Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
Users of the website can enter test results from the new physical fitness test (6–11 year olds) and determine the balance between physical fitness and athletic ability and see current nationwide averages and graphs showing comparisons with nationwide averages from the time the children’s parents were children themselves (30 years ago). Users can also download “Challenge Sheets” to set out their own objectives, undertake exercise and sports, and get into the habit of exercising as well as “Lifestyle Habit Checksheets” to develop regular lifestyle habits.

▲ Child Fitness Improvement Website

## 4 ) Other

As one campaign project, MEXT composed and publicized a Campaign Song & Dance (tentative name) in FY2004 to motivate children to exercise with their families and friends, and endeavored to organize town meetings as forums for education and exchanges of views on the importance of child fitness.

## (2) Face-to-Face Interaction and Instruction with Athletes

MEXT has organized projects in which former Olympic competitors and other top-level athletes have been invited to participate in sports experiential classrooms for children held by local governments nationwide to improve child fitness; these athletes directly interact with children and help them experience the fun of sports.
# Example of Face-to-Face Interaction/Instruction with Athletes Chibikko Swimming Camp in Shinjo City, Aichi Prefecture

Kyoko Iwasaki, gold medallist in the women's 200-meter breaststroke at the Barcelona Olympics, was invited as an instructor to this camp.

Even before the camp opened, Iwasaki's flowing style with unwasted motion in the individual medley served as an outstanding model for the children to emulate.

The 48 participating local 5th and 6th graders from elementary schools in the city were divided into two groups, which Iwasaki then taught about how to kick, how to use their hands, and other fundamental aspects of the breaststroke. Even children a bit nervous at first soon were all smiles under Iwasaki's kind and meticulous instruction. They practiced as hard as they could to copy Iwasaki's movements.

▲ Scene from the Chibikko Swimming Camp

After words of thanks from the participants at the closing ceremony—"I would like to use the things I learned here today so I can swim faster"—commemorative photographs were taken. The camp wrapped up with a message of encouragement from Iwasaki: "It's important to keep trying day after day and not give up, no matter what you are doing."

## (3) Preparing and Distributing Sports/Health Handbooks

MEXT has prepared and distributed to older elementary school students a “Genki-up Handbook” as a handbook to get children to take an interest in their own bodies, to set their own objectives, and to exercise and adopt regular lifestyle habits; and to younger elementary school students and kindergarteners a “Genki-up Calendar” that introduces fun exercise games that children can do on an everyday basis with friends and family and that features reward seals to motivate children to acquire the habit of exercise naturally while having fun.

To raise the awareness of parents and guardians, MEXT has prepared and distributed an educational pamphlet entitled “Improving Child Fitness” to describe the environment surrounding children, the importance of physical fitness, and the causes for declining physical fitness in order to promote understanding on improving child fitness.

▲ Genki-up Handbook

☑ Genki-up Calendar
## (4) Practical Projects to Improve Child Fitness

In addition to the above projects, MEXT from FY2004 has designated model communities nationwide, researched and analyzed child fitness and lifestyles at present, and initiated new “Practical Projects to Improve Child Fitness” that involve practical activities designed in accordance with local conditions (Figure 1-1-1).

More specifically, each implementing community sets up an executive committee comprising school personnel, PTA members, collaborators from the community, sports organization representatives, and academic experts, and establishes a system whereby schools, families and communities can cooperate in improving child fitness. The executive committee clarifies the issues to be addressed given the level of physical fitness and the lifestyles of children in the implementing community and then stipulates topics for the implementing community. Practical activities—educational activities, program development, and improvements to the environment around children—will then be pursued in line with these topics and tailored to the conditions in the community. Activities verified to be effective via projects will then be introduced nationwide to serve in improving child fitness in all parts of the country.

