This guidebook aspires to build a community where learning for sustainable development takes place everywhere for everyone as an ongoing practice. It introduces you to "Reflect-Share-Act," a process to discover and define sustainable development in your own contexts together with others in your community. The guide compiles resources…

This paper contributes to the conceptual and empirical development of 'preparedness pedagogy'. Preparedness involves learning, thus disaster risk reduction (DRR) should be discussed more in the field of education, particularly its sub-discipline of public pedagogy. Disaster risk reduction education should have an element of "a pedagogy in the…

This handbook identifies principles and policy mechanisms to advance community-based learning for sustainable development based on the commitments endorsed by the participants of the "Kominkan-CLC International Conference on Education for Sustainable Development," which took place in Okayama City, Japan, in October 2014. To inform…

This article explores the Japanese history of women's adult social education after the Second World War and presents a case study of the women's classes held in Chofu City. Under the Allied Occupation following the war, the democratisation of Japan was urgent, and developing women's adult education was indispensable. The newly established Women's…

In some countries, the scale of the youth illiteracy problem calls for critical and targeted responses. It is important to help young people in developing countries gain basic literacy skills so that they can contribute to the development of productive, peaceful, and democratic societies. While national commitments and support are important, the…

Hikikomori has been recognized as a significant social issue in Japan. It is a Japanese term that refers to young people (aged 18-39 years) who have been in an asocial state of social withdrawal and social isolation for over six months. The Cabinet Office of Japan suggests that the number of hikikomori youth has reached approximately 700,000 and…

This paper discusses human relationships with the natural world in Japanese educational policy. Based on two case studies, we argue that policy must recognize the cultural and spiritual ties that people in Japan have fostered in order to live well, which this paper considers to be part of "re-wilding education policy." We briefly review…

Little is known about dissemination strategies that contribute to health information recognition. This study examined (a) health campaign exposure and awareness (slogan and logo recognition); (b) perceived communication channels; (c) differences between perceptions of researcher-developed and enhancement community health information materials; and…

Human-wildlife conflicts are common in agricultural communities and mountainous villages in Japan. Tochigi prefecture has one of the highest amounts of agricultural damage caused by wildlife in the country. To reduce conflicts, the Nature Preservation Division of Tochigi Prefecture launched a wildlife damage prevention program. We evaluated the…

Since its establishment in 2003, the Japan Council on the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD-J) has paid close attention to informal learning processes in community-based efforts to promote local sustainable development. ESD-J carried out two projects to collect information on and visualise community-based ESD practice: the…

As cities across the country and globe continue to generate new solutions to a wide variety of vexing problems, sharing information about what works and what doesn't has become more important than ever. Yet, outside of a few prominent policies, the vast majority of successful municipal experiments never reach a national audience or, for that…

As the life span in Japan lengthens, the gap in education between older and younger people widens. Courses offered to older adults are often short and include too many subjects. Successful courses, such as those offered in "kominkans" (citizens' public halls), help the elderly learn about modern society in relation to their personal…

Explores the impact of the second feminist wave in Japan on the development of women's studies in community women's centers and in academia. Although the original radical spirit has been lost, women's studies are gaining ground despite institutional and cultural problems due to the proliferation of Western feminist theories, the inclusion of…

Purpose: In this study we evaluate outcomes of a community-based program to prevent suicide among elderly individuals aged 65 and older. Design and Methods: We used a quasi-experimental design with intervention and referent municipalities. The program included a 7-year implementation of depression screening with follow-up by general practitioners…

Discusses the similarities of adult musicians' experiences in five Japanese community and company bands and the experiences encountered in the United States. Focuses on the profile of the Japanese musicians, their reasons for being musicians, the teaching methods and funding of the bands, and rehearsal/performance experiences. Addresses…