Chapter 6: SDG-4 Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Japan: Challenges and Possibilities

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which has become an international educational agenda today, is seen as central to Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as supporting all 17 goals and contributing to the realization of the SDGs. Various efforts are underway in various countries to promote ESD. This chapter summarizes how policies on ESD have been implemented in Japan, and outlines the content and features of these policies, as well as their future development. First, an overview is given of what kind of policies have been developed in Japan since the United Nations-led “United Nations Decade of ESD” began in 2005. Next, the activities of UNESCO Associated School Project Network (ASPNet) called “UNESCO Schools,” which have increased from 16 to more than 1,000 schools during the Decade of ESD, and the Interuniversity Network Supporting the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPUnivNet), which supports these schools, will be discussed. The importance of ESD has led to the development of ESD in general schools, as the policy of fostering “creators of sustainable development” is clearly stated in the preamble and general provisions of the Courses of Study, Japan's national syllabus for all students. The chapter clarifies some features of ESD at Japanese schools. In addition, the future development of ESD and its possibilities and challenges as discussion, noting that ESD initiatives based in Japan are now being developed at various schools’ levels.