Hokkaido City Drills for Bear Encounters

Foreign drivers seeking to convert overseas licenses into Japanese ones are increasingly turning to driving schools after tougher rules introduced last October sharply reduced pass rates for both written and practical checks.

Foreign-born sumo wrestlers are often praised for speaking remarkably natural Japanese, a sharp contrast to many overseas athletes in other professional sports.

Police in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture, presented letters of appreciation to two first-year junior high school students on July 10 after they chased a suspected shoplifter for about 250 meters and helped detain the person.

Noboribetsu in Hokkaido conducted a drill to cull a brown bear under emergency gun-hunting procedures, based on a scenario in which a bear appeared at a park near schools and residential areas in the city, with local hunters taking part as bear sightings continue to be reported across Japan.

An event designed to help nurses think about future career paths while building practical skills opened in Tokyo on July 8, offering hands-on training sessions alongside sales of colorful uniforms and stethoscopes.

Job hunting for high school students due to graduate next spring has entered full swing, with 84 companies and about 400 students taking part in a joint corporate briefing session in Osaka as employers intensify efforts to secure young workers.

The education ministry said July 3 that it plans to certify Kyoto University as an International University for Research Excellence, a government-backed designation aimed at fostering research institutions capable of competing at the highest global level.

A night junior high school in Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture, where all 30 students have roots overseas, is taking on a new role as a bridge between foreign residents and local communities in Japan.