Geography Education Challenges Regarding Disaster Mitigation in Japan

Abstract

After the March 2011 great East Japan earthquake, school teachers became much more interested in education for disaster prevention. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the extent education for disaster prevention is present in the Japanese National Curriculum. Before March 2011, some elements of disaster prevention education were added to the new curriculum on Social Studies and geography. Disaster education’s role becomes much more important for saving children’s lives. The roles of geographic education for disaster education emphasize the skills of map and regional characteristic reading and interpretation. The goal of geography education for disaster prevention is that people are better able to find safety with these skills.