Incorporating ecotourism into social education ( shakai kyouiku 社会教育) and lifelong learning ( shougai gakushuu 生涯学習) in Japan

Abstract

This paper examines the benefits of incorporating ecotourism programs into the adult education curriculum. Social education and lifelong learning (shougai gakushuu) are terms used to refer to adult education and related activities in Japan. Adult education originated immediately after Second World War with the enactment of the Fundamental Law of Education (1947; revised in the 1980s). Since the mid-1980s lifelong learning has been the more commonly used term. Lifelong learning involves not only going to school to learn how to read and write, it can also involve the learning that takes place outside the classroom—through volunteering, outdoor activities, sporting events, and so on. A literature review was conducted as the means to pursue the aim of introducing ecotourism into adult education. Education for Sustainable Development was examined to see how its contexts can be applied to Japan’s adult education. This paper is aimed specifically at how the host community can learn, from adult education centers in their communities, to practice a sustainable ecotourism. Although there have been researchers and communities who are against ecotourism practices, this paper maintains that, with proper education in night schools and adult and community centers, of the benefits of ecotourism these communities will accept and welcome ecotourism. However, the government first needs shakai kyouiku to re-examine and re-write the adult education curriculum so as to include ecotourism.

Keywords

Adult education social education lifelong learning Japan lifelong learning ecotourism in Japan

Background and overview

Social education (shakai kyouiku) and lifelong learning (shougai gakushuu) are terms used to refer to adult education and related activities in Japan. Adult education originated immediately after Second World War with the enactment of the Fundamental Law of Education (1947; revised in the 1980s). Since the mid-1980s lifelong learning has been the more commonly used term (Ogawa, 2013; Ogden, 2010). Lifelong learning involves not only going to school to learn how to read and write, it can also involve the learning that takes place outside the classroom—through volunteering, outdoor activities, sporting events, and so on (MEXT, 2009). According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT),

In order to create an enriching and dynamic society in the 21st century, it is vital to form a lifelong learning society in which people can freely choose learning opportunities at any time during their lives and in which proper recognition is accorded to those learning achievements. (MEXT, 2009, p. 2)

Responsibility for adult education has gradually shifted from MEXT to the local government, but in some cases, personnel matters for facilities are still within the prerogative of MEXT.

Since the 1980s, local governments have been more actively involved in adult education than national or prefectural governments have been.

Table 1 shows that since 1993, local or municipal rather than prefectural governments have been supplying personnel to social education programs. In 2011, of the 1899 social education directors, 71% were local government employees. Even though Article 12 of the revised law states that national and local governments must encourage education in society in response to the demands of individuals and the community as a whole, only local governments have taken the responsibility for doing so. While the law also made it compulsory for both national and local government to promote social education (by establishing libraries, museums, community halls, and other social education facilities; making school facilities available, providing opportunities to learn, relevant information, and other appropriate means), the national government actually plays little or no role in providing these facilities. Ichikawa (1992) argued that this is because Japanese policy makers are still confused about how to manage social education and lifelong learning, and the consequences or challenges of the after effects of producing citizens who are politically conscious and will “assume hegemony status” in the society (p. 168). The government is “ultimately trying to manage the risk of governing [the] society through the introduction of a strong lifelong learning initiative: the idea that knowledge is the epicenter of the movement aiming at generating social solidarity in local communities” (Ogawa, 2013, p. 139).

Table 1.

社会教育指 · 者. 社会教育主事·社会教育主事補数 (Full-time social education directors).

区分	社会教育主事 (Social education Director)			社会教育主事補 (Assistant Social Education Director)			派遣社会教育主事 (Dispatched to municipality)
区分	計Total	都道府県Prefecture	市町村等Municipality	計Total	都道府県Prefecture	市町村等Municipality	派遣社会教育主事 (Dispatched to municipality)
平成 5(1993)	3983	792	3191	431	34	397	1623
8(1996)	4000	785	3215	454	49	405	1643
11(1999)	3599	740	2859	340	33	307	1326
14(2002)	3279	756	2523	264	46	218	1056
17(2005)	2600	662	1938	164	43	121	693
20(2008)	2211	567	1644	112	29	83	294
23(2011)	1899	551	1348	84	25	59	153
兼任職員Part-time	(441)	(37)	(404)	(51)	(8)	(43)

Source: Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT).

Note: This is currently the official data available as of August 2017.

