Tabayama Village Promotes Educational Migration with 'Yuru Jena' Based on Jena Plan Education
Tabayama Village has introduced 'Tabayama-style Yuru Jena', an educational concept based on the German Jena Plan, to promote dual-base parent-child study abroad and attract families from the Tokyo area.
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- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 02:30
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Tabayama Village (Mayor Yoshito Kinoshita) has introduced 'Tabayama-style Yuru Jena' as the village's target educational concept* in order to promote 'Dual-base Parent-child Mountain Village Study Abroad' by enhancing the appeal of the village's education and realizing a village chosen by the child-rearing generation. This initiative is based on the 'Jena Plan education', an educational method originating in Germany, and practices a new form of education where the community and school collaborate to raise children, taking advantage of the regional characteristics of Tabayama Village and the traits of small-scale schools.
'Tabayama-style Yuru Jena Education' is Tabayama Village's unique approach that flexibly incorporates the philosophy of Jena Plan education—respecting individuality and fostering independence and coexistence—within feasible limits, without placing an excessive burden on the educational frontline. In the elementary and junior high schools of Tabayama Village, unique education is already being practiced by leveraging the small-group environment. This includes joint initiatives across different grades and free-progress learning, embodying the 'nurturing towards inclusive thinking,' 'dialogue,' and 'creativity' highly valued in Jena Plan education.
Through the parent-child mountain village study abroad system that began in 1992, Tabayama Village has welcomed nearly 100 children and their families so far. This fiscal year as well, 10 out of 19 elementary school students and 5 out of 7 junior high school students are children who have migrated using this system. On the other hand, since the motivation of families migrating for mountain village study abroad has not always tied in perfectly with Tabayama Village's unique educational initiatives, moving forward, the village will promote attracting people from the Tokyo metropolitan area by selling the attractive education of 'Tabayama-style Yuru Jena Education' combined with the 'Dual-base Parent-child Mountain Village Study Abroad' and good accessibility.
The name 'Yuru Jena' has received approval from the 'Japan Jena Plan Education Association', which promotes the development and spread of Jena Plan education in Japan. The village will continue to deepen its educational partnership with the association to create an attractive educational environment unique to Tabayama Village.
*March 31, 2026 Tabayama Village Press Release: 'Formulation of Village Education Outline Based on Jena Plan Education'
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000027.000107161.html
About Tabayama Village
The smallest village in the Kanto region with a population of about 500, located in the northeastern part of Yamanashi Prefecture, bordering Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture. Forests account for 97% of the total area, and the entire village is located within the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park and the Kobushigadake UNESCO Eco Park, continuing to protect the rich natural environment at the source of the Tama River as a water source for Tokyo.
As a result of continuously accepting migrants through the 'Parent-child Mountain Village Study Abroad' started in 1992 and the 'Regional Revitalization Cooperator' system which began accepting people in 2014, migrants now make up 20% of the village's population. It has gained attention as a 'village where people want to live', even taking first place in a migration information magazine's ranking. Located about two and a half hours by car from central Tokyo, its ease of access to the metropolitan area makes it in demand as a place to practice the 'dual-base residency' promoted by the national government. In 2024, it became the first in Yamanashi Prefecture to formulate a 'Specific Residence Promotion Plan'.
Jena Plan Education and Tabayama-style Yuru Jena Education
The new educational concept put forward by Tabayama Village originates from the educational method 'Jena Plan Education' from Germany. Jena Plan education is an educational method that respects individuality and fosters autonomy and coexistence, characterized by children of different ages learning in the same place and making their own study plans. It aligns with the 'individually optimized learning' and 'collaborative learning' promoted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and is drawing attention as an education that fosters the ability to survive in future society.
However, fully implementing a perfect Jena Plan education in public elementary schools based on Article 1 of the School Education Act presents difficulties due to consistency with the curriculum and institutional constraints. Therefore, Tabayama Village negotiated with the Japan Jena Plan Education Association and had them approve a new idea called 'Yuru Jena'—an approach that draws on the essence of Jena Plan education but incorporates it flexibly within feasible limits without placing an excessive burden on the field.
