An increasing number of municipalities in Okinawa Prefecture are adopting a program that allows children to take authorized leave from school on weekdays to spend time with family for educational activities.
A recent survey by The Okinawa Times?found that 15 municipalities across the prefecture have introduced a system dubbed ¡°learncation¡± ¡ª a portmanteau of ¡°learning¡± and ¡°vacation¡± ¡ª under which students are allowed to miss classes without their absence being counted against them.?
First introduced in Aichi Prefecture in 2023, the program generally allows up to three days of leave per year. In Okinawa Prefecture, the village of Zamami became the first municipality to adopt the program in the 2024 school year, followed by the village of Iheya and the town of Yonabaru. The town of Taketomi, which introduced the program in April this year, allows up to five days of leave.¡¡
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