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May 02, 2024
 

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MEXT

An advisory panel for the education minister has proposed a plan to check classroom hours at all public elementary and junior high schools as part of working style reform for teachers.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2023
Japan plans to monitor classroom hours to cut burden on teachers
Schools where annual lesson periods significantly exceed the standard under the guidelines should cut the excess from the next fiscal year.
Education ministry officials say long working hours is one of the factors behind a rise in the number of teachers quitting their jobs.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 15, 2023
Record number of teachers quit for mental health reasons in 2021
Education ministry officials say long working hours is one of the factors behind the rise.
The image of schools as exploitive workplaces where labor regulations are habitually flouted is seen as the biggest factor putting off job applicants for teaching positions.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 14, 2023
Japan panel weighs raising overtime pay for teachers
The government is set to discuss an increase in overtime pay for teachers in a bid to compensate them for long working hours and attract new applicants.
A teacher gives an English lesson in the city of Saitama on July 12.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2023
Japanese junior high kids average 12% in English oral test
More than 60% of the students evaluated could not answer a single speaking question correctly.
In Japan, 35% of students graduate with a degree in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — compared with 38% in the U.S., 42% in South Korea and Germany and 45% in Britain.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 21, 2023
Japan to give ¥300 billion to universities expanding science education
As the country's R&D status continues to drop, the ministry’s new program aims to fund schools pivoting toward STEM subjects.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2023
Education ministry alarmed by teachers' long working hours
In the education, science and technology white paper for fiscal 2022, which ended in March this year, the ministry stressed that reducing hours is an urgent task.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2023
Japan university admissions seen falling by 130,000 by 2040s
The yearly number of university admissions in the 2040-2050 period was estimated to fall to around 500,000, down from about 630,000 last year, and education ministry estimate has found.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 4, 2023
Japan emphasizes students' comprehension of AI in new school guidelines
They also suggest that teachers may need to discard traditional exam and homework methods, such as writing reports, that can be easily done using AI technology.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2023
77% of junior high school teachers exceeded overtime cap in fiscal 2022
In a sign of improvement, however, the data showed that fewer teachers are working 60 hours or more a week, which would put them at greater risk of death by overwork.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2023
About 6% of children of foreign nationals may not be attending school in Japan
The ministry believes that foreign children not in school decreased as education boards stepped-up efforts to create lists of names of foreign children and their school enrollment statuses.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2023
Japan to raise income cap for higher education financial aid
The move, slated to begin in fiscal 2024, is aimed at expanding support for middle-income households with multiple children.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2023
Japan's school students won't be required to wear masks from April
Students will not be required to wear masks even when singing together, an activity believed to have a relatively high risk of infection, according to new guidelines.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 25, 2023
Bomb and death threats sent to universities and high schools across Japan
Bomb threats were sent to 12 schools while death threats were sent to 138 schools, according to the education ministry and other sources.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2023
Environment education that connects all the dots
Currently, students in Japan are taught the facts, but not necessarily how they are linked to political and social changes around the world.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 23, 2022
Over half of Japan's junior high school teachers work beyond overtime guidelines
'While there is an improving trend overall, we need to continue to promote efforts to reform working styles,' an education ministry official said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 15, 2022
Government questions Unification Church for second time
The culture minister requested the organization submit documents related to past civil lawsuits that found it responsible for illegal practices in fundraising and recruiting, sources said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2022
Education ministry eases guidance on coronavirus measures for school lunches
The ministry also asked local governments to give school lunch-related guidance and instructions based on the infection situation and other circumstances in each region.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2022
Japan ramps up Unification Church scrutiny with management and adoption probes
The inquiry into the church's management and financial status is another step toward stripping it of its 'religious corporation' status.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2022
Ministry to launch first-of-its-kind probe into Unification Church
The probe sets the stage for the controversial group to be stripped of its religious corporation status.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2022
Expert panel approves criteria for probe into religious groups
The conditions put forward by the panel will also serve as a basis for future cases where similar instances of wrongdoing are suspected by religious groups.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Did Japan intervene to prop up the yen? Analysts think it did.
A man walks past an electronic board displaying the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

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Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

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