Figure 1-1-1 List of Implementing Communities for Child Fitness Improvement Projects

(FY2004: 42 cities, wards, towns, and villages)
Block	Prefecture	City, ward, town or village
Tohoku	Iwate	Tono City
Miyagi	Osato Town
Yamagata	Yonezawa City
Kanto	Ibaraki	Sanwa Town, Hokota Town
Saitama	Yashio City
Chiba	Kimitsu City, Misaki Town, Chiba City
Tokyo	Meguro Ward, Setagaya Ward
Kanagawa	Yokohama City
Kita-shinetsu	Niigata	Seiro Town
Toyama	Toyama City
Ishikawa	Nanao City
Fukui	Eiheiji City
Nagano	Achi Village, Agematsu Town
Tokai	Shizuoka	Hamakita City
Aichi	Chita City, Shinjo City, Mito Town
Kinki	Kyoto	Seika Town
Osaka	Kashihara City
Wakayama	Arita City
Chugoku	Tottori	Tottori City
Shimane	Uonan Town
Okayama	Sanyo Town
Hiroshima	Higashi-hiroshima City, Aki Takada City
Yamaguchi	Hagi City
Shikoku	Tokushima	Sanagochi Village, Kamiyama Town
Kagawa	Kannonji City
Ehime	Toyo City
Kyushu	Fukuoka	Kasuga City
Nagasaki	Saikai Town
Kumamoto	Yatsushiro City
Miyazaki	Kobayashi City
Kagoshima	Kikai Town, Wadomari Town
Okinawa	Sashiki Town
1-1-3).

## (a) Individual consultations and guidance for schoolchildren

To prevent lifestyle diseases and to respond appropriately to problems faced by individual students such as allergies to food products, diet and nutrition teachers provide in-depth guidance and advice based on their expertise on the eating habits of schoolchildren.

(Specific examples)

(a) Providing individual guidance and advice on the impact of an unbalanced diet on health to a schoolchild not eating a balanced diet

(b) Making a schoolchild with a tendency toward obesity aware of the need to engage in a suitable level of exercise and to consume a nutritionally balanced diet, and providing anti-obesity guidance

(c) Providing schoolchildren with an allergy to a particular food product with school meals not containing the allergen and offering advice on strategies for selecting menu items

In this guidance, diet and nutrition teachers will deal as necessary with issues through suitable cooperation with families, classroom teachers, special education teachers, school doctors/dentists, other nutritional experts, primary physicians and specialist physicians, etc.

## (b) Educational guidance for young students during classes and special activities

In addition to individual guidance, guidance on diet is offered throughout school education during school lunches, special activities, lessons, moral education, and integrated study periods, and diet and nutrition teachers are expected to put their expertise to use in active involvement in planning guidance for these times. Diet and nutrition teachers play a core role in providing guidance on diet especially during school meal times, offering guidance not only by using school meals to maximum effect as a teaching tool but also by utilizing the preparation of meals and post-meal clean-up as forums for learning mealtime manners.
## 3 ) Fostering public spirit

To foster public spirit and encourage greater participation in volunteer activities, MEXT held a “National Forum on Promoting Volunteer/Experiential Activities” in March 2004.

The Forum comprised a symposium and exhibition events. The forum featured a keynote address by Mamoru Mori (astronaut and Executive Director of the Japan Miraikan) and panel discussions on expanding volunteer activities in communities, at workplaces, and at schools. Yuko Arimori (marathon runner) also gave a talk, and volunteer groups set up booth displays at the exhibition event.

▲ Mamoru Mori making keynote address at national forum

Furthermore, two survey research projects were conducted in FY2003 to examine specific measures for promoting volunteer/experiential activities: “Measures for Utilizing Volunteer Passports and Other Tools to Encourage and Support Volunteer Activities” and “Survey Research on Fostering Public Spirit to Promote Volunteer Activities.”

## ☑ Improving Community Educational Functions through Sports Activities

Sports stimulate the sound development of mind and body, foster self-control and self-responsibility, and teach the spirit of fair play. As cultivating communication skills and consideration for others through interaction with friends and instructors plays an important role in the sound development of youth, environments in which children can enjoy sports casually as part of their day-to-day lives are needed. The principal approaches now being pursued by communities to promote children’s sports activities include the following.