Since 1982, when adult education became the responsibility of the local government and it took over the running of facilities related to adult education, local communities and private companies have become more aware of and have gotten more involved in education. Article 12 of the social education law, as revised in 1982, clearly urges the government to support community education, including through libraries, museums, community halls, and other social educational facilities. The law went further to include the opening of school facilities for community education after regular school hours and other appropriate means of providing opportunities to all citizens to learn relevant information. As the adult education program evolves into the 21st century with increased awareness of the program in various local communities and the implementation by these communities and governments, it is imperative that the program introduces into its agenda a new curriculum about ecotourism. Adult education or shakai kyouiku and shougai gakushuu are designed to promote knowledge, skills, and ability in order to enable people to participate in political, social, economic, and cultural development (Yamaguchi, 1993).

In present-day Japan, where there is constant pressure to increase tourism as a way to bridge the gap between rural and urban populations, and also reduce kasso (rural depopulation)(Uzama, 2012), it is important to make sure that a responsible tourism is promoted—so that natural resources are preserved. For local communities to know how to practice responsible tourism, they must be educated about ecotourism and the traditional or historical tourism practiced by their ancestors. The resources of adult education such as educating the host community at night schools, community centers, tour sites, etc. concerning how to practice ecotourism can be employed. It may use free printable resources which are distributed to homes for locals who may be too busy or immobile due to illness or age to attend classes in these centers.

While tourism in Japan is booming due to the recent increase of Chinese and Korean tourists, negligible attention has been paid to ecotourism (JNTO, 2017). Ecotourism has taken the backseat because of the emphasis on marketing Japan as a destination for international tourists and on increasing number of sites that will attract tourists to local communities (Uzama, 2011, 2017). There has been little or nothing done to control the environmental impact of tourists on local communities and on historical, cultural, and religious sites (Murayama & Parker, 2012; Wang, Heo, Yamada, & Hwang, 2009).

Ecotourism is the fastest growing part of the tourism industry (UNWTO, 2012). Ecotourism has an annual growth rate of 5% worldwide, representing 6% of the world gross domestic product, and 11.4% of all consumer spending (UNWTO, 2009; Muzib Zaman, 2014). According to The Yucatan Times, in 2014, “ecotourism accounted for 6% of the global gross domestic product—a value of approximately US $4.5 Trillion.” So ecotourism is not to be taken lightly. Ecotourism is about traveling responsibly to cultural and historical sites. It means conserving for future generations the environments of the places tourists visit. Ecotourism is also about using the environment to sustain local communities. Tourists will not be able to continue visiting a locality if the local people are impoverished due to environmental damage to their landscapes. It cannot be the case that trees are cut down to give way to new railway lines, hotels, and swimming pools, while the locals do not have adequate drinking water or irrigable farmlands.

Ecotourism is a new form of tourism that came into existence in Japan in 1998 with the establishment of the Japan Ecotourism Promotional Council, presently known as the Japan Ecotourism Society (JES). Ecotourism promotion was added into the country’s tourism policy in 2007 after the law for the Promotion of Ecotourism was passed (Ministry of Environment, 2010). Ecotourism in Japan does not only mean eco-tours to historical sites or communicating with unique wildlife, but it also involves “environmental conservation activities, activities for deeper understanding of nature conservation through farming experiences” (p. 2). Japan’s environment ministry further reports that ecotourism is added into the tourism policy as a tool to be practiced even in satochi-satoyama (secondary forests and terraced paddy fields) and in urban areas; ecotourism should not be limited to touring historical sites only.

Ecotourism means interpreting and educating both visitors and local people about the importance of sustainability. Ecotourism can therefore be defined as responsible travel to natural areas, in which travel to these areas is carried out in a way that conserves the local environment and maintains the culture and beliefs of the local communities (Connell, Hall, & Shultis, 2017; Jamal & Stronza, 2008; Weaver & Lawton, 2007).

Ecotourism is about uniting local conservation, communities, and sustainable travel (TIES, 2015). In Japan, for the local communities to be involved in ecotourism, the staff and operators of travel and tour-related organizations within the localities have to be educated about what ecotourism is and how it should be practiced. Diverse institutions face the need for greater resources. Among these institutions are community centers (kouminkans), private and public schools (including night schools (Yakan) that have been involved in providing social education services), large newspaper companies, local-government-sponsored cultural centers that offer informal education, and department stores that arrange cooking classes, music, English conversation (eikawa), Japanese poetry, and so on. Greater resources will allow them to expand their services to include ecotourism.

