Nakayoshi Gakuen Implements 'Japanese Peace Education' in Schools in Lumbini, Nepal

The specified non-profit organization Nakayoshi Gakuen Project is currently conducting peace education classes in multiple schools around the Rupandehi District, Lumbini Province, Nepal. On June 1st and 2nd, they visited six schools to present the 'Japanese Education Model' as a model lesson to local educational authorities and school officials.

In these classes, they introduced Japan's journey of reconstruction from the ashes of war over the past 80 years, developing through science, manufacturing, and education. They also conveyed to the children that a prosperous Japan is now participating in global peacebuilding through actions that 'help others.'

The classes used the picture book 'Hajimete no Hiroshima,' which involved translations by students from Tsutsushi Elementary School in Iki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and Ryosho Mirai Gakuen in Kakogawa City, Hyogo Prefecture, to introduce Japan's war history and subsequent reconstruction. Additionally, hands-on lessons using otedama YOYO and blacklight pens allowed children to experientially learn the scientific principles behind familiar toys and tools.

The 'Learning Connected to the World' program developed by Nakayoshi Gakuen, including practices from Hiroshima City Hiroshima Special Needs School, is featured in 'Inclusive Education in Action' as a cyclical model that transcends the one-way relationship of giver and receiver, fostering children's initiative through material creation, sharing, feedback, and redesign.

Each class, themed 'How to Develop,' explained in an easy-to-understand manner how Japan developed from its difficult post-war era. They taught that taking interest in everyday phenomena, observing carefully, trying, failing, and devising again forms the basis of manufacturing, and that ideas and trial-and-error have led to innovation.

With the otedama YOYO, they introduced the physics of play, such as rubber elasticity, force direction, and trajectory prediction. With the blacklight pen, they learned about the properties of light through questions like 'Why can we see?' and 'We see the world because there is light.' The class presented the message 'We can see. Why? We need light. Nepal needs light. Teachers are light. Students are light,' conveying that education itself makes children the light of the future.

Using 'Hajimete no Hiroshima,' the classes focused not just on the horrors of war but on the 'aftermath' of Japan's war. They explained that Japan, having lost much in the war, rebuilt on the foundation of education, developed the nation through science and technology and manufacturing, and now acts to support children around the world. This journey was presented as the essence of Japan's peace and the root of peace education.

As proof, they used teaching materials created by Japanese students and Nakayoshi Gakuen supporters, allowing Nepalese children and teachers to experience Japanese games. Representative Yuichi Nakamura explained that through play with simple, everyday items, Japanese people learned about the world and science, and by utilizing this, they were able to create globally competitive products.

The classes also introduced the marine plastic problem in Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and flying discs made from recycled materials as a solution. Garbage washing ashore is not just a local problem; the sea connects across borders, making environmental issues a global challenge. Nakayoshi Gakuen is developing integrated learning combining environmental education, sports, international collaboration, and peace education through the promotion of Ultimate using these flying discs. Children touched and played with the flying discs, experiencing firsthand how environmental issues and peacebuilding are connected.

In these classes, peace posters created by students of Hiroshima City Hiroshima Special Needs School were donated to schools in Nepal. Hiroshima Special Needs School joined the 'Learning Connected to the World Project' following a lecture by Nakayoshi Gakuen representative Yuichi Nakamura in September 2025. Students considered what they could do as learners in the peace city of Hiroshima and have been creating support materials and peace messages for children in countries like Cambodia, Syria, and South Sudan. These peace posters had previously been delivered to children in Rwanda. In distant Africa, the wishes for peace drawn by Japanese children were shared, transcending national, cultural, and linguistic differences. Now, this sentiment has reached Nepal. Through the posters, Nepalese children learned that Japanese children think about peace and try to convey their feelings to someone in the world. The posters were received not just as artwork, but as 'peace messages' connecting Japanese and Nepalese classrooms.

What Nakayoshi Gakuen values is not just delivering aid supplies. It is the cycle where what Japanese children learn, think, and create reaches the world, and the feedback returns to Japanese schools. Through this cycle, Japanese children also gain the experience that their learning and expressions connect with the world and move someone's heart.