## (1) Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs

MEXT is promoting the development of “comprehensive community sports clubs” that enable both children and adults who love sports to participate in sports in accordance with their respective tastes and skill levels; these clubs are run voluntarily and independently by local residents (see Part 2, Chapter 2). Comprehensive community sports clubs not only play a key role as locations for children’s sports activities after classes and on weekends, but also prove beneficial by fostering the sound development of youth and revitalizing community educational functions through interaction with family members and intergenerational exchange via sports, as family members and community residents of all ages participate. Numerous instances have shown that organizing comprehensive community sports clubs motivates communities as a whole to follow the development of their children and produces more vibrant and active children (Figure 1-1-6).

Figure ♦ 1-1-6 Changes in communities due to establishment of clubs

(Source) FY2003 Fact-finding Survey on Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs

As of July 2004, 1,117 comprehensive community sports clubs had been created in 702 cities, towns and villages nationwide, and even greater expansion of such clubs is needed in future.

## (2) Youth Sports Associations

Youth sports associations were first established in 1962 by the Japan Amateur Sports Association for the purpose of promoting the sound development of youth through sports. These associations have since been
Japan, organizes nationwide research conferences and international exchange projects on youth education, subsidizes youth organizations and survey research projects covering youth education, and informs persons involved in youth education of the results of its efforts.

National Youth Houses and National Children’s Centers develop education programs and model projects suited to different stages of development among youth and publicize the achievements of these programs/projects, and play key roles in coordinating between public youth education facilities (718 locations nationwide as of October 2002) and other organizations.

▲ Experiential activity at National Kibi Children’s Center (outdoor cooking)

▲ Experiential activity at National Nasu Kashi Youth Nature Center (experience at the headwaters of the Abukuma River)

## (2) Promoting Children’s Reading Activities

It has been noted that today’s children have been increasingly remote from the printed word as information media such as television, video and the Internet take hold, as the living environment of children changes, and as children no longer acquire from infancy the habit of reading.

The School Reading Survey $ ^{*} $ conducted in May 2004 revealed that the average number of books read by schoolchildren per month was 7.7 in elementary schools, 3.3 in junior high schools and 1.8 in high schools; 7.0% of students in elementary schools, 18.8% in junior high schools and 42.6% in high schools did not even read one book per month.

Reading activities help children learn language, heighten their sensitivities, improve their ability to express themselves, and enrich their creativity, and are thus essential to enabling them to develop a deeper zest for living; it is extremely important, therefore, to encourage such activities throughout Japanese society as a whole.

The lawmaker-initiated Law on the Promotion of Children’s Reading Activities, designed to promote children’s reading activities, was passed, promulgated and put into force in December 2001. This law sought to have measures for promoting children’s reading activities comprehensively and systematically. It defined the basic philosophy underlying the promotion of children’s reading activities, made clear the responsibilities of the national and local governments in this regard, expected the national government to draft and publish the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Children’s Reading Activities, local governments to draft and publish the Basic Plan on Measures for the Promotion of Children’s Reading Activities, and designated April 23 Children’s Reading Day.

In accordance with the provisions of this Law, the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Children’s Reading Activities was approved by the cabinet in August 2002. This Plan established the basic direction for measures over a five-year span from FY2002 to FY2006 and laid out specific strategies. An outline of the Plan is given below.
Number of juvenile offenders referred to prosecutors on criminal charges, and population ratio (1949 – 2003)

Figure ♦ 1-1-9

In addition to a decline in social morals, other social conditions thought to be reasons or background factors for these trends are: (1) disciplinary issues in homes from infancy, (2) approaches to instruction in schools, (3) inadequate daily-life experiences, and (4) lessened consideration for others and a diluted sense of connectedness between people in the midst of material prosperity; these elements are intertwined in a complex manner in the environment surrounding youth.

