Guidelines call for staggered school attendance

May 02, 2020 | News On Japan

May 02, 2020 (NHK) - Japan's education ministry is set to release guidelines on how schools closed due to the coronavirus outbreak could resume classes in stages.

Education minister Hagiuda Koichi said on Friday that local education boards across Japan will be informed of the guidelines the same day.

Hagiuda said the coronavirus will require a long-term response, and it must go in tandem with efforts to guarantee education. He stressed the importance of resuming school activities in stages.

The guidelines propose staggered attendance by grade or class, with priority given to the first and final grades of elementary schools and seniors at junior high schools.

Another proposal is to divide a class into several groups and use vacant classrooms to ensure that students maintain proper distancing.

The school shutdown has led to calls by some, including prefectural governors and students, to change the start of the academic year from April to September.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide told reporters on Friday that such a change would have major social repercussions.

He said the government would like to first monitor efforts to resume education. He said schools are now pressing ahead with efforts to provide remote education through the Internet and other means. Suga added that the education ministry and others will study the school-year change, while closely watching the trends in infections.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.