Tag - mext

 
 

MEXT

JAPAN
Apr 30, 2014
Education ministry body to roll out English-only meetings
Meetings on English education at a division of the education ministry will be conducted in English beginning in May on a trial basis, in an apparent move to both reflect and promote the trend in language education.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 23, 2014
Plans don't make the grade
Don't count on the education ministry's plan to hire more foreign teachers and students to have much effect on its goal of getting at least 10 Japanese universities to place among the world's top 100.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2014
Wood the material of choice at schools
The government is promoting a shift from reinforced concrete to wood for school buildings because of the favorable educational and health effects.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2014
Japan teacher manuals state official positions on Senkaku and Takeshima isles
The education ministry instructs junior high and high school teachers to use newly revised manuals to teach their students that the Senkaku Islands and Takeshima islets are “integral parts of Japanese territory.”
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2014
Leave those kids alone
The education ministry should rethink its attempt to introduce 'morals' as an official subject of instruction in elementary and junior high schools.
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2014
Dubious cure for doctor shortage
The education ministry's recent decision to approve creation of a new medical school at an existing university in Tohoku marks a new development in the government's oscillating policy on the education of doctors.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 29, 2013
Education in 2013: an 'A' for ambition, but Japan will have to do better
Will 2014 be the year we start to see a genuinely forward-thinking, globalized outlook for education in Japan? The rapidly changing global economy, regional tensions and shrinking population suggest huge challenges await the country's youth on their emergence into the job market in the coming years.
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2013
Year of ups and downs for Japan
Japan in 2013 was besieged by problems in politics, business and society even while several key events helped to rekindle a sense of confidence in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 28, 2013
Is teacher demoralization the next step?
Publicizing the names of teachers in newspapers when their students fail to measure up could be a prescription for demoralization in Japan.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2013
Record number of teachers reprimanded for corporal punishment in 2012
A record 2,253 public school teachers were reprimanded for corporal punishment nationwide in the 2012 academic year — up nearly sixfold from the previous year, the education ministry said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 17, 2013
Misguided focus on test results
Reversing its traditional position, the education ministry has decided to let municipal boards of education publicize the results for individual schools in the achievement tests taken by sixth and ninth graders nationwide. An even worse obsession with test scores could follow.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2013
Reports of school bullying in Japan up 180%
The number of reported cases of school bullying surged to 198,108 last year, 2.8 times more than the roughly 70,000 cases reported the year before, the education ministry says.
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2013
In rare move, new medical department to be set up at university in Tohoku
The government will permit a university in Tohoku to establish a new medical department, education minister Hakubun Shimomura said.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2013
History texts to get official spin
The education ministry plans to have textbooks for elementary, junior high and high schools reflect the government's position on 'historical facts.'
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2013
Cost of building new National Stadium to be cut
The education and sports ministry is working on slashing the cost of replacing National Stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and projected facilities surrounding it to ¥180 billion, sources said Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2013
Major campaign launched to encourage young people to study overseas
In its drive to double the number of Japanese youths studying abroad by 2020, the education ministry has launched a campaign involving the private sector, which is eager to hire more graduates with overseas experience.
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2013
Taketomi Town's prerogative
The education ministry has cherry-picked a provision of the Local Autonomy Law to try to justify its order to compel a town in the Yaeyama Islands to adopt a textbook for junior high schools.
EDITORIALS
Oct 10, 2013
Political intervention in education
The education ministry should drop its threat to have Taketomi Town of Okinawa Prefecture declared a scofflaw for refusing to adopt a school civics textbook selected by an area council.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2013
Unified Japan college entrance test to be replaced
The education ministry plans to scrap the unified test for university admissions and instead establish a new achievement test for high school students, ministry sources said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2013
Super global English schools
One recent proposal likely to have a good effect on English education in Japan is allowing certain high schools to teach subjects such as science or math in English.

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'