Consequently it is imperative that children acquire a firm respect for social norms and ethical values that allow them to distinguish between right and wrong, an awareness of the importance of life, and considera-
Figure 1-1-10 Number of junior high school students belonging to school sports clubs

Year	Number of students belonging to school sports clubs	Number of students	Membership rate (%)
Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
FY2001	1,576,788	1,109,128	2,685,916	2,041,810	1,950,101	3,991,911	77.2	56.8	67.3
FY2003	1,480,815	1,174,484	2,655,299	1,915,040	1,833,279	3,748,319	77.3	64.1	70.8

(Source) Surveyed by Nippon Junior High School Physical Culture Association

## Figure ♦ 1-1-11 Number of high school students belonging to school sports clubs

Year	Number of students belonging to school sports clubs	Number of students	Membership rate (%)
Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
FY2001	934,935	486,977	1,421,912	2,042,452	2,019,304	4,061,756	45.7	24.1	35
FY2003	956,462	468,561	1,425,023	1,927,522	1,882,305	3,809,827	49.6	24.8	37.4

(Source) Surveyed by All Japan High School Athletic Federation and Japan High School Baseball Federation

Figure 1-1-12 Number of sport-specific school sports clubs in junior high schools

Sport	1993	1998	2003	(2003 - 1993)	(2003 - 1998)
Change (#)	Change (%)	Change (#)	Change (%)
Male	Rubber baseball	8,830	8,954	9,007	177	2.0	53	0.6
Basketball	7,383	7,597	7,444	61	0.8	-153	-2.0
Table tennis	7,909	7,365	7,212	-697	-8.8	-153	-2.1
Soccer	6,471	7,065	6,969	498	7.7	-96	-1.4
Track and field	7,649	7,177	6,436	-1,213	-15.9	-741	-10.3
Female	Volleyball	9,463	9,315	8,946	-517	-5.5	-369	-4.0
Soft tennis	7,981	7,790	7,575	-406	-5.1	-215	-2.8
Basketball	7,588	7,555	7,464	-124	-1.6	-91	-1.2
Track and field	7,536	6,950	6,318	-1,218	-16.2	-632	-9.1
Table tennis	7,075	6,356	6,203	-872	-12.3	-153	-2.4

(Source) Surveyed by Nippon Junior High School Physical Culture Association

Figure 1-1-13 Number of sport-specific school sports clubs in high schools

Sport	1993	1998	2003	(2003 - 1993)	(2003 - 1998)
Change (#)	Change (%)	Change (#)	Change (%)
Male	Basketball	4,191	4,356	4,362	171	4.1	6	0.1
Soccer	4,095	4,203	4,288	193	4.7	85	2.0
Track and field	4,402	4,342	4,274	-128	-2.9	-68	-1.6
Hardball	4,091	4,157	4,223	132	3.2	66	1.6
Table tennis	4,063	3,884	3,921	-142	-3.5	37	1.0
Female	Volleyball	4,391	4,336	4,302	-89	-2.0	-34	-0.8
Basketball	4,103	3,994	3,946	-157	-3.8	-48	-1.2
Track and field	4,192	4,025	3,888	-304	-7.3	-137	-3.4
Badminton	3,131	3,289	3,400	269	8.6	111	3.4
Kendo	3,480	3,198	3,241	-239	-6.9	43	1.3

(Source) Surveyed by All Japan High School Athletic Federation and Japan High School Baseball Federation
MEXT has also been distributing Pocketbooks for Home Education that are full of hints on parenting very helpful to individual parents. These Pocketbooks were previously published in two volumes – one for parents of newborns/infants and one for parents of elementary/junior high students – but from FY2004 the Pocketbooks were revised in three volumes to more closely match the development of children: Doki Doki Parenting (for parents of infants/newborns), Waku Waku Parenting (for parents of lower elementary school to junior high school students), and Iki Iki Parenting (for parents of upper elementary school to junior high school students). In addition, its content was also expanded to cover child abuse, the use of cell phones and personal computers, and the safety and health of children. The Pocketbooks are given out free of charge to parents when they are issued maternity passbook or through elementary schools to offer them a collection of hints on day-to-day parenting. The Pocketbooks are also used in a variety of lectures and workshops.

