Girls wrestle in the Wanpaku sumo ring for the first time ever
It was a historic weekend for sumo in Japan as the first-ever Wanpaku national championships for elementary school-age girls took place at Okudo Sogo Sports Center in Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward on Sunday. Previously, girls who had won through regional qualifying events were unable to take ...
Education ministry to review smartphone ban for elementary and junior high school students
The education ministry will consider reviewing a ban on elementary and junior high school students carrying smartphones and other mobile phones at school, education minister Masahiko Shibayama said Tuesday. "We'll consider reviewing the notice (that included the smartphone ban) in the light of changes in ...
Teaching materials for third-year students who attended Kokumin Gakko (equivalent to a modern-day elementary school) in Aichi Prefecture during the Pacific War have been discovered in Aisai, Aichi Prefecture. Believed to have been used for summer homework, the materials recommend students visit injured soldiers, pay ...
Native English speakers in demand as Japanese teachers hone their language skills for new curricula
More and more elementary school teachers in Japan are turning to English language schools with native speakers, as they seek to gain confidence in teaching the language before it is formally added to their curricula in the academic year starting April 2020. Many teachers admit ...
Olympic organizers send details on mascot contest to elementary schools nationwide
The Tokyo Olympics organizing committee distributed information to the nation's elementary schools on Monday ahead of the vote for the official mascot. Postcards were sent to over 21,000 schools with details about the voting process so children can participate in the process beginning next month. The ...
Saitama teacher tells fourth-grader to jump out window after classroom disturbance
Board of education in city of Tokorozawa considers disciplinary action after homeroom teacher admits to comments, apologizes
Third-graders can get head start on English classes from fiscal 2018
Elementary schools will be allowed to start English classes from third grade instead of fifth grade when fiscal 2018 begins next April, the education ministry said Friday. The measure is aimed at achieving a smooth transition to the ministry's new fiscal 2020 curriculum guidelines, said ...
Pressure continues to mount on Moritomo Gakuen chief
Pressure on Yasunori Kagoike, head of scandal-plagued Moritomo Gakuen, in the Diet and in Osaka Prefecture showed no sign of abating Monday even though he withdrew his application to open a new elementary school and indicated last week he would resign. With questions about why ...
English heads for elementary school in 2020 but hurdles abound
The Japanese school system's English-teaching regimen will undergo a major revamp in the near future as the government tries to nurture more worldly talent in an age of globalization. The biggest transformation is expected in public elementary schools, where English will be taught as a ...
Arrest of student for drug possession shines light on narcotics use among the young
A high school student held on suspicion of drug possession leads an expert to call for better anti-drug education in schools.
Lower school age and offer free preschool, education panel says
Japan should offer free education for children as young as 3 years old and reduce the age at which all children must start school, from 6 to 5, a government panel on education reform advised Thursday. It recommended that free preschool education be rolled out ...
2.24 million take achievement exams at elementary, junior high schools
About 2.24 million elementary school sixth-graders and third-year junior high school students took the national achievement examination Tuesday. When the results are known around August, the education ministry will allow them to be made available on a school-by-school and municipality-by-municipality basis for the first time ...
