Norio Ikeno is Professor at Hiroshima University and Vice President of the Japan Social Studies Association.

This fascinating volume introduces an international audience to citizenship in Japan. It traces the development of citizenship education from before the Second World War to the present day, demonstrating the role of both the school system and the wider society. The book provides a detailed account anchored in critical analysis of the curriculum, educational resources, pedagogy and assessment.
Citizenship Education in Japan explores controversial issues through tracing four themes:
global/intercultural education
environmental education
geographical education
historical education.
It also examines current curricular innovations. Overall, this insightful volume demonstrates that contemporary citizenship education entails not only knowledge about social, historical and geographical affairs, but also participation in society - locally, nationally, and globally.

Notes on Contributors \ Preface \ Acknowledgement \ Foreword by Sir Bernard Crick \ Foreword by John J. Hogan \ Part One: The Administration of Citizenship Education in Japan \ 1. The History of the Idea of Citizenship and its Teaching in Japan before World War II - Kazuya Taniguchi \ 2. Postwar Citizenship Education Policy and its Development - Norio Ikeno \ The Birth of the Dominant Teaching Paradigm for Social Studies in Japanese Elementary Schools: Dominant Teaching Strategies for Citizenship Education in Social Studies after the 1877 Course of Study in Japan - Masao Yoshida \ Part Two: The Citizenship Education Curriculum in Japan \ 4. The History of Citizenship Education in the Postwar Course of Study: Moral Education and Other Topics - Hirokazu Kimura \ 5. The Evolution of Postwar Guidelines for Teaching Social Studies and Citizenship Education in Japan - Tomoyuki Kobara \ 6. Citizenship Education in Social Studies Textbooks and Supplementary Readers in Postwar Japan - Kazuhiko Iwata \ 7. The Characteristics of Citizenship Education Practices in Japan: Two Projects that Teach Controversial Issues - Kotaro Yoshimura \ 8. Issues in Citizenship Education: 8.1 International Global and Multicultural Education as an Issue in Citizenship Education - Takaaki Fujiwara \ 8.2 The Environment as an Issue in Citizenship Education - Mitsuhari Mizuyama \ 8.3 Geographical Education as an Issue in Citizenship Education - Kazuhiro Kusahara \ 8.4 Historical Education as an Issue in Citizenship Education: Four Issues of Citizenship Education in Japan after World War II With Reference to History Teaching - Kazuhiro Mizoguchi \ Part Three: Researching Citizenship Education in Japanese Schools \ 9. The Curriculum of Ochanomizu Elementary School and the Role of the New Field of Study Called 'Citizenship' - Soji Katakami \ 10. Citizenship in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo - Yoshiharu Toda \ Part Four: The Pros and Cons of Social Studies and Citizenship Education \ 11. The Assessment of Students in Citizenship Education in Japan - Kenji Tanahashi \ Index