ABSTRACT
As a vital component of schools at the compulsory stage, physical education plays a crucial role in improving the students’ mental and physical well-being. With a comparative study on the policies and application of physical education in schools at the compulsory stage both in China and Japan, it is hoped that their differences can be clarified and some suggestions to be given will be constructive for both countries so that both of them can learn from each other and have a new way to promote its own physical education in the schools at the compulsory stage. The construction of sports facilities in rural schools should be integrated into the ‘Plan for the Balanced Development in Local Compulsory Education’, and the local governments with ample financial resources should be encouraged to build sporting arenas in primary and secondary schools and to share with those schools without basic sports facilities.
