Tag - education

 
 

EDUCATION

Clinical psychologist Shinpei Hirota speaks in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, earlier this month about how he offers counseling to students in quake-hit areas.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 26, 2024
Mental health support continues in schools affected by Noto quake
Since the disaster, over 160 counselors have visited the Okunoto region, lending an empathetic ear to those grappling with insomnia and distressing thoughts.
At a waste center in Kamikatsu, Tokushima Prefecture, residents separate trash into 45 different categories as the town aims to become "zero waste."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 22, 2024
How circular economy initiatives are changing the world
From Asia to Europe to Africa, public and private entities are finding new ways to revolutionize the economic paradigm from a linear to a circular model. In Japan, too.
The number of teachers in their 20s on leave due to mental conditions has risen, highlighting the need to reduce burdens on young teachers.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 17, 2024
Japan to boost support for young teachers to secure staff
The package addresses concerns about a decline in interest in teaching jobs among young people and aims to reduce teachers' overtime work to 20 hours per month.
Junior high school students taking entrance exams for public high schools enter a venue in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 12, 2024
Japan to test digital high school admissions
The Digital Agency estimates digital procedures will cut administrative work by 30-90 hours in junior high schools and 20-80 hours in high schools.
Many second-generation Indian migrants decide to leave Japan for higher education — with Indians making up less than 1% of the country’s student population — but there is evidence that this cohort’s interest in attending Japanese universities is growing.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 10, 2024
Do university-bound Indian migrants actually stay in Japan?
Can Japan retain second-generation Indian migrants who are seeking a college education? The evidence is mixed, showing an uptick that still has a long way to grow.
Elementary school students take a nationwide achievement test in April. The education ministry has said such tests will go fully online in fiscal 2027.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2024
Japan's nationwide school achievement tests to go fully online from fiscal '27
The education ministry will make an official decision as early as autumn after hearing opinions from schools and boards of education.
The government aims to increase the number of foreign students in Japan to 400,000 by 2033, despite a recent Justice Ministry ordinance that puts in place tougher rules on accepting overseas applicants.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2024
Can Japan boost its foreign student count to 400,000?
The government recently tightened rules for accepting overseas applicants, though it hasn't lost sight of its lofty goal of increasing foreign student numbers.
Occupational therapist Mitsuyoshi Okutsu interacts with children at Kamioka Elementary School in Hida, Gifu Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Jul 1, 2024
Occupational therapists join the ranks of staff at Gifu schools
It is estimated that there are around 110,000 occupational therapists in Japan, working mainly at hospitals and welfare facilities.
The University of Tokyo, the only Japanese institution in the Times university rankings’ top 50, is considering raising tuition fees.
EDITORIALS
Jun 28, 2024
Japan’s universities must prepare for tough changes
Higher education institutions in Japan rarely rank among the world's top universities. To rise, they should tackle long-term issues like growing costs and fewer students.
Naoto Ohtake, president-elect of the Institute of Science Tokyo, said it aims to have international students make up 30% of all undergraduate science and engineering majors by 2050.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2024
Institute of Science Tokyo will reapply for grant from ¥10 trillion fund
Tokyo Institute of Technology and Tokyo Medical and Dental University, which will merge to form the new university, had jointly applied before but failed.
Textbook publisher Kyoiku-Shuppan switched a section about Ippei Mizuhara (left) in its English textbook to a story about Japanese men's national soccer team.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 21, 2024
Section on Ohtani's ex-interpreter removed from Japanese textbook
The section has been replaced with a section on the Japanese men's national soccer team.
While the education ministry recently introduced a new subject called “logic and expression” in its new curriculum guidelines, experts say that many teachers, in practice, are still focusing on grammar acquisition.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 19, 2024
Japan study downplays complex grammar in improving English writing skills
English learners are better off focusing on making good arguments, according to the Kobe University research.
The education ministry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district
JAPAN / Society
Jun 19, 2024
Revised guidelines drafted for investigating serious cases of school bullying
The education ministry plans to seek public comments on the draft guidelines and finalize revisions in August, before notifying schools.
Takayuki Midorikawa stands in front of Ueda Junior High School in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jun 17, 2024
Fukushima schools open up to revising old rules
The prefecture has recently made some moves to accommodate a little more diversity in the classroom.
Education ministers from Japan, South Korea and China (from left to right) hold talks in Seoul on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 16, 2024
Japan, China and South Korea to promote exchanges among future generations
This was the fourth education ministers' meeting among the three Asian countries, with Japan set to host the next one.
A "free school" in Tokyo's Kita Ward. In April, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government began providing subsidies to students attending free schools.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 14, 2024
Local subsidies for Japan's 'free schools' highlight regional inequality
Support groups are calling for uniform financial assistance nationwide for institutions aimed at those who have left mainstream schooling.
Parasitic paper mills producing fake studies are flourishing by helping scientists cheat to bolster their resumes, snag competitive academic jobs and impress funding agencies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 13, 2024
Fake scientific studies are a problem that’s getting harder to solve
Publishing house Wiley announced it was dropping 19 journals that they said were infested with fake papers.
A survey has shown that 722 municipalities in Japan had made school lunch services free of charge as of September 2023. Of those, 547 provided such services at all elementary and junior high schools.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2024
Free school lunches offered in 40% of Japanese municipalities
Many places said that they wanted to reduce financial burdens on households through the initiative.
People wade through a flooded road in Balagtas, Bulacan province, Philippines, on July 29, 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 12, 2024
Hell or high water: Filipino schools lashed by climate extremes
The state weather bureau has said the country is likely to experience more tropical cyclones in 2024 due to the potential return of the La Nina weather phenomenon.
The Saitama Institute of Technology is aiming to nurture engineers knowledgeable in self-driving vehicles.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024
Technology institute to launch Japan's first autonomous driving major
The Saitama Institute of Technology will introduce the major next April, aiming to nurture engineers knowledgeable in self-driving vehicles.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals