Introduction

Japan, a country poor in natural resources, has grown to be what it is the strength of its human resources. It has attached paramount importance to education as the basis of development. As in the cases of 'sustainable development' and education for sustainable development (ESD), Japan has been a major sponsor of 'human security' through its financial contribution to the united nation, but it has largely treated it as irrelevant to the domestic context. Power relationships within the Japanese government affect the implementation of ESD both domestically and internationally. During the Decade of ESD, ESD implementation's weak association with the preceding global development frameworks of the Millennium Development Goals and Education for All was often seen by ESD advocates as a drawback in promoting ESD as a global agenda. The chapter also presents an overview of key concepts discussed in this book.