In Tabayama Village, the foundation for the community and schools to collaborate in supporting education is already in place, and this 'culture of raising together' is the greatest strength supporting 'Yuru Jena'. Through 'Tabayama-style Yuru Jena', children's learning will be nurtured not only in schools but by the entire community through parts of classes, after-school children's classrooms, and local events. This initiative, which aspires to globally supported ideals while remaining close to local realities, has the potential to become a new model for educational reform in small municipalities nationwide.
Online Briefing on April 25
Tabayama-style Yuru Jena Education
'Tabayama-style Yuru Jena Education' is Tabayama Village's unique approach that flexibly incorporates the philosophy of Jena Plan education—respecting individuality and fostering independence and coexistence—within feasible limits, without placing an excessive burden on the educational frontline. In the elementary and junior high schools of Tabayama Village, unique education is already being practiced by leveraging the small-group environment. This includes joint initiatives across different grades and free-progress learning, embodying the 'nurturing towards inclusive thinking,' 'dialogue,' and 'creativity' highly valued in Jena Plan education.
Through the parent-child mountain village study abroad system that began in 1992, Tabayama Village has welcomed nearly 100 children and their families so far. This fiscal year as well, 10 out of 19 elementary school students and 5 out of 7 junior high school students are children who have migrated using this system. On the other hand, since the motivation of families migrating for mountain village study abroad has not always tied in perfectly with Tabayama Village's unique educational initiatives, moving forward, the village will promote attracting people from the Tokyo metropolitan area by selling the attractive education of 'Tabayama-style Yuru Jena Education' combined with the 'Dual-base Parent-child Mountain Village Study Abroad' and good accessibility.
The name 'Yuru Jena' has received approval from the 'Japan Jena Plan Education Association', which promotes the development and spread of Jena Plan education in Japan. The village will continue to deepen its educational partnership with the association to create an attractive educational environment unique to Tabayama Village.
*March 31, 2026 Tabayama Village Press Release: 'Formulation of Village Education Outline Based on Jena Plan Education'
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000027.000107161.html
About Tabayama Village
The smallest village in the Kanto region with a population of about 500, located in the northeastern part of Yamanashi Prefecture, bordering Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture. Forests account for 97% of the total area, and the entire village is located within the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park and the Kobushigadake UNESCO Eco Park, continuing to protect the rich natural environment at the source of the Tama River as a water source for Tokyo.
As a result of continuously accepting migrants through the 'Parent-child Mountain Village Study Abroad' started in 1992 and the 'Regional Revitalization Cooperator' system which began accepting people in 2014, migrants now make up 20% of the village's population. It has gained attention as a 'village where people want to live', even taking first place in a migration information magazine's ranking. Located about two and a half hours by car from central Tokyo, its ease of access to the metropolitan area makes it in demand as a place to practice the 'dual-base residency' promoted by the national government. In 2024, it became the first in Yamanashi Prefecture to formulate a 'Specific Residence Promotion Plan'.
Jena Plan Education and Tabayama-style Yuru Jena Education
The new educational concept put forward by Tabayama Village originates from the educational method 'Jena Plan Education' from Germany. Jena Plan education is an educational method that respects individuality and fosters autonomy and coexistence, characterized by children of different ages learning in the same place and making their own study plans. It aligns with the 'individually optimized learning' and 'collaborative learning' promoted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and is drawing attention as an education that fosters the ability to survive in future society.
However, fully implementing a perfect Jena Plan education in public elementary schools based on Article 1 of the School Education Act presents difficulties due to consistency with the curriculum and institutional constraints. Therefore, Tabayama Village negotiated with the Japan Jena Plan Education Association and had them approve a new idea called 'Yuru Jena'—an approach that draws on the essence of Jena Plan education but incorporates it flexibly within feasible limits without placing an excessive burden on the field.
In Tabayama Village, the foundation for the community and schools to collaborate in supporting education is already in place, and this 'culture of raising together' is the greatest strength supporting 'Yuru Jena'. Through 'Tabayama-style Yuru Jena', children's learning will be nurtured not only in schools but by the entire community through parts of classes, after-school children's classrooms, and local events. This initiative, which aspires to globally supported ideals while remaining close to local realities, has the potential to become a new model for educational reform in small municipalities nationwide.
Online Briefing on April 25
Tabayama-style Yuru Jena Education