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Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2012

University decision was spot on

Regarding the Nov. 8 editorial "Ms. Tanaka's irrational decision": Sorry, but Education Minister Makiko Tanaka was absolutely right. She tried to open a debate on the quality of Japan's educational system. It makes no sense to open new universities as long as Japanese universities don't have standards...
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2012

U.S. study remains wise option

Unlike the situation with young Chinese and South Koreans, the number of Japanese students entering American universities has been declining over the past decade. Fewer students may be qualified to study in the United States, and others are probably choosing to study in other countries. The latter action...
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2012

International Baccalaureate classes to be taught in Japanese: government

Students in Japan may soon be able to qualify to apply for foreign universities by attending educational programs taught in Japanese, according to the education ministry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2012

Fight against Aum's mischief goes on

The final three Aum Shinrikyo fugitives are now in custody, but groups working to rescue brainwashed followers from its main successor group are continuing their fight against the cult.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2012

Academics eye global cooperation

The presidents and vice presidents of 14 universities in 10 countries and areas around the world gathered in Tokyo on Sunday to discuss how to nurture globally minded citizens in today's changing world.
Japan Times
JAPAN / QUEST FOR RECOVERY
Mar 7, 2012

Fukushima farmers in two-front war

Both the reality of radiation and the rumors surrounding it continue to plague farmers in Fukushima Prefecture a year into the crisis that started last March 11 when a megaquake and monster tsunami put a local nuclear plant on a path to three reactor meltdowns.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Dec 27, 2011

Readers' views: Do foreigners deserve a fairer shake in Japan?

Some responses to the Nov. 6 Just Be Cause column by Debito Arudou headlined "For the sake of Japan's future, foreigners deserve a fair shake":
Reader Mail
Dec 25, 2011

Misconceptions about college

Takamitsu Sawa's Dec. 19 article, "Motivation for college study," shows us what is wrong with the educational system in Japan. The comments made by a university president that are not based on knowledge or statistics are quite shocking. I started out hoping to learn more about motivation and ended up...
Reader Mail
Dec 22, 2011

What motivates illogical writing?

Regarding Takamitsu Sawa's Dec. 19 article, "Motivation for college study": Did Shiga University President Sawa originally write this piece in Japanese, and then something subsequently got lost in translation, or did a lot of it get cut in order to meet the word count? Or does he just not know how to...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2011

Japan in a European club?

Hitherto unknown and self-styled "loach" Yoshihiko Noda must learn to swim in an ocean of problems as Japan's new prime minister of the year. He has more than a plateful of domestic issues, but he should also realize, as his predecessors forgot, that Japan needs to re-engage the world if it is to find...
EDITORIALS
Jul 17, 2011

Autumn admissions

Cherry blossoms have long accompanied the start of the school year in Japan, but that may soon change to autumn leaves. The University of Tokyo is looking into the possibility of beginning its school year in the fall rather than spring. If adopted, the change, which would likely be followed by other...
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2011

Analysts call arrest over exam cheating overkill

The media are in a frenzy over the arrest of a 19-year-old boy for allegedly posting questions from the Kyoto University entrance exam online to get outside help.
Reader Mail
Feb 27, 2011

Failure rate climbs in final year

Regarding Joergen Jensen's Feb. 20 letter, "Holding students' feet to the fire": Jensen's implicit assumption is that it is very easy to pass examinations at Japanese universities and that Japanese universities only collect tuition fees but don't teach much. These are false assumptions.
Reader Mail
Feb 20, 2011

Holding students' feet to the fire

In his Feb. 17 letter, "Need for universities seems moot," Dipak Basu seems to put most of the blame on companies for the custom of recruiting third- and fourth-year students and thus causing them to lose valuable study opportunities during their last two years of university. Moreover, Basu writes that...
COMMENTARY
Feb 17, 2011

What became of the Meiji spirit?

LONDON — The number of Japanese studying at top universities abroad has been declining while the number of outstanding Chinese students has been increasing. Numbers are not everything, but it is disturbing to see reports that Japanese students are less willing than Chinese to participate actively in...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 12, 2011

Japan urged to beef up business ties with India

Japan has yet to explore the potential of its economic relations with India, even though the strategic importance of Tokyo-New Delhi ties has repeatedly been emphasized, Indian scholars and experts told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CAREER-SEARCH CRISIS
Jan 28, 2011

Foreigners solicited, hard-pressed to stay

Despite sending his resume to more than 15 companies, Bryan Cheng, a Taiwanese graduate student at Waseda University in Tokyo, hasn't received any positive replies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CAREER-SEARCH CRISIS
Jan 28, 2011

Window of opportunity peephole?

The job-recruiting process requires an overhaul if the government seriously hopes to ease the pressure on struggling students seeking work after they graduate, according to University of Tokyo professor Yuki Honda.
Reader Mail
Jan 23, 2011

Increase the appeal of graduates

Regarding the Jan. 17 editorial "Students feel heat of joblessness": It's very sad news to hear of the plight of new grads from Japanese universities. It is disheartening when nearly one in 12 students cannot get a job in his own country. This could lead to frustration with the higher education system...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2010

Why can't Japan be more like South Korea?

Countless commentators both here in Japan and abroad have deplored the insularity of Japanese society. They lament the paucity of Japanese venturing abroad to study, teach or work. Japan's multinational corporations are regularly criticized for failing to internationalize their corporate management....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Sep 23, 2010

Language teacher Kae Minami

Kae Minami, 32, is a bilingual language teacher. For the past seven years, she has had an outstanding record as a top Japanese juku sensei (prep school teacher). Her foreign students start out with virtually no knowledge of Japanese and almost all of them pass their Japanese university entrance exams,...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 5, 2010

What Japan must do now to survive the coming U.S. conflagration

It is no secret that the tectonic plates of the American empire are slipping dramatically, though the vast majority of Americans are blissfully unaware or in denial of what may soon occur.
EDITORIALS
Aug 23, 2010

Graduate employment crunch

The education ministry's survey of schools as of May 1 sheds light on difficulties that high school and university graduates are encountering in the job market. The government and the corporate sector should take a serious look at the results of the annual survey, which were made public Aug. 5, and consider...
JAPAN / JAPANESE LANGUAGE EDUCATION
Aug 20, 2010

Meager pay keeps ranks of instructors in doldrums

English is a hot topic these days, thanks to the announcement by Rakuten Inc., Japan's biggest Internet shopping mall operator, that it was making English its official company language.
COMMENTARY
Aug 2, 2010

Go past Koizumi's reforms to restore the Meiji spirit

LONDON — "Japan has lost its place in world, no longer serious economic power."

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?