Abstract
In addition to activities for members, the Association of Japanese Geographers also sponsors and supports activities for non-members. In the present paper, these activities for non-members are referred to as the "social action program". This program comprises two categories: activities for the general public and geography education for school teachers, children and pupils. The former, which typically take the form of public forums at symposiums, are designed to promote understanding of the usefulness of geography among the general public, whereas the latter, including public forums for teachers at symposiums as well as the Geography Olympiad for high school students and the Children's Environmental Map Contest for elementary and junior high school students, are held to revitalize geography education in Japan. The Commission of Geographical Education, which was established in 1998, plans many of these social action programs related to geography education in collaboration with other academic societies and research groups.
