France has seen days of protests in Paris over the rising cost of living and declining access to public services, including state education. Some demonstrations have been marred by violence and looting.
In Japan, excessive overtime work could lead to a presumed cause of death. Lots of workers have logged very high overtime hours. Families no longer accept compensation as the end of the matter and have started taking employers to court instead. These cases have started to decide what a company must know about its staff hours, and what it must do once it knows.
Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department has released a warning video highlighting the dangers of illegal part-time jobs advertised on social media, showing how young people can be drawn into organized crime through promises of easy money before being threatened with violence if they attempt to escape.
Local governments across Japan are stepping up efforts to recruit people who hold teaching licenses but are not working in schools, known as "paper teachers," as a worsening teacher shortage has seen the national ratio of applicants to available elementary school teaching positions fall from 12.5 in fiscal 2000 to just 2 in 2025.
A growing number of Chinese families are moving to Japan to escape their country's fiercely competitive education system, attracted by a more relaxed learning environment and better quality of life, as Japan's foreign resident population reaches a record 4.28 million and universities report a sharp increase in Chinese students seeking to build their futures in the country.
The proportion of parents in Japan who want a second child has fallen to a record low of 28.2%, according to a survey by major life insurer Meiji Yasuda, highlighting growing financial pressures, demanding work schedules and concerns about the future that are making it increasingly difficult for families to consider having more children.