Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the free school Tokyo Shure, located in Tokyo.
The Prime Minister began by participating in the free school activities, and then held an exchange of ideas with students and others.
Regarding the aim of the visit, the Prime Minister said,
“First, I believe that we must not ignore situations causing children to become unable to attend school, such as bullying. In the Education Rebuilding Implementation Council , we have already compiled various countermeasures against bullying. I want to make it known that there are many places like Tokyo Shure for children who have stopped attending school, and that there are children putting their experiences at such places to use while working hard and holding onto their dreams for the future. I also think it is important that we accept and respond to the fact that that there are a variety of ways to live and learn.
In light of all this, and having received the Education Rebuilding Implementation Council’s report, I would like to instruct the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to consider what kinds of academic and economic support we can offer.”