News On Japan

How Suzuki Method conquered the music world

TOKYO - Jan. 26 marks the 25th anniversary of the death of the violinist and teacher Shinichi Suzuki, whose approach to early childhood music education is widely known as the Suzuki Method.

His program has gained followers around the world and remains popular, with approximately 400,000 children globally learning to play instruments -- including violin, piano, cello, flute and guitar -- the Suzuki way.

The Suzuki Method is based on the idea that the attainment of musical skills can mimic the natural process of an infant acquiring a mother tongue. His approach strives to make music a part of the child's everyday environment, for instance by constantly playing recordings by masters at home while turning the seemingly daunting technical motions of music-making into fun activities. ...continue reading

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A male Asiatic black bear that appeared at Amanohashidate, one of Japan's Three Scenic Views, in Kyoto Prefecture was captured after prompting the temporary closure of the popular tourist destination and surrounding area, authorities said.

Japan's World Cup campaign begins on June 14 when the Samurai Blue face the Netherlands at Dallas Stadium in Texas, a clash that will showcase some of the game's most talented players and pit two ambitious teams against one another in a crucial Group F opener. While Japan arrives without injured winger Kaoru Mitoma, one of its most recognizable stars, the squad still boasts a wealth of talent drawn from Europe's top leagues.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) announced that an El Niño phenomenon is believed to have developed this spring, warning that Japan is likely to experience above-average temperatures nationwide this summer despite the climate pattern's traditional association with cooler summers.

Narita International Airport Corporation is expected to announce next month that it will apply to the national government for project certification as part of the process to enable compulsory land acquisition for the construction of a new runway at Narita Airport, according to sources familiar with the matter.

A fire broke out at Arima Inari Shrine near the Arima Onsen hot spring resort area in Kobe on the night of June 9th, destroying multiple buildings and leaving an elderly Shinto priest and his wife with minor injuries.

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A group of university students in Okinawa is working to combat menstrual poverty and improve understanding of menstruation through educational programs aimed at both children and adults, addressing a problem that affects roughly one in three young women in Japan.

Japan, which records the shortest average sleep duration among OECD countries, is launching new efforts to tackle widespread sleep deprivation, including the opening of specialized sleep disorder departments and programs aimed at improving children's sleep habits through sports and physical activity.

Birthrates in neighboring Kyoto and Shiga prefectures have moved in opposite directions, with experts pointing to housing costs, commuting convenience, and stable employment as key factors shaping where young families choose to live.

A panel exhibition held in Sapporo this year has reignited debate over what many experts and Ainu activists describe as a new form of discrimination—one that denies the Indigenous status of the Ainu people and seeks to reinterpret the history of discrimination they endured in Japan.

Elementary school students across Japan took part in the National Elementary School Toothbrushing Event on June 5th, with children at approximately 6,000 schools learning proper brushing techniques and oral hygiene practices under the guidance of dental hygienists.

Japan's total fertility rate, which represents the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime, fell to a record low of 1.14 in 2025, underscoring the country's deepening demographic challenges.

As Japan's shrinking youth population continues to reshape the education sector, a girls' high school in Kyoto has announced plans to become coeducational beginning next academic year.

Heart of the Country” is the story of Shinichi Yasutomo, the extraordinary principal of a rural elementary school in Kanayama, central Hokkaido, Northern Japan. Yasutomo is a man driven by his vision for learning and his passion for educating the heart as well as the mind. (TRNGL)