancement in mental health care and learning and life-skills support. The report also mentions the importance of support to promote the reconstruction of local cultures and sports activities, and the need to make full use of science and technology. Moreover, "Basic Guidelines for Reconstruction in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake," pursuant to the Basic Act on Reconstruction in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake (FY 2011 Law No.76) that had been passed on July 2011 was adopted by the Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake on July 29. Based on the proposals from the Reconstruction Design Council, the basic guidelines for reconstruction efforts undertaken by the government are described. These efforts are: improving the disaster protection

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 29 function of schools from both the hardware and software perspectives; various types of measured, financial schooling support such as study assistance and scholarship loans; support in fostering community networking; and development of human resources to support the reconstruction, and to promote culture and sports (see Fig. 4 for MEXT related major items). In this disaster, the earthquake and tsunami caused a variety of damages to school facilities. Furthermore while school facilities served as evacuation sites for students and local residents, various problems appeared. Therefore, MEXT established Investigative Commission on School Facility Improvement in Light of the Dam- age Caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake (Chairman: Satoru Nagasawa, Professor Faculty of Science and Engineering, Toyo University) on May 27, 2011. The Commission discussed important issues such as the safety of school facilities and the securement of their function of disaster protection, and it compiled an "urgent proposal" on July 7. This proposal presents the concrete measures concerning ensuring the safety of school facilities such as earthquake resistance, tsunami protection measures and so on, enhancement of disaster protection function of school facilities (Facilities and equipment that are considered necessary based on an example of the process up to the resumption of school functions (See Fig.5), and cooperation with disaster prevention departments), planning and design for utilization of schools as centers for the local community (forming a complex facility with social education /welfare facilities, building facilities close to each other (See Fig. 6 and 7)), and energy conservation measures in school facilities in response to the reduced power supply capacity. MEXT has also conducted surveys and made efforts to store records of what types of actions the schools in the disaster areas took when the Great East Japan Earthquake struck, and what kind of roles and functions the schools have played as shelters. It established a "Council for disaster prevention education/disaster management in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake (Chairman: Masaki Watanabe, Professor of Tokyo Gakugei University);" this Council is driving discussions about reconsidering disaster prevention management, such as offering better disaster prevention education and carrying out evacuation drills, and enhancing the safety instruction of school personnel in the event of a disaster. In doing so, it aims to pass on the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake to the children who will eventually be responsible for the next generation, and to improve hazard prediction and hazard avoidance ability among students. In the disaster-zone prefectures, committees have been established for the independent recovery/reconstruction within each prefecture, taking into account each prefecture’s own characteristics and level of damage. The groups are as follow: Iwate Prefecture – The Great East Japan Earthquake Tsunami Reconstruction Committee (Committee chairman: Katsumi Fujii, President of Iwate University); Miyagi Prefecture – The Earthquake Reconstruction Conference (Chairman: Hiroshi Komiyama, Chairman of the Board, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.); Fukushima Prefecture – Reconstruction Vision Investigation Committee (Chair- man: Hiroshi Suzuki, Professor Emeritus, Fukushima University).

3 Guideline for MEXT’s Efforts

The Constitution of Japan states "All people shall have the right to receive an equal education correspondent to their ability, as provided by law (Article 26)." Based on this provision, various systems are available to ensure educational opportunity and to maintain and improve education levels so that all children are equally able to receive a certain level of education regardless of their birth circumstances or home environment, so that they can realize their full potential. During recovery and reconstruction in the disaster areas, careful support measures are needed to ensure that this educational opportunity remains available, and to maintain education standards so that children who have been affected by the great earthquake will not give up learning halfway through. Therefore, MEXT has created following efforts.Extraordinary Subsidies for Study Assistance Offered to Students Afflicted by the Great East Japan Earthquake to provide financial schooling support ; financial support to recover school facilities; expanding emergency adoption of scholarship loans and reduction or waiver of tuition and enrollment fees at universities; the implementation of various measures to ensure the safety and relief of children and families, such as the emergency assistance by school counselors for mental health care;countermeasures against radiation; the improvement in the earthquake resistance of public school facilities. MEXT plans to support reconstruction and resumption of schools in the disaster areas and schooling of

