Education Projects Report

Each year, The Japan Society Education Team carries out a diverse range of projects designed to promote teaching about Japan to children and young people across the UK. The report below shows a summary of one education grant, provided by the Government of Japan in 2024/2025. We are very grateful to all our Education Supporters, whose generous support enables us to reach more young people and furthers the impact of our education programmes. 

To support our education projects you can donate here or learn more about corporate partnership here.

Government of Japan 2024/2025 Funding Report

Building on from the success of our previous projects, in 2024/2025 we focused on helping schools and young people overcome barriers they face when trying to learn about Japan, through further expanding access to our educational activities and reaching new regions across the UK.

We were able to achieve this by offering free outreach events in local areas by collaborating with libraries and cultural institutions, as well as through our “Access to Experts: Remote Subsidy” scheme, which allowed us to fund cultural expert visits to schools. We focused on offering these activities in regions outside of London and the South-East, where there are often limited opportunities to access education about Japan.

Free Outreach Events for Young People and Families  

In 2024/2025 we supported 10 events, offering a total of 24 free cultural workshops and activities at libraries and cultural institutions in Cardiff, Gateshead, Newcastle, and London, reaching over 500 people. Children and young people were able to engage and learn about Japan and its culture in fun, interactive, and educational ways, through participating in various workshops and activities, including calligraphy, origami, Japanese language, music, and more.  

Based on the feedback collected across the range of events, an overwhelming number of participants were extremely positive about the events they had attended, with 98% of respondents ranking their overall enjoyment at an 8 or higher. 100% of respondents stated that they would like to attend a similar event again in the near future. 

Expert Visits to Schools across the UK 

Following on from the success of last year’s project, we continued to develop our “Access to Experts: Remote Subsidy” scheme by targeting schools in regions across the UK we had not worked with in recent years. The aim of the scheme was to fund and offer expert visits and cultural activities to schools in more remote and less culturally diverse areas.

Our team was able to deliver activities to 13 schools across 5 regions in the UK, including South-West England, North-East England, Wales, Scotland, and, for the first time, Northern Ireland. Children and young people in these schools were able to engage in activities and learn about topics as diverse as Japanese language; calligraphy; taiko drumming; kamishibai storytelling; Japanese songs and music; origami, and more.

Visit Testimonials from Teachers 

"Whilst having iPads and the internet obviously gives us copious amounts of information on a subject, pupils rarely have the opportunity to meet with someone and ask questions. This helped their learning become more alive and they were all very engaged throughout the visit.” 

“The workshop with my class was so enjoyable. Each child having a drum kept them all engaged throughout the session. I could see their confidence grow in doing the chants as the session went on. It really catered for the SEN [special educational needs] pupils in my class as they fully took part in the session… They didn’t want it to end.” 

“Overall, the visit had a positive and lasting impact on the students by enhancing their learning experience, inspiring future aspirations, and contributing to their personal growth and confidence.” 

“The picture stories had a significant impact since many pupils engage with art in both these classes. There are several pupils that have an interest in Japanese manga as well. Therefore, a number of the pupils will attempt to create some of this artwork or try further calligraphy at home.”