Water Safety Instructor Expansion and Continuous Education Program

With the support of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, the Japan Lifesaving Association (JLA) sets up training sessions for lifeguards and instructors and supports junior lifesaving sports.

The project aims to enable water safety instructors to provide better water safety education to premises, schools, and public facilities.

JLA is based in Tokyo, but its reach extends far beyond – with the goal of increasing the number of drowning prevention instructors in areas that are lacking, mainly in rural areas.

According to the World Health Organization‘s 2014 World Drowning Report, more than 8,000 people drown each year in Japan. Flooding is frequent, and to minimize such damage, it is necessary to spread water safety education by further increasing the number of water safety instructors.

With the renewal of this project until 2023, 2000 children are expected to benefit from water safety programs and 200 children are expected to be trained and motivated in junior competitions. In addition, 100 new lifeguards and 200 existing instructors will participate in training sessions.

Project goals:

To offer water safety programs for children.

To increase the number of water safety instructors and participate in their renewal.

To extend water safety education to residents, schools and public facilities in rural areas.

To improve the safety environment around water sports.

To provide water safety knowledge and motivation for continuous learning with opportunities to register for sports competitions.