A variety of home education videos that discuss parenting from pregnancy through infancy all the way to puberty have been prepared, including “A Rousing Cheer from the Heart: Early Adolescence, A Wonderful Time for Both Parent and Child” that covers the characteristics of children going through puberty and “Give It Your All, Dad! A Documentary on Fathers’ Parenting Struggles” that looks at the participation of fathers in home education. These videos are utilized as learning materials in community halls and health centers around the country, and are lent out for PTA meetings and parenting circle learning sessions.

▲ The three-volume “Pocketbook for Home Education”

## 2 Supporting Home Education by the Regional Communities and the Whole Society

To improve the educational functions of families, an environment is required in which regional communities and the whole society support home education. MEXT has been implementing the General Program in FY2004 to promote home education support via cooperation between the government and parenting support groups, and has been conducting some projects including organizing national education forums to boost momentum toward home education support.

From FY2000 to FY2003, MEXT had trained parenting supporters who were available for consultations on parenting and discipline to provide in-depth advice. In the course of implementing the General Program, MEXT has from FY2004 been training leaders for parenting supporters that are active over wider areas and has been encouraging mutual cooperation between parenting supporters and providing opportunities for information exchange in order to further enhance counseling systems within communities.
Moreover, to facilitate participation of fathers in home education, MEXT have organized gatherings to help fathers reconsider their participation in home education and symposiums on community activities designed to promote father-child interaction and the participation of fathers in home education.

To create an environment that protects children, some of the Parenting Lectures are taking such approaches as parents and children actually walking around their town, noting dangers and risks, and talking together about safety.

▲ Father-child interaction (Kyoto City)
Q & A

Sports/youth Administration
3) There are some problems in children’s lifestyles, including unbalanced diets and lack of sleep. In response to the report, MEXT is now conducting the following activities.

(1) Nationwide campaign projects to emphasize the importance of physical fitness by such measures as having children create posters and slogans on improving physical fitness

(2) Implementation of a program for face-to-face interaction and instruction with top athletes, in which children can experience the joy of playing sports under the instruction of first-class athletes.

(3) Creation and distribution of sports and health handbooks to motivate children to exercise and have regular habits.

(4) Enhancement of extracurricular sports club activities at schools by utilizing outside instructors

(5) Implementation of practical program to improve child fitness, in which model areas are designated throughout the nation to survey and analyze child fitness and lifestyles and to improve child fitness in a practical manner according to the local situation

MEXT expects citizens, notably parents and guardians, to understand the importance of child fitness and allow and encourage children to develop their mental, physical, and intellectual abilities in a well-balanced manner.

Foreword Part 2 and Chapter 1, Part 1

▶ (1) Giving individual instruction to children with a tendency toward obesity or excessive slimming, children with a tendency to overeat, and children who are allergic to a particular food product

(2) Giving guidance on diet in cooperation with classroom teachers and subject teachers during lunchtime as well as in classes that teach related subjects such as home economics and health and physical education and during the hours reserved for special activities, making good use of school lunches as teaching material.

(3) Playing a leading role in formulating a school’s comprehensive plans for guidance on diet and promoting guidance on diet in cooperation with other teachers and staff while encouraging families to get involved in the plans by distributing newsletters containing information on school lunches and cooperating with local producers to provide schoolchildren with opportunities to learn good eating habits through experience

In addition, households need to get involved in this issue in order to encourage children to have proper eating habits. MEXT creates and distributes Pocketbooks for Home Education, which include remarks on diet to parents of infants, kindergartners, and elementary and junior high school students throughout the nation, thereby raising parent's awareness of the importance of good eating habits for children.

As mentioned above, MEXT is committed to promoting relevant measures at schools and homes and improving the qualifications of teachers and other staff to give children proper knowledge about diet and encourage them to have proper eating habits.