School-Based Safety Promotion in Japan

Abstract

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death among children aged 10-19 years worldwide and those aged 1-14 years in Japan. The majority of the injuries of children in Japan are caused by road traffic accidents, drowning, burns, and falls. Injuries of this nature can be controlled and prevented. However, to actualize this a wide range of prevention approaches is necessary, because these injuries are caused by many factors. In Japan, schools play a major role in injury prevention in conjunction with families, the community, and related organizations. School safety programs include safety in daily life, traffic safety, and safety during natural disasters. Injury prevention mainly covers primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention along with safety administration and safety education. Safety administration, including environmental modification and administration to schoolchildren, is implemented under the School Health and Safety Law. School safety education is generally imparted along the lines of the National Curriculum Guidelines. Injured children are supported by the Injury and Accident Mutual Aid Benefit System. The program aims to provide mutual assistance benefits for the injuries suffered. The challenges undertaken by school safety programs are to improve the quality of data for injury prevention, and to implement the process and outcome evaluation of the programs.