Japan AED Foundation Proposes Introduction of Practical Lifesaving Skills in Elementary School Curriculum

The Japan AED Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), has submitted a proposal to the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Masahito Moriyama, to introduce practical lifesaving skills in elementary school curriculum guidelines.

A portrait of Asuka Kirita, who died at school after suffering a cardiac arrest, is shown with her mother, Toshiko (right), and others calling for the improvement of life-saving education.

The proposal, which was submitted on the 10th, calls for the inclusion of CPR and AED usage procedures in the curriculum guidelines for elementary schools, as well as making them compulsory for all grades in university teacher training courses. Currently, the curriculum guidelines for junior and senior high schools include practical life-saving training using AEDs, but this is not the case for elementary schools.

Cardiac Arrest During Relay Practice Highlights Need for Lifesaving Education

The proposal was submitted by the foundation’s representative director, Hideo Mitamura, and Asuka’s mother, Toshiko Mitamura, among others. Asuka, a sixth grader at Nisshin Elementary School in Saitama City, suffered cardiac arrest during relay practice in September 2011 and passed away because the AED at the school was not used.

Toshiko Mitamura appealed for the introduction of lifesaving education in elementary schools, saying, “With life-saving education from elementary school onwards, we can become the first runners to pass on the baton of life. We can save lives that can be saved, and create safe schools and society.”

Hiroshi Kiribuchi, a director of the foundation and former superintendent of education in Saitama City, also emphasized the importance of lifesaving education, saying, “We want to expand life-saving education as part of learning about the importance of life.”