As there have been few or no academic papers that discuss integrating ecotourism into Japan’s adult education programs, by reviewing past literature on the topics of ecotourism and adult education in this paper, we examine those possibilities and the importance of introducing ecotourism practices into the national tourism policy of Yokoso! Japan campaign.

To educate citizens about sustainable ecotourism, this article calls for national and local government involvement in the planning and implementation stages. And for the government and communities to go into partnership, a coordinated effort between the two is advocated. Using the adult education platforms (shakai kyouiku 社会教育 and shougai gakushuu 生涯学習), local communities will be able to incorporate a sustainable ecotourism element into promoting Destination Japan.

The importance of adding ecotourism into shakai kyouiku and shougai gakushuu curriculum

The adult education policy revised in the 1980s has given rise to adult learners that have a keen interest in various community activities. Yoon’s (2007) research revealed two distinctive aspects of adult learners, one group oriented to regional political and social activities, and the other group that are more concerned with the diversification of their individual learning styles and economic growth.

Societal ways of transmitting knowledge is changing from a teacher and student in a brick building format to an individual-based one where a student can gain knowledge from the comfort of their bedroom without a visit to the teacher. Knowledge is being modified from stock to flow (Ogawa, 2013) due to the changes taking place in society. What will continue to attract the attention of government, researchers, and educators amidst these changes is lifelong learning.

Lifelong learning is a cycle structure where overachievement resulting from the self-recognition retrospectively induced by education/learning drives both the learner and the teacher to a higher level of learning and, through this process, creates a human infrastructure, and leads to the creation of new social values. We have to find a way to guarantee lifelong learning that would help such cycling, but such a way should not be conceived in the dichotomy of public/private, social right/civil liberty. (Makino, 2009, p. 9)

In Japan’s adult education or shakai kyouiku and shougai gakushuu, the laudable ESD objectives are also achievable if local communities learn to manage their historical and cultural artifacts and if the knowledge is passed on to the tourists. The tourists will not just be studying bullet trains, electronics, and cars, but also cultural heritage and beautiful, natural, mountainous landscapes that challenge the best of mountain climbers and are ideal for lovers of skiing and the outdoors. This serves as a way to build an enriching and dynamic society as the country moves through the 21st century. It allows people the freedom to select learning opportunities at any time in their lives. In Ogawa’s (2013) view, lifelong learning is primarily argued to contribute to the quality of the public sphere, in which there is now a stronger emphasis on the responsibility of each Japanese citizen in learning and active problem solving. If people take advantage of these opportunities, they will contribute to the development of their society (OECD, 1998). Tsuda (1996) informed us that adult education study was one of the strategies that was used to liberate people with disabilities from educational discrimination in Japan by following a three-step agenda that was incorporated into the curriculum. But if local communities, especially in rural areas where historic and heritage tourism sites are located, are to have the freedom to learn how to improve society by preservation and conservation of socio-cultural resources, introducing ecotourism as part of that learning process is unavoidable. This is because of the numerous UNESCO-designated heritage sites located throughout the country. International tourists, such as the Amakudaris and Otaku jyorens (see Uzama, 2012), who visit these sites know little of their cultural significance (Song & Kuwahara, 2016). The people who value, respect, and maintain the significance of these sites are the local people and the communities where they are located. These communities need to be taught how to preserve the heritage sites. The host, local tourism groups need to be trained inside koumikan (community centers) or in yakan (night schools) how to manage these sites in a way that is sustainable. Shikoku’s 88-temple pilgrimage is seeing a large increase in the number of overseas visitors who want to experience the old Japan (Tominaga, 2016). As more tourists move into these heritage sites, the main focus has been on financial gain and the international exposure these visits bring. Government agencies or private companies are not paying much attention to how to sustain the sites (Murayama & Parker, 2012). It is now the responsibility of local communities to think about how to deal with the influx of tourists and its consequences. Ecotourism has become timely as communities are at a loss about what to do about the garbage left behind by tourists on Mount Fuji (Japan Times, 2014; Kōichi, 2013). Locals are becoming confused about how to handle the large influx of visitors to the Meiji and Yasukuni shrines in Tokyo. Nagano Castle is facing a similar fate, temples and castles in Kyoto, Tsukiji fish market, etc. are all complaining of foreign visitors’ disregard for their cultural practices (Japan Probe, 2009; Bestor, 2004). An ecotourism curriculum can help these host communities deal with these problems, by teaching them how to preserve and sustain their cultural practices. While tea-making ceremonies, poetry, cooking classes, and many more life skills are all part of the lifelong learning and social education inside koumikan, the ecotourism curriculum should be included to give local people an opportunity to learn this vital approach to tourism. The cumulative number of people who have taken courses at the Open University of Japan that opened in 1983 as part of government’s initiative towards adult education or the shakai kyouiku and shougai gakushuu program has risen to 1.07 million students, most of whom are adults aged from 45 to the 90s (MEXT, 2013). Adding an ecotourism program to the Open University would go a long way toward developing a “bank” of experts for the ecotourism campaign. This university, similar to other infrastructures such as the community center, night school, etc., could play the significant role of core institution for lifelong learning. Utilizing the university’s online resources, distance learning and night and weekends classes could educate and update local residents and tourism operators in the locality about the importance of encouraging and practicing ecotourism.

