I'm pretty happy with the Japanese elementary school my children attend. But I have to say one thing: I hate the building itself. It's the standard four-story concrete block. Drab, institutional and uninviting. What I dislike most is that it's closed off from the surrounding neighborhood, hidden away behind high walls and locked gates. Like a prison.

So I was very happy to hear that there is, or at least was, something of a movement to make schools more a part of the community. A few years ago, the Education Ministry started actively encouraging schools to open their facilities to local residents for after-hours recreation and learning. Since nothing qualifies as a movement in Japan if it doesn't have a slogan, the ministry thought up a very nice one: Gakko wa chiikijumin no shogai gakushu no besu kyanpu (Schools are the base camp of lifelong learning for community residents).

Most schools in Japan do make some facilities available to the community. But it's usually on a limited basis. At our school, for example, the schoolyard is open for after-school play four days a week. But only for third-graders and up, and only for an hour. On weekend afternoons, it's open for a few hours to anyone. The PTA organizes volunteers to supervise, for which the school receives a stipend from our ward. But most of the time, including during school vacations, the schoolyard is locked up tight. No one can use it.