Following the European lead, Japan formulated a system to manage the health of children in school and to facilitate their growth and development.
Before the end of World War II, the system was called the school hygiene system, but it was later known as the school health system. There was also a transition in the activities required to maintain school health from the periods of Meiji (1868–1912) to Taisho (1912–1926), Showa (1926–1989), and Heisei (1989–). This paper outlines the background and process of establishment of the school health system in Japan, discusses new issues of school health currently occurring in the school system, and introduces activities being carried out by JMA to solve such issues.