Management for school environmental health in Japan

Abstract

Some acts such as the Basic Environment Act are aimed at managing environmental health for a productive living environment in Japan. School is not only a place where lessons for a better future are taught but also an environment in which children spend many hours of their day. Therefore, activities involving regular checks are important to maintain and improve the school environment. Article 5 of the School Health and Safety Act states that schools must make plans and carry out regular checks on school environmental health. Article 6 prescribes that the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology establish a “school environmental health standard”. This standard involves metrics on the classroom environment (quality of air, illumination, and noise levels), quality of drinking/pool water and so on, and their standard values and evaluation methods. Article 23 prescribes that each school except colleges/ universities have a school pharmacist. The school pharmacist plays an important role in maintaining and improving the school’s environmental health. However, the current actions taken are not adequate. Therefore, prospects for future activities will be discussed based on the current situations and problems.