The "Ocean Education Pioneer School Program" sponsored by the Nippon Foundation and the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, aims to achieve coexistence between people and the ocean through their support of ocean education to schools and boards of education nationwide. To date, approximately 1,500 schools have taken advantage of this support, with a variety of ocean-themed learning initiatives taking place. In addition, the annual Ocean Education Study Group is deepening understanding of marine education by sharing practical examples from each school and forming networks of related parties. As the environmental crisis surrounding the ocean increases, the importance of marine education is being reaffirmed, leading to calls for support of the next generation.

Earth, the only planet in our solar system’s habitable zone, has oceans across approximately 70% of its surface area. Despite Japan having a land area of just 380,000 km², the combined sea area of its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extends to about 4.47 million km².
The ocean is a source of life for Japan. It provides protein sources like seafood to our resource-scarce nation and handles over 90% of our import and export transportation of energy resources and daily commodities. We receive countless benefits from this vast ocean space our daily lives. From this perspective, the sea is an indispensable part of Japanese people’s life. However, many Japanese people do not feel a connection with the oceans¹. Nowadays, oceans are facing increasingly critical challenges, such as abnormal weather patterns due to rising sea temperatures, growth defects in shellfish and crustaceans due to ocean acidification, and the problem of ocean plastic waste. Our impact on the ocean is producing an imminent threat to the survival of the Earth. Ocean education is essential for providing the knowledge and experience to protect our ocean-dependent lifestyles and pass them on to the future. It is crucial to reconsider our relationship with the ocean and learn about coexisting with it through this education to provide a richer and more beautiful ocean for future generations.
The Ocean Education Pioneer School Program (hereinafter PSP)² is a project to promote and spread this education. It advocates cultivating the power to create a future of coexistence with the ocean, helping develop imagination and creativity to ensure the future of our world and its communities through the ocean. It aims to enhance the breadth and quality of ocean learning through support for schools, boards of education, and local governments throughout Japan.
Over the past nine years, PSP support has been utilized and expanded across 46 prefectures, involving 242 municipalities out of 1,747 nationwide, and supported a total of 1,486 schools (578 actual schools), facilitating the development of ocean education.
Through this program, various ocean-themed learning activities are conducted in schools nationwide. These activities are performed in connection with subjects like science and social studies, as well as from various perspectives including community learning, experiential activities, environmental conservation, industry, safety, and disaster prevention and mitigation. Much of this is inquiry-based learning, and the realization of independent, interactive, and deep learning will develop a zest for life.

The Ocean Education Conference³ marked its fifth session in 2024 after resuming in-person gatherings in fiscal 2023. Based on its popularity, it continues to fulfill its role as a venue for fostering real human connections more effectively than through online platforms.
The meeting’s theme was “Leveraging Regional Resources in Ocean Learning." It was held on Shikanoshima Island, located in Hakata Bay. The island is famous for an ancient gold seal that was excavated there. In its first year supporting the meeting, the Genkai Town Board of Education, the staff of Katsuma Elementary School in Fukuoka City, and Koji Takada, president of the Marine and Museum Laboratory, also provided extensive support along with the local community. The meeting included workshops allowing more than 50 participants from across the country to actively consider and discuss methods for connecting regional resources with ocean learning. One of the challenges was deliberately designing a program that excluded direct experiences at sea. Due to the broad and profound scope of ocean learning, we did not want participants’ ideas to be limited by geographical constraints, such as assuming they could not provide ocean learning due to distance from the sea.
About a month after the event, we began receiving reports from participants on how they had incorporated various ideas into their respective positions. For example, in landlocked prefectures, exhibitions related to ocean waste were held, and through connections among participants, new practices involving food using local ingredients were developed. Additionally, participants realized the importance of cross-regional cooperation, leading to discussions on promoting ocean education within their communities. Thus, results of each participant taking part in the conference as their own “personal matter” are slowly becoming visible. These diverse learning themes around the ocean reveal that one can be creative depending on how one perceives it.

PSP has supported ocean learning in schools for the past nine years. However, the dwindling opportunities for hands-on activities for adults and children and the increased visibility of pressing global environmental issues re-emphasize the necessity and significance of ocean education.
Being aware of the ocean is not only vital for solving visible issues and challenges, but also an essential and fundamental theme for humanity that relates to how we live. We intend to continue supporting ocean learning with a focus on future generations.

1. 2024 survey awareness of the ocean in Japan by The Nippon Foundation
https://www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/new_inf_20240711_01.pdf
2. Ocean Education Pioneer School Program Website
https://www.spf.org/pioneerschool/
3. Ocean Education Conference
https://www.spf.org/pioneerschool/event/OceanEducationConference.html