News On Japan

Autumn Sleep Day: 80% of Students Not Getting Enough Sleep

TOKYO - September 3 is designated as 'Autumn Sleep Day,' a day to raise awareness about health and sleep, as new data reveals that nearly 80% of high school students are not getting the recommended amount of shut eye.

A first-year high school student commented on their sleep routine, saying, "I usually go to bed around 12:30 AM and wake up around 5:30 AM." When asked if they only get about five hours of sleep, they confirmed, "Yes."

According to a survey conducted by the Japan Sleep Science Research Institute and others, 33.9% of adults fail to achieve the government-recommended minimum of six hours of sleep on weekdays, while the figure rises to 41.3% on weekends.

For junior high and high school students, the recommended sleep duration is between eight to ten hours. However, 78.1% of high school students on weekdays and 52.4% on weekends fall short of this recommendation.

Among junior high school students, 50.7% reported insufficient sleep on weekdays, and the number was even higher for elementary school students, at 38.5%.

To address sleep issues among children, major companies like eyewear giant JINS and NTT East Japan are taking proactive steps, including implementing sleep education programs.

Source: ANN

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

The family of James "Weston" Higginbotham, a 20-year-old Auburn University student who disappeared during a family vacation in Japan, announced on June 7th that he has been found dead after a volunteer search-and-rescue group located his body in a mountainous area outside Kyoto, bringing a week-long multinational search to a tragic end.

Japan's Meteorological Agency announced on June 7th that the rainy season is believed to have begun in the Tokai and Kanto-Koshin regions, marking the seasonal shift to wetter weather across a broad area of the country.

Expectations for Japan are unusually high heading into the 2026 World Cup, with the team now aiming not merely to reach the knockout stage but to finally break through the Round of 16 and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time.

Residents in Nara Prefecture are celebrating after UNESCO's advisory body recommended the archaeological complex known as the Asuka-Fujiwara Ancient Capitals for inscription as a World Heritage site, bringing the historic birthplace of Japan's ancient state one step closer to international recognition.

A tropical depression is expected to move northward this weekend and could bring another round of heavy rain to parts of Japan, following a week in which Typhoon Jangmi (Typhoon No. 6) caused significant rainfall and left some areas vulnerable to further weather-related damage.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Education NEWS

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)

An Indonesian bus driver working in Tokyo says language barriers and differences in communication styles remain among the biggest challenges facing foreign workers in Japan, highlighting the importance of support from employers and colleagues as the country increasingly relies on overseas labor.

Japan will begin rolling out a major overhaul of its disaster weather information system from the afternoon of May 28th, reorganizing warnings and advisories to make it easier for residents to understand when they should evacuate.

Two recent murder cases in Hokkaido, in which groups of young people were accused of taking the lives of a high school girl in Asahikawa and a male university student in Ebetsu, have drawn renewed attention to the psychology behind crimes committed by groups.

Education Minister Yohei Matsumoto said on May 22nd that Doshisha International High School's planning, on-site response and safety management during a study trip to Okinawa were "grossly inappropriate," placing extremely heavy responsibility on the school and its operator after two small boats carrying students capsized off Henoko in Nago, killing a student and a captain.