Japan’s ecotourism falls into two categories: natural ecotourism and the ecotourism that focuses on the arts and culture of local communities. Japan’s natural ecotourism can be easily related to its beautiful landscapes and mountains. Japan is a country of diverse topography. The highest points are Mount Fuji (3776 m) in the Nagano and Shizuoka prefectures and Mount Hijiri-dake (3013 m). About 74% of the total land area of Japan has a slope of more than 15°. It is a country of many volcanoes and fast-flowing rivers. The longest river, the Shinano of the Honshu area, reaches about 369 km. The country is made up of 6852 islands, with 3194 in Honshu, 2160 in Kyushu, and 626, 509, and 363 in Shikoku, Hokkaido, and Okinawa, respectively. Japan covers an area of 377,907 square kilometers, with a coastline of 33,889 km (MLIT, 2008: webpage).

As Hall and Beardsley (1965) put it, “these islands are the crests of submarine mountains up thrust from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean when orogenic pressures in the area were released beneath the relatively unstable ocean floor” (p. 9). Because of the instability in its formation, Destination Japan is estimated to experience about 1500 shocks each year. In Honshu alone there are about 192 volcanoes, of which 52 have been active in recent years. In 2011, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami killed more than 100,000 people. Off the Eastern coast lie the deepest submarine trenches. The Tuscarora Deep measures about 9.95 km. The East China Sea, or Sea of Japan, is shallower, at about 38 to 46 m in depth (Hall & Beardsley, 1965, p. 211).

The second category of ecotourism is oriented around the art and culture of local communities. Japanese culture constitutes an archive of shared meanings. It is a whole system of representations that act as a guide for and constraint on how Japanese people interact and make sense of themselves and others (Uzama, 2011). Many religions have been available to the Japanese from an early period. Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity and new religious movements are all common in Japan. Of these, only Shintoism and new religious movements are unique to it (Hall & Beardsley, 1965). Hall and Beardsley describe the Japanese attitude toward religion as “eclectic and syncretistic” (p. 312). Most Japanese people practice some form of Shintoism mixed with Buddhist rituals; and sometimes they add a third religion, usually some new religious movement (e.g. Soka Gakkai). As displayed in cities such as Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Kagawa, Buddhism and Shintoism are readily distinguishable from each other. Their displays are still visible to this day and have made tourism in most cities breathtaking. On the street corners and in public parks, shop entrances, offices, and shopping malls of big cities, such as Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka, small and portable religious shrines can be frequently seen. Locals go to these shrines to pray on their way home from work or shopping.

Although there are many religious groups in Japan, Confucianism and Shintoism are the main influences on the culture. Shinto concepts have been a part of Japanese culture since pre-historic times. The Emperor is the supreme head of that religion. Shinto shrines are either locally or regionally based. The religion is community-centered in that all residents within its locality are members of the shrine council and are protected by it. Joining and quitting the shrine council is not voluntary; one can only withdraw from the group by moving out of the locality (Hardacre, 2003, p. 231). These shrines play a significant role in each neighborhood, and in some localities these shrine sites supports the adult education program by housing the facilities, and obligating its members to participate as part of the community’s educational program. How can this important historical practice be communicated by local residents and tour operators to international tourists? How can locals continue to maintain these shrines despite the effects of kasso; and how can tourists visiting these communities understand the local practices in connection with the shrines? All these questions could be answered in a class on ecotourism, one attended by all local residents and tour operators who are interested in practising tourism in their communities. Graduates of these adult education classes will be well equipped to teach tourists to Destination Japan about local cultures and about how to appreciate historical artifacts in rural communities, and will increase the value of these sites in the eyes of both the tourists and the community (Walter & Reimer, 2012). It will improve the way of life of the local people. Their environmental practices would be “rediscovered” and valued as part of the ecotourism curriculum (p. 12).

