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August 11, 2026
 

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Students in Tokyo participate in a Work In Japan job fair. The country needs to support both academic Japanese studies and children¡¯s family languages to promote educational success.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 31, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ overlooked language crisis
Conversational fluency is different from the language needed to follow classroom lessons, understand abstract concepts and produce sustained academic writing.
The government eyes financial support for local vocational schools that train students for elderly care and other sectors facing personnel shortages.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 21, 2026
Education ministry to aid regional human resources development
The government¡¯s project would help support Â鶹´«Ã½ local essential services, from medical and elderly care to construction.
The rate of elementary and junior high school students requiring financial aid for school expenses among all students attending public schools was 13.36% in fiscal 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 8, 2026
Number of students receiving financial aid for school falls for 13th year
Â鶹´«Ã½ central government offers financial aid for school expenses to those living on welfare, while boards of education can offer assistance based on their own criteria.
Kyoto University is expected to be designated as a University for International Research Excellence by the end of this summer, which would make it eligible for aid from a Japanese government-financed ?10 trillion ($62.2 billion) fund.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 3, 2026
Kyoto University to be third recipient of world-class research aid
It is expected to be certified as a University for International Research Excellence by the end of summer, which would make it eligible for aid from a ?10 trillion fund.
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population.?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2026
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
Once volunteer-based, the system is shifting toward shared responsibility between local governments and trained professionals.
The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2026
Japan to launch language support project for foreign children
The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025.
How Japanese-language instruction is provided currently varies widely according to region.
JAPAN / Society
May 26, 2026
Record number of students in Japan need help learning Japanese
As of May 2025, a total of 84,759 students at public elementary, junior high, high and special needs schools required support, a government survey shows.
"K¨­sen" technical colleges are five-year institutions offering higher education to students who have graduated from junior high school, with the aim of nurturing practical and creative engineers.
JAPAN
May 24, 2026
Japan may add farming and anime courses to technical colleges
In response to many local governments aiming to establish new ¡°k¨­sen¡± technical colleges, the ministry hopes to develop talent in a wide range of areas.
Education ministry officials announce the findings of an investigation into the fatal boat accident in March off the coast of Henoko, in Okinawa Prefecture, at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 23, 2026
Government finds school program violated law in wake of deadly Okinawa boat accident
It was the first time since the current basic education law was enacted that the education ministry has found a case in violation of the law on the grounds of political neutrality.
The central government plans to launch a new subsidy program from fiscal 2027 onward to support public high schools nationwide.
JAPAN
May 7, 2026
Public high schools to receive more aid after private tuition made free
The initiative comes amid concerns full funding of private high school tuition from April could reduce applications to public high schools.
In March 2025, the Tokyo District Court issued a dissolution order to the Unification Church, following a request from the culture ministry.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 23, 2026
At least ?40 billion secured in Unification Church liquidation
Claims of losses from large donations to the Unification Church will be accepted for a year from May 20.
A classroom at Ozu Junior High School in Izumiotsu, Osaka Prefecture, looks more like a cafe, and students can sit wherever they want during social studies class.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Apr 20, 2026
At a unique state school in Osaka Prefecture, students take the lead
At Ozu Junior High School, students have determined the look of their uniform, the design of a library and classroom, and even the school¡¯s guidelines.
Aya Puka (left), the vice representative of the Triple-Helix Roundtable for International Ph.D. Talent initiative, Thomas Busch (second from left), the dean of the graduate school at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Hirokazu Kato (center), director of Nara Institute of Science and Technology¡¯s (NAIST) regional co-creation office, and Naoya Taniguchi (second from right), NAIST assistant professor and program representative, attend an event announcing the program in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2026
Japan universities announce plan to boost foreign Ph.D. recruitment and development
The move comes as the country steps up efforts to strengthen its competitiveness amid intensifying global competition for skilled workers.
Digital textbooks let students check pronunciation and practice instruments with videos, but some worry about potential effects on children's eyesight.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2026
Japanese government passes bill to make digital textbooks official
Digital textbooks are expected to be used as official learning materials from as early as fiscal 2030 after government screenings in fiscal 2028.
Many high school textbooks to be used from fiscal 2027 have descriptions about generative AI.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2026
High school textbooks to teach various aspects of generative AI
A total of 220 textbooks for 11 subjects have passed the second round of screenings conducted under the current curriculum guidelines.
The education ministry found that 111, or about 14%, of all universities in Japan offering teacher training courses do not provide classes on sexual violence prevention as required by law.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2026
Education ministry aims for stricter curbs against teacher voyeurism
Last year, authorities uncovered an incident in which seven teachers secretly shared videos of female students in a social media group chat.
Education minister Yohei Matsumoto bows as he explains about his alleged extramarital affair reported in an online magazine during a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 12, 2026
Takaichi backs education minister after affair report
The allegation of an extramarital affair by Yohei Matsumoto was reported by Bunshun Online, the digital version of the weekly Shukan Bunshun magazine.
Vietnamese students attend a Japanese language class at a job placement company in Hanoi in October 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2026
The limits of Â鶹´«Ã½ immigration charade
Until now, the quality and training of Japanese-language teachers were largely left to the private sector, including academia.
The education ministry noted that schools are struggling to find nonregular teachers to replace young regular teachers leaving for illness, pregnancy, childbirth or other reasons.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2026
3,827 teacher positions unfilled across Japan: 2025 survey
The figure jumped from 2,065 in the previous survey four years earlier, reflecting the country¡¯s worsening teacher shortage.
Education minister Yohei Matsumoto speaks during a news conference at the parliamentary building on Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2026
Ministry approves Institute of Science Tokyo¡¯s plans to boost research
The institution was selected last month to receive aid from the government¡¯s ?10 trillion fund designed to foster universities with world-class research capabilities.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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