Adolescent Heath, Public Health Responses, and Sex Education Program in Japan

Abstract

In Japan, the focus is on reducing the abortion rate among teenagers and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in Japan is promoting initiatives to dissemination of correct information under the “Healthy Parents and Children 21.” This is a national campaign to improve maternal and child health in the early twenty-first century. Since 1996, consultation systems have been improved for adolescents who have become pregnant, with test places at medical institutions and health care centers that provide medical, mental, and social consultation on a one-to-one basis. Sex education in schools is specified in the curriculum guidelines released by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. These guidelines aim to ensure that students accurately understand sex-related health issues and appropriate behavior. Specifically, sex education is supposed to be undertaken holistically throughout school education, being included in physical education, health, and physical education, special activities, and ethics, while taking into account the developmental stages of adolescents and focusing on mutual understanding among the school community as well as parents. Because sex education has not yet found its rightful position in Japanese schools, not all adolescents have the opportunity to receive sufficient sex education. There are significant limitations because the curriculum guidelines state that sexual intercourse and contraception should not be covered in elementary schools and junior high schools. From around June 2002, confusion has become more prevalent, especially in elementary schools and junior high schools, with some news reports being published about so-called extreme or excessive sex education and an incident in which Tokyo teachers were punished (so-called sex education bashing). Accordingly, sex education is increasingly seen as a difficult issue and many teachers are hesitant to carry it out.