Current State of Nature Experiences Activities and Nature Schools in Japan with Special Reference to Educational Reform

抄録

In Japan today, the importance of nature experiences activities (NEA) has been recognized in school and social education. Recently, about 1000 Nature Schools (NSs) have come into existence in Japan. Most of the NSs have a function to provide opportunities for NEA for the general public, especially for the young generation. This paper presents a brief discussion on the reasons why the number of NSs is recently increasing in Japan and on the current state of NSs. The work was conducted along the following lines: (1) Brief summary of educational reform; (2) Present situation of the relationship between Japanese children and NEA; (3) Current state of NSs in Japan.