Japanese sports brand Mizuno has been engaging in a project to enrich physical education classes in primary compulsory education in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (hereinafter "Vietnam") by using "Hexathlon," a physical education program it has developed for children. This endeavor has been adopted as a pilot project under "EDU-Port Japan," an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to "disseminate Japanese-style education overseas."

*See a MEXT press release at http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/houdou/28/11/1379844.htm

(Photo1: Hurdling in the Hexathlon program

http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M103015/201612056874/_prw_OI1fl_PkTQMgsb.jpg)

(Photo2: "Air Rocket" balloons in the Hexathlon program

http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M103015/201612056874/_prw_OI2fl_A49yW10l.jpg)

(Photo taken from a trial in Vietnam in June 2016)

There are challenges facing physical education classes in Vietnam's compulsory education. The time spent in such classes is very limited compared to developed countries, physical education programs are stereotyped and they may not fully incorporate elements of such basic athletic motions as "running," "throwing" and "jumping."

Mizuno has developed Hexathlon to combine a menu of sport exercise play, which helps sport-shy children enjoy learning basic athletic motions, with the measurement of athletic performance. In March 2012, Mizuno started providing the program to various facilities in Japan, including elementary schools. It is programmed to help children learn the basic motions of running, jumping and throwing in keeping with their individual athletic abilities by using original Mizuno apparatus built with safety and functionality in mind.

The move to introduce Hexathlon to public elementary schools across Vietnam is aimed at contributing to resolving the issues with physical education classes in Vietnam's primary education and providing all elementary schoolchildren there with the pleasure and joy of physical exercise.

- MEXT-authorized "EDU-Port Japan" export project

In response to great interest in Japanese-style education among top leaders, education ministers and others in different countries, MEXT has been promoting deployment of Japanese-style education overseas in further depth. It has launched a "public-private cooperation platform to export Japanese-style education," which comprises government ministries and agencies, government-affiliated organizations and education-related companies, shifting into full gear the global export of the MEXT-authorized "EDU-Port Japan" program by entities, regardless of public or private.

- Physical education program Hexathlon

Hexathlon is a program with a menu of sport exercise play that helps children enjoy acquiring such basic motions as running, jumping and throwing in a playful manner even if they have no sporting experience or are not comfortable with sports. It is combined with the measurement of athletic performance.

The program starts with the measurement of athletic performance to identify the level of one's athletic performance and the motions he/she is good or bad at performing. It proceeds with a menu of sport exercise play, which helps children acquire basic motions and then various motions in sports step by step. It is followed by another measurement of athletic performance to confirm growth from the previous time. This cycle is repeated.

Using Mizuno's original "Air Rocket," "Aero Disk," "Soft Hammer" and "Multi Hurdle," athletic performance in running, jumping and throwing is measured in six events - "Air Rocket throw," "Aero Disk throw," "Soft Hammer throw," "Hurdling," "25-meter dash" and "Standing long jump." A menu of sport exercise play consists of programs that children can playfully perform using original apparatus.

*MEXT "EDU-Port JAPAN"

https://www.eduport.mext.go.jp/en/update/2016/10/vietnam-mizuno.html

*Mizuno's "Hexathlon"

http://www.mizuno.jp/hexathlon/

*Video taken from a trial in Vietnam in June 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVd24Ts5Thk