30 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan children based on requests and proposals, as described above, which it receives from the disaster areas themselves. MEXT will also promote the creation of a futuristic education model, born in the Tohoku region through lessons learned from this major disaster. This model is one which recognizes the importance of being mindful of disasters in daily life and activities, and one which emphasizes the value of ties between people and communities. Furthermore, we will continue to make every effort to enhance systems and carry out any programs deemed necessary. Regarding the establishment of the Phase 2 Basic Plan for the Promotion of Education which is under investigation, it is necessary to consider educational endorsement measures based on the lessons learned from this great earthquake, both in terms of nationwide promotion as well as recovery in the disaster areas, and implement them across the nation. During that process, we expect that it will be necessary to place emphasis on the following: (1) creating a learning safety net (to ensure educational opportunities to all, and to foster a safe and secure educational environment); (2) developing life-skill competencies (to improve and guarantee educational quality); (3) creating bonds among people and rebuilding communities (to improve educational capabilities in society as a whole, and to promote the individual’s participation in society); and (4) leaping into the future (to respond to globalization, foster innovation, and develop human resources capable of meeting social challenges).

Fig. 4 Basic Guidelines for Reconstruction in Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake

Basic Guidelines for Reconstruction in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake (As established by the Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake on July 29, 2011) —MEXT-related major items—

○ Mobilizing soft (human and intangible assets) and hard (material objects) resources as part of an overall "disaster reduction" goal ・Enhancing systems for quick assessments of buried cultural properties ○ Developing systems that allow for quick rearrangement of land use ・Developing systems that allow for quick rearrangement of land use

○ Promoting education ・Improving the disaster protection functions of schools, both in terms of “hard” and “soft” resources, as described above ・Investigating the feasibility of consolidating schools, welfare facilities, and social education facilities ・Supporting the reconstruction of severely damaged kindergartens, and resuming the operations of these kindergartens in combination with day care center facilities (Centre for Early Childhood Education and Care) ・Granting a variety of sufficient, financial schooling support, such as study assistance and scholarship loans based on the needs and actual situations in the disaster areas ・Improving employment support for students ・Adopting special measures for school personnel assignments and dispatch of school counselors ・Supporting the creation of a community network with a help of a coordinator ○ Developing human resources that will support recovery efforts ・Implementing advanced education at universities colleges of technology, and upper secondary schools supporting efforts for industry-university-government cooperation ○ Promoting Culture and Sports ・Promoting repair and restoration of cultural properties, supporting revival of cultural ceremonies and regional dialects ・Supporting reconstruction of museums, art museums, and libraries ・Supporting cultural and art activities, and events such as the National Arts Festival and music festivals ・Promoting sports activities in the region, inviting and hosting international athletic events

○ Enterprises, industries/technologies ・Fostering reconstruction at universities by enhancing their function as resource center

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 31 ・Forming hubs for intelligence and technological innovation that emphasize flexible, mid-/long-term sustainability (Specific examples) ・Creating networks among universities and research institutions for fisheries rehabilitation through an understanding of the marine ecosystem ・Promoting collaboration among industry, academia, and the government in the fields of material/optical/nanotechnology, a long and strong suit of the Tohoku region ・Developing medical personnel and drug advances/translational research centered at university hospitals, as put forth in the Medical Mega Bank concept

○ Securing stable power supply and reconsidering the nation’s energy strategy ・Promoting innovative technology development for energy-saving and renewable energy strategies ○ Being transparent about and in the recovery process to the world and open to international participation ・Providing appropriate disaster information for foreign students and researchers along with support in their research activities ○ Preparing for future disasters ・Improving the survey/monitoring/forecasting of earthquakes and tsunamis ・Promoting disaster prevention education with community involvement ・Improving disaster prevention measures such as enhancing earthquake resistance at school/research institutes and backing up risk management functions ・Investigating the use of satellites to assess damage status at the time of disaster ・Digitally recording of academic investigations, related materials and images related to the earthquake and disasters

