The contours of education for sustainable development in Japan

This chapter presents a historically informed analysis of the state of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Japan, which proposed the ‘Decade of ESD’ in Johannesburg in 2002 and has sponsored the global implementation of ESD through its financial support to UNESCO. It describes efforts by diverse Japanese stakeholders to mainstream ESD in various fields, including education and environmental policy and formal and non-formal education. 

In addition to providing ‘official’ accounts of ESD implementation in the country, the chapter traces the evolution of environmental education and development education in Japan in response to domestic and international events, issues and trends, in order to lay the foundations for understanding the social and political contexts within which Japanese ESD policy and practice transpired and the particular conceptions of ESD have emerged. It discusses the qualitative transformation of environmental education and development education in Japan, influenced by the changes in Japan’s international standing as an economic power and the complex interplay of endogenous and exogenous factors. Further, the chapter elaborates on the country’s current and future needs with regard to ESD, especially in relation to the 3.11 ‘triple disaster’ (earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear disaster) and the pandemic. Copyright © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.