2015 Volume 60 Issue 2 Pages 565-575
The aim of this study was to clarify the background and features of implementation of the Nationwide Swimming Training for Conscription Candidates (NSTCC). The tasks of the study were to elucidate the 1) background, 2) preparation, 3) contents, and 4) results of NSTCC implementation.
The results of this study were as follows:
1) After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war, the problem of a lack of swimming ability was observed among soldiers, so municipal governments and the Ministry of Health and Welfare turned to the STCC as the solution.
2) As the Sino-Japanese war was prolonged, the Ministry of Health and Welfare integrated the STCC, which had previously been conducted as a separate program, into one implementation throughout the whole country.
3) After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the situation was worsening, and the lack of swimming ability in ground forces became obvious. To resolve this problem, the Ministry of Health and Welfare decided on a comprehensive implementation program, which was planned at the beginning of 1943, through the NSTCC.
4) The NSTCC was supported by the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and its neighborhood associations. Since swimming training on a nationwide scale was not compulsory for all conscription candidates, the Imperial Rule Assistance Association mobilized conscription candidates to participate in training through different propagandas.
5) The National Physical Training Association trained coaches for each prefecture and each implementation district. Most coaches in each implemental district were school teachers.
6) In was recommended that the NSTCC be conducted using swimming pools, but a number of implementation districts did so in seas, rivers, or lakes.
7) The first half of the NSTCC was intended to cultivate the ability to float, on the assumption that this ability was basic training in order for beginners to master swimming.
8) During the second half of the NSTCC, attaining the technique of sidestroke or breaststroke was preferred. Each implementation district was able to choose a stroke (sidestroke or breaststroke).
9) Disciplinary training was highly regarded in the NSTCC.
10) As 95% of all participants were able to swim for more than 10 meters upon completing training, the NSTCC was judged to have been effective in eliminating a lack of swimming ability.
