Reforming Japan's universities
News On Japan via Japan Times -- Jul 04
Media reports say Japan's education bureaucrats are considering allowing students with "stellar" academic records to graduate from high school before they turn 18. In other words, the required three-year stint at high school might be cut to two.
In most countries, allowing university entry before age 18 would be seen as something quite normal, or even as desirable for bright math or science students. But not in Japan, at least to date.
Allowing bright students to enter university before age 18 has long been seen as rather dangerous. What would happen to group harmony in the high schools where everyone is supposed to move up together? And how about the individual concerned being seen as the nail that sticks out and facing severe discrimination?
Source: Japan Times
| Jun 20 | Convenience store believed to have been robbed by same man twice |
Police said Wednesday they are looking for a man who robbed a convenience store in Ome City, Tokyo, on Tuesday morning. Police believe the same man robbed the store in April. (Japan Today |
| Jun 20 | Tokyo pimp procured prostitutes only for perverted pics |
Multiple news outlets over the weekend reported on the arrest of a 28-year-old male for operating a prostitution ring employing underage females. (Tokyo Reporter |
| Jun 19 | No. of suicides drops below 30,000 for first time in 15 years |
The number of people who committed suicide in Japan in 2012 was 27,858, dropping below 30,000 for the first time in 15 years, the Cabinet Office said in a white paper on Tuesday. The figure was 2,800 fewer than in 2011. (Japan Today |
| Jun 19 | UNESCO register adds archive of pre-modern Japan mission to Spain |
A collection of materials related to a 17th century mission sent by a Japanese feudal lord to Europe and the world's oldest autographic diary left 10 centuries ago by a Japanese regent have been selected for the UNESCO Memory of the World registry, the Japanese education ministry said Wednesday. (Global Post |
| Jun 19 | Over 1,000 people hospitalized in Japan for heatstroke |
Almost 1,500 people were transported to hospitals by ambulance due to heatstroke last week, up sharply from 942 in the preceding week, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday. (Japan Times |
| Jun 19 | Mummified remains found in restaurant in Morioka |
Police said Tuesday that a mummified body was found earlier this month in a storage cabinet in a restaurant in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. (Japan Today |
| Jun 19 | Traffic lights on the blink / Many too old for use; some even collapse |
Among about 200,000 traffic signals nationwide, 16 percent are being used beyond the end of the expected lifetime of their electrical systems and some have even toppled over due to age, according to the National Police Agency. (Yomiuri |
| Jun 19 | Local govts wary of Mt. Fuji 'traffic jam' |
Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, will likely see its summer "traffic jam" of climbers worsen this year thanks to its expected addition to the UNESCO World Heritage List. (Yomiuri |
| Jun 19 | 'Abenomics' not raising low-end prostitution prices in Tokyo |
In May, Akira Ikoma, the editor of a guide to men's entertainment called Ore no Tabi (My Journey), said that "Abenomics" had caused a spike in prices at high-end soapland bathhouses in Tokyo. However, the same editor tells Shukan Post (June 28) that the initiative is not impacting the low-end market in the same way. (Tokyo Reporter |
| Jun 18 | Best biwa selected as gift for Imperial Household |
A competition has been held near Tokyo to choose the season's best loquats, or biwa fruit, to be presented to the Imperial Household. (NHK |