Educating koumikans and yakan students about the shrines and temples and about how to help tourists understand the practices will improve the local communities’ understanding of their historical artifacts. This is preferable to the present-day practice of trying to convince visitors that they (the locals) serve “other gods” (Higashibaba, 2002; LeFebvre, 2015). An ecotourism curriculum within adult education would develop a multidisciplinary approach to the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for continuously improving the local cultures and for developing responsible tourism. Shakai kyouiku is about transforming knowledge at the grass-roots level. Ecotourism knowledge will be considered an additional tool for further reorganizing and changing local communities fighting to combat Kasso (rural depopulation). Additionally, ecotourism will help protect regional resources and promote economic activities (JES, 2016, webpage).

Building a case for an ecotourism syllabus on adult education

Ecotourism is concerned with tourists who are ecologically, culturally, economically, and socially conscious. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) believes that one of the best way to unite conservation, communities, and sustainable travel is to educate tourists. For tourists to be educated about the culture of the community, locals must be first educated about how to instruct visitors to their communities. This is the reason TIES defines ecotourism as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education” (TIES, 2015). Ecotourism is not only about educating tourists, it is also about educating local people, tour operators, and all other stakeholders in the tourism industry. It involves recycling, energy-efficient products and services, water conservation, and creating economic opportunities for local communities. In the words of Stem, Lassoie, Lee, Deshler, and Schelhas (2003), “education is a necessary and important part of ecotourism ventures” (p. 389) because it aims to reduce the negative effects of conventional tourism on the environment to enhance the integrity of the local people. We do not refer to education here as a means of acquiring only ecotourism knowledge or competency, but as Han and Makino (2013) rightly put it, it is about the “style of residents’ existence to create a new [association or society] of learning.” Adult education is the

various forms, processes, and sites of education and learning that occur beyond the realm of formal educational institutions—including popular culture (i.e., movies, television, the Internet, magazines, shopping malls), informal educational institutions and public spaces (i.e., museums, zoos, monuments), dominant discourses (i.e., public policy, neoliberalism, global capitalism), and public intellectualism and social activism (i.e., academics who engage with the public outside of the academy, grassroots organizations, and social movements). (Sandlin, Wright, & Clark, 2011, p. 5)

If these authors’ definition is correct, incorporating an ecotourism curriculum into adult education will increase awareness of conservation and bring about the much talked about sustainable development in the tourism industry.

In its ecotourism policy statement to the APEC Conference, the Japanese government described ecotourism in Japan as the “act of informing or advising travelers about nature tourism resources by knowledgeable persons with the aim of increasing knowledge and understanding of such resources, and in consideration of preserving and coming into contact with such resources.” (Horikami, 2010). The “knowledgeable persons” referred to by the government above have to be trained, these persons have to learn the new techniques or methods of preservation and of conducting tourists around valuable tourism sites in the country. These tour personnel or guides, as Yamada (2011) argues, have to be trained and equipped to effectively teach tourists about the historical significance of the sites they are visiting and how the sites have contributed to the social and cultural narratives of the locality. Yamada laments that there is unfortunately little or no information for tour guides in the policy produced by the JES.

Ecotourism, which Hill and Gale (2009) dub a subset of alternative tourism, is being promoted by the government as a sustainable alternative to mass tourism. For the government program to become successful, education should be part of the enlightenment process.

In Japan, ecotourism as a research field is still a relatively young industry, and therefore, there aren't many platforms for students to present their ecotourism-related research. JES seeks to continue engaging students, through the annual symposium and other opportunities, to encourage more youth participation in the development of ecotourism in Japan. (JES, 2011)

As the only government agency presently promoting ecotourism across the country, a once yearly symposium, or inviting students for a seminar or conference, will not be enough to sustain the ecotourism program in the country.