・Monitoring and providing sufficient information about radiation dose in a fine-tuned manner ・Ensuring implementation of efforts to reduce the exposure dose that children receive ・Implementing continuous health management for residents ・Promoting the quick, fair and appropriate compensation for disaster victims ・Forming a research center for environmental restoration techniques in Fukushima Prefecture, one that promotes exchanges both domestically and internationally ・Enhancing the R&D and manufacturing centers for cutting-edge pharmaceutical and medical equipment through industry- university-government cooperation ・Fostering the world's most advanced research center for renewable energy

Fig. 5 Facilities and Equipment that are Considered Necessary as Evacuation Sites Based on an Example of the Process up to the Resumption of School Functions Functioning as a safe Functions as a school Necessary facilities / equipment and secure environment Life-saving and Evacuation routes Evacuation site for Ensuring the safety evacuation stage Barrier-free environment (just after the disaster local residents of children to evacuation)

Storage, stockpile Toilet Life-securing Opening, managing Confirming the safety Communications equipment life stage and operating of children and their (several days from evacuation sites parents or guardians Photovoltaic installation just after the evacuation) Pool water purifying device etc.

Ensuring sheltered- Gas installation Japanese room Launch of self-governing life stage Preparing for resuming organization/ start of Changing room Nurse’s room etc. (for several weeks from of school functions a few days after the volunteer disaster)

Coexisting of school Facility improvement with consideration of functions and evacuation coexistence of school functions and Resuming school School function functions -> dissolution emergency evacuation functions resumption stage of the function as an evacuation site

32 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan Fig. 6 Comprehensive Facilities Consisting of School, Public Offices and Social Education Facilities etc.

Idea 1 Comprehensive facilities consisting of school, public offices and social education facilities etc.

Complex with a sport facility

Improvement of lounges for Complex with a library community interactions

Center for the community, It enables education activities to resume Recreation space that smoothly that local residents take shelter facilitates intergenerational educational benefit outside of the school facilities exchange

Sports facilities for students and local residents

Core of Lifelong Learning for students and local residents

Citizens’ Library Public Hall Government office Public Fire

sports facilities School Lounge for community interactions department

Disaster response in full Advantages for Emergency evacuation site Tatami-mat rooms and kitchens coordination with for local residents can be used by evacuees the community disaster response

Disaster countermeasure office

Evacuation space

[In ordinary times]Develop complexes consisting of a school, library, community center and public sports facility and ensure necessary space so as to provide the function as a life-long learning center for local residents while helping the enrichment of students’ coursework, learning activities after school and on holiday and hands- on activities.

[In times of disaster]Develop the complexes as comprehensive evacuation facilities with a function of headquarters of local disaster preparedness so that they can maximize their necessary functions in times of disaster.

White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2010 33 Fig. 7 “Barrier-free” Priority Zones that Combines Schools, Parks, Welfare Facilities and Others

Idea 2 “Barrier-free” priority zones that combines schools, parks, welfare facilities and others

School, nursery and day-service center in the same building Integrated with nursery school Integrated with welfare facilities for the aged Hospital (interaction with younger children) (interaction with the elderly)

Community open space Schoolhouse to provide consistent support for Passing on local traditions and cultures to the children's growth from early infancy to school age next generation through interaction with the elderly Children's center Library Center for the community / educational benefit

School Nursery school Day-services center Park

It is easy to accepts the elderly, the disabled, and Advantages for Evacuation place with medical service injured people since schools have been originally disaster for the aged and infants built as a barrier-free facility response

[In ordinary times] Support the development of children from early infancy to school age in a consistent manner by developing a nursery school, kindergarten, elementary school, welfare facilities for the aged, etc. in an integrated fashion. In addition, local traditions and culture will be passed on through exchanges with the eldery.

[In times of disaster].Develop a barrier-free area with medical and nursing functions for evacuation of vulnerable people, such as infants, people with disabilities and the elderly, to provide them with safe and secure shelter.

34 Educational Standards and Educational Expenditure in Japan