【Only in Education Sector】Japan Resilience Education Association Wins Grand Prize at '12th Japan Resilience Award' - Education Dissemination Model Fostering 'Unbreakable Spirit' in 70,000 People Nationwide Recognized

On April 21, 2026, at the award ceremony for the '12th Japan Resilience Award (National Resilience Grand Prize) 2026' (hosted by the Resilience Japan Promotion Council) held at Tokyo Iino Hall, the Japan Resilience Education Association (Representative Director: Chikako Yamamoto, hereinafter JREA) received the Grand Prize, the only one in the education sector.

■ Infrastructure alone cannot save lives. Resilience Education as Japan's Chosen 'New Infrastructure for the Mind' in a Disaster-Prone Nation

While strengthening disaster prevention facilities and hard infrastructure is a crucial pillar of resilience (national land resilience), to overcome an era of disasters, crises, and rapid social change, "human resilience" – fostering the ability for each individual to recover when facing difficulties, help each other, and re-choose their actions – is also indispensable.

From the perspective of "soft resilience," JREA has systematically delivered resilience education (the mental strength to recover from adversity and trials) to schools, companies, local governments, and communities. As a result, it has reached approximately 70,000 people nationwide, leading to this award.

■ The Recognized Educational Model: "4-layer Resilience Ecosystem"

What was particularly highly evaluated in this award was the unique dissemination model, the "4-layer Resilience Ecosystem," designed to deliver uniform and high-quality resilience education anywhere in the country.

Traditional educational activities often relied on the "individual skill" of specific excellent instructors conducting lessons or training individually. JREA's model realizes sustainable social implementation by systematizing this.

【Components of the 4-layer Resilience Ecosystem】

① Instructor Development: Training highly specialized "Resilience Trainers"

② Material Provision: Providing highly reproducible educational materials based on scientific evidence that can be immediately utilized in educational settings

③ Community: A mechanism for continuous learning and sharing knowledge gained from various local sites

④ Evaluation and Improvement: Measuring effectiveness through participant data and regularly updating programs

Through this ecosystem, a system is in place to spread resilience education nationwide, aiming for zero regional disparities.

4-layer Resilience Ecosystem

4-layer Resilience Ecosystem

■ What is the Japan Resilience Award?

The "Japan Resilience Award (National Resilience Grand Prize)" is an awards system hosted by the Resilience Japan Promotion Council. Its purpose is to build a resilient society for the next generation by discovering, evaluating, and commending the activities of advanced companies and organizations, as well as their technology and product development, that contribute to building a resilient nation, regions, people, and industries.

This council, as the sole certified organization for the "National Land Resilience Contribution Organization Certification (Resilience Certification)" established by the Cabinet Secretariat's National Land Resilience Promotion Office, works in cooperation with the government to disseminate and promote national land resilience.

■ Judge's Comment

Director, Resilience Japan Promotion Council

President, Project Design Graduate University, Professor Risa Tanaka

"The Japan Resilience Education Association has been dedicated to education since before the term 'resilience' became common, fusing scientific evidence with on-site education. Fostering the next generation of leaders is very important, and daily information sharing is also crucial, which we believe education should be responsible for."

■ Representative Director's Comment

Representative Director, Japan Resilience Education Association, Chikako Yamamoto

"I am deeply honored to have received the Grand Prize at the Japan Resilience Award. When we talk about national land resilience, the image of disaster prevention facilities, infrastructure, and technological development may be strong. However, no matter how well systems and mechanisms are in place, it is people who support, use, and act while helping each other.

We have conveyed resilience not as a 'power only possessed by special people,' but as a power that anyone can learn and cultivate. This award, I feel, was received together with all the trainers who deliver resilience education in schools, companies, and communities, all those who have learned, and all those who are practicing it on site.

Moving forward, we will continue to cherish the perspective that 'national land resilience begins with human development,' and spread the ability to live flexibly in challenging times throughout society."

■ Future Outlook

Taking this Grand Prize award as an opportunity, JREA will strengthen its programs in the following key areas to establish its educational dissemination model as a "new social infrastructure":

・ Education: Fostering children's challenging spirit and building a strong emotional foundation for teachers and staff.

・ Corporations: Preventing turnover among young employees, fostering their ability to recover, and improving organizational resilience.

・ Career: Supporting recovery and the courage to take a step forward during life events and environmental changes.

・ Local Governments/Communities: Supporting mutual assistance.