With the large influx of international tourists in recent years, the, 2020 Olympic games, and Yokoso! Japan campaign phase II’s goal of 20 million international tourists by 2020, it is imperative that the government and tourism planners start planning how to include ecotourism in the promotional campaign. This will not only educate tourists, but it will provide a platform for responsible tourism. Because Costa Ricans practice sustainable ecotourism, Costa Rica has created a self-image for the country that is “now their self-identity” (Honey, 2008, p. 161). As with Costa Rica, ecotourism education can help Japan to position itself as a destination of not just seeing, but also learning—about cultural, social, and historical facts. Ecotourism is a multifaceted concept that involves travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas. It strives to be low impact and (usually) small scale, educate the traveler, provide funds for conservation, directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, and foster respect for different cultures and human rights (Walter, 2012, p. 25). Ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel (TIES, 2015). Introducing ecotourism into the curriculum of adult education in Japan will elevate the problem of damaging local environments and it will better prepare communities to receive visitors to their homes, communities, and societies. Ecotourism cannot be practiced without proper information and education because ecotourism has a “specific objective of studying, admiring, and enjoying the scenery and its [wild mountainous] and [historical] as well as any existing cultural manifestations found in the [country]” (Ceballos-Lascurian, 1988, p. 14).

Towards sustainable ecotourism social education development

The United Nations in 2002 launched the Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) with UNESCO designated as the lead agency for the promotion of the program (Bhawani, 2009). Huckle and Arjen’s (2015) research concluded that the program’s key products suggest that it failed to acknowledge or challenge neoliberalism as a hegemonic force blocking transitions towards genuine sustainability. Gadotti (2016) presents and questions the theme of ESD and its relationship with the context of globalization, with sustainable lifestyles, and the construction of a planetary civilization. Even with these criticisms, interestingly, in its final report, the UN praised Japan for its accomplishments, “…such as the mandate has energized a vast number of stakeholders—across Member States, UN agencies, the education sector, the private sector and civil society—to work in partnership to reorient education systems towards sustainable development” (UNESCO, 2014). Although the ESD program has already come and gone, a country like Japan where adult education is still in its infancy should continue and go beyond the contexts which ESD was supposed to achieve.

Using ESD as a platform for starting to implement an ecotourism program would assist sustainable tourism planning in Destination Japan, especially at this critical time when the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is close and the country is getting ready to welcome more international tourists.

ESD mentioned that we need to push for energetic, dynamic, stimulating, and vivacious ways, moving away from an education of competency towards a vibrant green society (Bhawani, 2009).

As the UN (2002, webpage) puts it,

ESD equally addresses all three pillars of sustainable development —society, environment and economy—with culture as an essential additional and underlying dimension. By embracing these elements in a holistic and integrated manner, ESD enables all individuals to fully develop the knowledge, perspectives, values and skills necessary to take part in decisions to improve the quality of life both locally and globally on terms which are most relevant to their daily lives.

What the UN is saying is that educating local communities about the rich cultural heritage of their localities and spreading that information to those who visit them would allow them to better appreciate the historical artifacts. The best way to do this is by teaching locals to be responsible, “green” hosts and teaching tourists to be responsible, “green” visitors.

In its submission to the APEC Conference, Japan informed the world that with the cooperation of nature, private and public schools, etc., it has been training ecotourism personnel and providing field workshops for individuals, groups, seminars, symposium, and home field study programs. From 2007 to 2009 approximately 240 trainees completed their ecotourism training (Horikami, 2010). UNESCO (2016) describes ESD as including key sustainable development issues in teaching and learning, for example, climate change disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, poverty reduction, and sustainable consumption. This is similar to the objectives of shakai kyouiku and shougai gakushuu or adult education, which involve developing lifelong learners that can participate in the development of society, irrespective of age, social status, and place of residence:

a learning society intended to enable people to lead a healthy, satisfying life throughout their lifetime and achieve self-realization, against the backdrop of the development of the economy, the advance of science and technology, the growing importance of information systems, the declining birth rate and the aging of society. (MEXT, 2009, p. 1)

UNESCO goes further in explaining that ESD requires participatory teaching and learning methods that motivate and empower learners to change their behavior and take action for sustainable development. For local communities in Japan to be part of this sustainable development, an environmentally conscious community must be developed and nurtured. But some researchers in Japan disagree with this notion of using ecotourism to develop a sustainable tour destination in Japan (see Kohara, 2010; Okuda, 2005, 2007), arguing that ecotourism was designed to meet the socio-cultural problems of developing countries in Africa and Asia, not for a developed country like Japan. Kohara argued that ecotourism was tried in Yakushima but led to wasteful spending. Okuda (2005) made reference to Iriomote Island in Okinawa where ecotourism practice failed in the city. To exemplify the opposition to ecotourism in Japan, Yakushima town legislature, which was supposed to be the city that JES flagged for ecotourism promotion in the country, unanimously voted down the bill of regulation on protection and usage of natural tourism resources in Yakushima town (see Satoshi, 2012; Fukami, 2005). The question now is, even with the ESD and research arguments that ecotourism will lead to sustainable development, why are some researchers and cities rejecting the program in Japan? The answer to the problem lies in educating the opposition about its merits. While some cities have practiced the system by shutting down national parks and other tour sites for conservation within the city (see Okuda, 2007), and have experienced a decline in the number of tourists to the city, this does not mean there are no long-term benefits because of the decline of tourists in the short run. Using adult educational facilities to enlighten citizens of the city (Sandlin, Wright and Clark, 2011), such as town meetings on weekends or at night time, age groups club meetings, household heads meetings, that there are long-term benefits as against the present economic benefits from mass tourism may help the citizens to support the program instead of a complete shut down.

