Mar 1, 2013

Treat all students equally

The education ministry on Feb. 20 revised an ordinance to exclude so-called Korean high schools or pro-North Korea high schools from the government’s tuition-waiver program. This change will cause various problems. First of all, the revision violates the principle of an education program designed ...

Jan 26, 2013

Six days of school not the answer

After reviewing the current five-day school week in public schools, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology says it is again considering holding Saturday classes. The reduction of the school week to five days was fully implemented nationwide from 2003 as part ...

Jun 25, 2012

Talk, please!

The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education has announced a new policy of group discussion in parts of the admission system for public high schools from 2013. This will be the first time a talking component will be conducted for the recommendation-based admissions system (suisen ...

Jun 24, 2012

Law school enrollment blues

Recruitment failed to meet enrollment goals at 63 of Japan’s 73 law schools in 2011. The number of students enrolled was less than half the quota at 35 law schools, compared with only 14 under-filled schools last year. Twenty law schools had fewer than ...

Apr 29, 2012

Single-sex schools in decline

The number of single-sex schools in Japan has dropped by half in the last 20 years to its lowest point ever, according to a 2011 survey by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry. In 1989 at the start of the Heisei era, ...

Apr 1, 2012

Money to study abroad

To combat the decline in Japanese students studying abroad, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry is finally taking action. Special five-year grants of ¥100 million to ¥200 million will be offered to 40 universities for study abroad programs. These grants are a ...

Jan 20, 2012

New Kimigayo ruling

In lawsuits brought by 171 current and former teachers and other staff members at public schools in Tokyo who were punished for not following orders that principals issued in connection with the Hinomaru national flag and the Kimigayo national anthem at school events, the ...