School's out in much of the world, but Japanese teachers are happy to return
Japan’s situation contrasts sharply with that in other countries, where the question of whether to reopen schools has become a hot-button political issue.
'No singing, eat in silence': How Japanese schools have stayed open despite the pandemic
Japanese schools — which unlike many parts of the world have mostly remained open — are experimenting with various ways to co-exist with the coronavirus while keeping children safe.
Government adopts bill to downsize elementary school classes
The class size was already reduced to 35 for the first grade in fiscal 2011.
Japan to downsize elementary school classes to 35 students by 2025
The reduction in class sizes will be implemented gradually, starting from lower grades.
Japanese schools struggle with sports days in the age of COVID-19
The need to maintain social distancing and enforce sanitizing measures has seen numerous changes to the traditional event.
Aichi schools' field trip plans upended by spread of COVID-19
As the number of COVID-19 infections surge, especially in the Tokyo metropolitan area, many junior high schools in Aichi Prefecture have been forced to change their school trip schedules, which are typically held in the spring with third-year students traveling to the Kanto region, ...
Free school lunches to start year early in Osaka due to coronavirus
Osaka city approved a plan Wednesday that will make it the first major city in Japan to offer free school lunches to all students at municipal elementary and junior high schools, as part of its economic measures to ease the burden on parents in ...
Experts raise doubts that Japan school closures will curb coronavirus
Public health experts are concerned the move may turn out to be counterproductive.
Japan to hire 1,726 more teachers in 2020 for elementary and junior high schools
The government will increase its employment quota for teachers at public elementary and junior high schools by 1,726 in fiscal 2020. The measure, included in the fiscal 2020 budget that was approved Friday, is designed to promote work-style reforms for teachers and better respond to ...
Aichi city hires non-Japanese assistants to support foreign children at elementary schools
During a recent math class at an elementary school in Aichi Prefecture, Kamila Tamy Tida Miyamoto, 31, a Brazilian school assistant, pointed to the textbooks of Aika and Ayumi, second-grade Brazilian students who enrolled this year, as she explained concepts to them in Portuguese. Currently, ...
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 ...