In accordance with ESD’s principle, it is important to stress the benefits of empowering the people to live environmentally responsible lives and address complex global challenges such as global warning. To become global citizens, irrespective of economic benefits, the people have to embrace vibrant green economies instead of the present mass tourism model (UNESCO, 2015).

Unlike in some western societies, in Japan, adult education is not limited to career and upgrading skills to help secure a better paying position or acquisition of a specific competency; rather, “lifelong learning is a framework for people to find ways to change the way [their] community is and to recreate their being as citizens” (Makino, 2013, p. 45). This is the reason communities, especially in rural areas, have to learn how to care for their natural environments and their cultures (Kim and McLean, 2014). Studying about ecotourism in kominkans, yakans, correspondence courses, etc. will help people to become aware, enlightened, and educated about the importance of maintaining their historical artifacts and culture. JES organises seminars and symposiums on the importance of ecotourism in various parts of the country, traveling to different cities to promote the concept of ecotourism. However, we argue that collaboration, coordination, and cooperation with adult education organizers (both public and private) to integrate their activities into the adult education program will be better received and sustainable (Kim and McLean, 2014; Walter, 2010) as compared to a few Ministry of Environment officials visiting Koumikan to deliver a one-hour seminar or symposium once or twice a year. To put it in a different way, learning about ecotourism is a continuous process, one that should be personal like the Tea Ceremony, Flower Arrangements, Poetry, Kimono dressing, etc. studies in adult education, as the council of education informed us,

Learning is an individual activity based on a person’s own interests and motivations. Promoting such learning activities makes it possible for people to have healthy, sound lives. Also, acquiring and updating skills and knowledge for a working life makes it possible to have an economically stable life. At the same time, this kind of learning activity should contribute to the development of an individual’s abilities. Such individuals will ultimately contribute to the overall galvanization of society and the sustainable development of this country. (Central Council for Education, 2003, p. 3)

If we are to take the central council’s recommendation seriously, it means that JES should not only be promoting ecotourism but should also be searching for ways and strategies to motivate citizens to practice ecotourism. The best strategy suggested is the introduction of ecotourism into koumikans and yakans. Educating local communities is essential for improving the capacity of local people to address environmental and development issues, “which are inextricably tied to sustainable development” (Hopkins and Mckeown, 1999, p. 1). Moving towards a sustainable ecotourism in adult education requires more active responses from the government, tourism stakeholders, and local communities. Incorporating an ecotourism curriculum in the Yokoso! Japan campaign will position Destination Japan in the minds of tourists, especially the Naruto, Shayoozoku, and Amakudari tourists (see Uzama, 2012). This inclusion is beneficial for the conservation movement as a whole because it will increase environmental awareness in Japan. Furthermore, shakai kyouiku, or shougai gakushuu, is about formal and informal experiential education. The knowledge gained by local communities will lead to an increase in the desire of tourists to support conservation and environmental protection during their visits. It will also create a desire to share their knowledge with others when they return home. Therefore, creating a new group of conservation-minded tourists will lead to sustainable development in the tourism industry in Japan (Sander, 2010; Honey & Stewart, 2002). The aim is to achieve an adult education that will be sustainable, promoting competencies such as imagining future scenarios of what will become of the numerous castles, shrines, temples, traditional ceremonies and festivals of local communities, and making decisions in a collaborative way.

Conclusion and recommendations

The impact of the inclusion of an ecotourism curriculum in adult education in Japan has been studied from a holistic perspective by reviewing past literature on these topics. Incorporating ecotourism into the curriculum will strengthen the locals’ knowledge of conservation and the environment. Since it was established, the JES has been educating the public through symposiums, seminars, training programs, eco-tour guides, and distributing monthly bulletins to highlight the benefits of practicing ecotourism and including it in the country’s tourism plan. Although these are laudable activities to promote ecotourism in the country, ecotourism will not be sustainable if the activities of JES are restricted to the above only. In present-day Japan, citizens are seeking a dynamic and sustainable knowledge that is useful in today’s constantly changing socio-cultural world. This is the reason that the government should start by setting up a committee within the Environment, Lands, Infrastructure and Road, and Education ministries to look into the possibility of a joint facility to act as a permanent site to teach and learn about ecotourism.

