Summary
The Fundamental Law of Education, as the name suggests, is a law concerning the foundation of Japanese education. Because it acts as the basis for the interpretation and application of various laws & ordinances regarding education, it is also known as "The Education Constitution" (教育憲法, kyōiku kenpō?) and "The Charter of Education" (教育憲章, kyōiku kenshō?). The old law before its revision on December 22, 2006 used to be short, consisting of a preamble, 11 regulations, as well as supplementary provisions. It was brought into effect one month before the constitution of Japan, on March 31, 1947, but was revised on December 22, 2006.
The preamble of the old Education Constitution states that, in order to realize the ideals enshrined by the Japanese Constitution, education is crucial. It proclaims the desire to educate a people who seek truth and peace.
The bill of the old Education Constitution was composed of 11 regulations altogether, the substance of the law being found in Articles 1 through 10, with other related ordinances found in Article 11. According to the law, the purpose of education is "the full development of personality" (人格の完成, jinkaku no kansei?).
- Education shall aim at the full development of personality, striving for the rearing of the people, sound in mind and body, who shall love truth and justice, esteem individual value, respect labor and have a deep sense of responsibility, and be imbued with the independent spirit, as builders of peaceful state and society. (Article 1)
The old law also set regulations regarding equal opportunity in education, compulsory education, coeducation, social education, political education, religious education, educational administration, etc.
It is often said that the old Fundamental Law of Education was written in the spirit of the new Japanese Constitution, representing a radical means of education reform, and replacing the pre-World War II Imperial Rescript on Education, which was based on Imperialist and Confucianist thought.
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