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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 17, 2020

Strong liberal arts education is key to success in Society 5.0

A liberal arts education is crucial to the development of the skills required for success in Society 5.0.
EDITORIALS
Jun 30, 2015

Abe's ill-conceived university policy

The government should remember that the primary purpose of unversities is to provide students with a well-rounded education that helps them became more insightful citizens.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Mar 22, 2015

University teachers in Japan work under the shadow of a falling ax

For most teachers, their job is more than an economic exchange of time for money — it is a vocation. Concern for students' educational development is genuine, as is a deep belief in the value and importance of education, and a regard for the institution's reputation and welfare.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2013

High schoolers dream of Ivy League

One March afternoon in Shibuya Ward, a group of high schoolers earnestly listened as students from Harvard University described life on their campus.
COMMENTARY
Aug 17, 2010

Saving Japan's universities

The consensus says Japanese university students are lazy and apathetic. Unfavorable comparisons are made with Chinese studying here. Yet those same students at their annual autumn festivals can show an enthusiasm, professionalism and attention to detail superior to anything at a Western university, or...
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2000

Universities buy exams despite ministry warning

Nearly 20 private universities have signed contracts with the Nagoya-based Kawaijuku Educational Institution to supply them with questions for next year's entrance exams, the cram school has announced.
Japan Times
Special Supplements / G20 Osaka Summit Special
Jun 27, 2019

Developing creative solutions that benefit the international community

Our global society is grappling with a myriad of challenges — from artificial intelligence and its rapid development to the effects of climate change and aging populations — that require bold, innovative solutions. As these issues grow in urgency and complexity, it is up to universities to foster...
EDITORIALS
Apr 6, 2017

'Amakudari' remains an issue

Bureaucrats landing jobs in the private sector on the basis of the powers of government ministries and agencies sows the seeds of corruption.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2016

Toward a new Islamic golden age

Muslim nations must reverse their sorry state of science if they are to provide better lives for their booming populations and keep up with global development.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 18, 2012

New universities are big business, needed or not

People who use the Tokyu Toyoko Line, which connects Tokyo and Yokohama, may wonder why there are stations called Toritsu-Daigaku and Gakugei-Daigaku when there are no daigaku (universities) near them. There used to be a Gakugei Daigaku (Tokyo Gakugei University) but it moved to Koganei in 1964. There...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2010

Universities looking to go global

Fostering global human resources seems all the rage these days and several Japanese universities are jumping in, opening their doors to foreign students who aren't proficient in Japanese in a bid to snatch top-class talent from around the world.
EDITORIALS
Sep 21, 2010

Universities feel the squeeze

Since national universities became independent administrative agencies in 2004, their financial conditions have weakened. In accordance with the Koizumi administration's 2006 decision, government grants to pay for national universities' ordinary outlays have declined 1 percent annually.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2000

Recognition of 'virtual' universities urged

Course credits and degrees provided by overseas Internet universities should be recognized in the same manner as academic qualifications obtained abroad, says a recommendation announced Wednesday by an advisory panel to the education minister.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Top Global Universities in Japan
Oct 5, 2020

Expectations toward universities and global talent

The business world has high expectations for globalizing universities to better prepare students to contribute and lead as global talent. We asked David Macdonald, representative officer and president of Discovery Japan, about his expectations and hopes for universities in the global era.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 30, 2018

The direction of education in Japan

Japan has the 6-3-3-4 education system — compulsory education of six years in elementary school and three years in junior high school. Students then commonly go on to three years in high school and four years in university.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2018

Legal issues and entrenched ideas about education keep talented students from skipping grades in Japan

Academic acceleration systems, which enable students who excel in school to skip grades and study at a faster rate than others, have become increasingly commonplace globally. In the United States, around 180,000 students under 18 years old skip grades and enter universities early every year. But in Japan,...
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2018

Kyoto University and Todai tie for first in magazine's ranking of Japanese schools

Kyoto University ties the University of Tokyo — moving up two spots from last year — for first place in the ranking of Japanese universities by Times Higher Education magazine.
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2017

The crisis in Japan's scientific research output

The government needs to do everything it can to improve funding for scientific researchers.
For all the scrutiny at home, many of China’s richest new grads are turning their backs on their lives abroad. Sometimes, they’re responding to the lure of China’s potential. Other times, it’s the alienation they feel overseas.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 22, 2023

China’s wealthy youth flock home as tensions with U.S. rise

For all the scrutiny at home, many of China’s richest new grads are turning their backs on their lives abroad.
Harvard University President Claudine Gay testifies before a United States House of Representatives hearing on antisemitism in American campuses on Dec. 5.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2023

U.S. campus antisemitism debate muddles nuances of free speech

The debate on antisemitism in U.S. campuses doesn’t lend itself to easy answers. What is free speech and what harmful conduct is down to context.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson calls on USC President Carol Folt to convene an emergency student dialogue for the protest encampment in support of Palestinians at the University of Southern California's Alumni Park in Los Angeles on April 29.
WORLD
May 6, 2024

Police clear pro-Palestinian encampment at USC

The demonstrations have emerged as a political flash point during a contentious election year as President Joe Biden seeks a second term in office.
Signs expressing opposition to the University of Tokyo's proposed tuition hikes are displayed at the university's Komaba campus in Tokyo in July.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 11, 2024

University of Tokyo plans to raise tuition fees by 20% in 2025

The university expects to make the proposal official by the end of September, barring unforeseen issues.
Students at Hiroshima University’s School of Dentistry offer silent prayers for the donors of bodies before they practice anatomy on the cadavers in late October.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Chugoku
Dec 16, 2024

In death, body donors become silent teachers for medical students

Practical training on cadavers significantly increases the understanding of the human body, says one professor.
Students in South Korea sit the annual College Scholastic Ability Test. There is huge pressure on this exam, which determines young people's university choices and, in turn, their job and even marital prospects, leading to a heavy mental health burden.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2025

Entrance exam wars: A pressure cooker for South Korean youth

South Korea comes to a standstill on the day of the national university entrance exam. But so does students' possibility to determine their future paths beyond a mere test score.
Harvard University's campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Sept. 6.
WORLD
Apr 1, 2025

Harvard at risk of losing $9 billion in federal funds amid U.S. review

The move is part of a crackdown on what the Trump administration says is antisemitism on college campuses.
The entrance to Harvard Law School in 2023. Harvard sued U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Monday in a sharp escalation of the fight between the prestigious university and the Republican, who has threatened its funding and sought to impose outside political supervision.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 22, 2025

Harvard University sues to block Trump from cutting billions in research funding

Since his January inauguration, Trump has cracked down on top U.S. universities, saying they mishandled last year's pro-Palestinian protests.
A student walks on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday.
WORLD / Society
May 24, 2025

Harvard wins temporary block of Trump’s foreign student ban

The attempted ban could make foreign students shy about coming to the U.S. at all, even if the government doesn’t take similar actions against any other universities.
Japan is the world's biggest market for Iqos, a heat-not-burn tobacco product marketed by its maker Philip Morris as a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes — a claim not backed by independent scientific research.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 6, 2025

Smoke and mirrors: How big tobacco manipulates science in Japan

In Japan, not only does the tobacco industry have close ties to government, but universities are also vulnerable to its influence. In this equation, public health loses out.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past