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July 15, 2025
 

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SCHOOL

One-third of elementary school students in Japan do not like learning English, according to a 2021 poll, an 8% rise since 2013. The pressure of taking proficiency tests is eroding children's engagement with studying English and its benefits.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 17, 2025
Japan’s English-language education doesn’t pass the test
An excessive focus on testing students' English ability is turning language learning into a chore, depriving children of the joy and opportunities of intercultural communication.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 12, 2022
Years of pandemic school closures leave Philippines with deep scars
Protracted school closures worsen basic literacy standards and will likely reduce the productivity and earnings of children once they enter the workforce, the World Bank has warned.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
May 19, 2018
Losing one's lunch
'Do you remember what your mother used to put in your bento for lunch at elementary school?'
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Apr 14, 2018
School rules: Dress for success
'I saw a lot of men wearing black suits and ties in the neighborhood this morning and thought for a second someone really prominent must have passed away.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Apr 9, 2018
In Kanagawa, homeless grow crops and confidence
Kiyoko Ojima awoke to the problems of the needy while in elementary school, when she came across a TV documentary about trying to find solutions to starvation in Africa.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Feb 10, 2018
Early learner
'Hurry up. We're going to be late for school.'
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 31, 2017
Lessons about Japan's school catchment areas
A neighbor recently asked us to sign a petition requesting that the local education committee keep a certain elementary school open. Due to falling enrollment, students who attended the school would be transferred to a different one in the near future.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 29, 2017
It's time to bring Japanese schools into the 21st century
Japan must develop an educational system that makes its citizens become more relevant to the globalized economy.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 2, 2017
The naivete of youth can be a costly problem
From Aug. 15, the Yukan Fuji ran a three-part series by investigative reporter Fumiaki Tada about the "dangerous summer" that confronts Japan's young people, including the possibility of falling victim to fraud or robbery.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Jul 22, 2017
Marine Day Special: Summer days
'Hurry up and pack your bag. We've got to get back to Tokyo. You've got school tomorrow.'
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2017
Junior high students rip elementary English as 'useless': survey
Around half of junior high school students have called the English skills they acquired in elementary schools “useless,” according to recent findings by education services provider Benesse Holdings Inc.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2017
It's time to get real about curriculum reform
Overhauling the curriculum to better prepare students for the future is commendable, but only if the changes are grounded in reality.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 7, 2017
No wide agreement on how to handle bullying
A better way for both Japan and the U.S. to handle bullying is to intervene before the problem occurs.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Dec 17, 2016
Youth must be served
'Come along everyone, let's go back to class now.'
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 29, 2016
Digital textbooks are accompanied by caveats
It's only a matter of time before the days of students lugging around backpacks full of heavy books are over.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 5, 2016
Time to include teachers in textbook selections
Teachers are professionals who are less likely to be swayed by special interest groups. It's time to give them a louder voice in the textbook selection process.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 17, 2016
No excuse for Japan's increasing truancy rate
In so many other countries around the world schooling is denied those who genuinely want an education. Yet in Japan and the U.S., where education is a right, truancy persists.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Nov 21, 2015
Nice guys finish last
The dean is so nice, right?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 3, 2015
'College for all' obsession is fueling truancy
The 'college for all' obsession of many high schools is alienating children who would benefit more from vocational education.
EDITORIALS
Aug 29, 2015
A need to reduce school pressures
The link between the end of school breaks and a rise in child suicides highlights the need to reduce school pressures on students.
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
Tropical Storm Nari moves northward, with possible landfall Tuesday
Tropical Storm Nari's forecast path as of Monday morning
Nissan clinches $4.5 billion bond deal after orders soar
Nissan Motor has raised $4.5 billion through a junk bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros, part of which carries a record-high coupon rate.
Students in Japan struggle with Japanese language and math sections on national exam
The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section on a national test dropped to 67.0% from 67.8% the previous year among elementary school sixth-graders.
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
Is Japanese skin really ‘too smooth’ for Hideo Kojima’s games?
Hideo Kojima, the leading auteur in Japanese video games, has skirted controversy in the wake of the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
An emoji used to say it all. Now it might say too much.
Apple’s Craig Federighi shows off a set of emoji at a conference on June 13, 2016. While the small pictures have proved helpful in conveying nuance in our texts, younger people are using them less often.
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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