In this paper, we argue that Japan’s adult education should embrace the kind of ecotourism education that the United Nations suggested in 2002 when it declared 2005–2014 to be the Decade for ESD. ESD encompasses ecotourism. For this reason, adding the program to some kominkan and yakan curricula would help increase awareness. The laudable ESD objectives are also achievable if local communities learn to manage their historical and cultural artifacts and if the knowledge is passed on to the tourists. The tourists will not just be studying bullet trains, electronics, and cars but also cultural heritage and beautiful, natural, mountainous landscapes that challenge the best of mountain climbers and are ideal for lovers of skiing and the outdoors. It is also recommended that because of the opposition to ecotourism plans in some parts of the country due to the closure of national parks and lakes for conservation, the government should stick with Takehara et al.’s (2009) plan of first studying the area and the types of tourists visiting before embarking on implementing ecotourism plans. This involves setting up an island where bird watchers go to observe migrating birds from other Asian countries, and bird fauna may help keep visitors coming into the locality when major parks are closed. Starting the program as a pilot study may also help reduce or eliminate opposition to the idea of incorporating ecotourism into shakai kyouiku and the shougai gakushuu curriculum. The Open Corresponding University or Osaka Seniors College can start the program on a trial basis, to see how students respond to enrolment in the program. If enrolment is high and there is interest from tourism organizations, the program can then gradually move from these schools into Koumikans, Yakans, and other facilities across the country. Also, to encourage all tourism stakeholders to participate in ecotourism classes within adult education, there should be incentives clearly showing or depicting the benefits that will be derived if the program is successfully completed. Firstly, to the tourism industry, career advancement benefits, financial rewards and gains in ecotourism knowledge should be stressed to employers and employees within the industry. Secondly, in facilities where ecotourism will be taught, the infrastructures should be upgraded by the Ministry of Environment or other government agency to encourage the facilities to welcome the program.

Tourism planners in the country cannot continue to be ignorant of the importance of ecotourism in the development of a sustainable tourism industry in Japan. Most Koumikan facilities across the country are already overstressed with different social and cultural activities, adding ecotourism classes will overburden the operators of these facilities. This is the reason that the government should take an active role in directly upgrading these facilities to accommodate ecotourism programs. As private partners have become more involved in the operations of running adult education facilities in recent years, it will be advisable if the government can seek a joint public–private partnership in integrating ecotourism into the shakai kyouiku and the shougai gakushuu curriculum.

In the same year as the Olympic Games (2020), the country will enter the final phrase of the Yokoso! Japan campaign. With Japan’s campaign to lure into the country 20 million tourists, it is time that concerned citizens start thinking about how to educate visitors to the games about the rich cultural resources of the country. Ecotourism cannot take a backseat during the planning of the games because some of the guiding principles of ecotourism are part of the activities that the game planners are hoping to achieve during and after the games. Those guiding principles include reducing to a minimum the physical, social, behavioural, and psychological effects on the environment; building environmental and cultural awareness and respect for local communities; providing positive experiences for both visitors and host communities; generating financial benefits to both local people and private industry; and delivering memorable interpretative experiences to visitors that help raise sensitivity to host communities’ political, environmental, and social climates. Ecotourism integrated into shakai kyouiku and shougai gakushuu programs can be framed as a strategy for developing and sustaining intellectual and cultural property rights. In general, it will promote independence and self-determination for individuals in local communities.

This is the reason introducing ecotourism into the curriculum of adult education in Japan would help achieve the objectives of the 2020 Olympic Games. It is important to recognise that this article is a literature review of papers that have been written on the topic. To balance the western literature that is most commonly found on adult education and ecotourism, research literature from Japanese researchers and government organizations was also reviewed. As this is the first article examining the possibility of integrating an ecotourism curriculum into adult education in Japan, the topic is still in its infancy and research into ecotourism is still limited to specific areas of the country chosen by JSE. It will be interesting to see future empirical research move away from these selected “experimental” areas or cities to other areas of the country and to see the acceptance or reject rate of ecotourism by local residents.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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