EDUCATION NEWS

An apparent surge in unintended pregnancies since April as the COVID-19 pandemic forces people to spend more time at home has prompted the health ministry to launch a nationwide study in order to come up with more effective policies to support women. (Japan Times)

Princess Kako, the niece of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, turned 26 on Tuesday, while spending much of her recent time at her residence in Tokyo and performing her duties online amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to the Imperial Household Agency. (Kyodo)

World-renowned for their quality and beauty, Japanese kitchen knives are some of the best in the world. (newsonjapan.com)

How to enjoy Quarantine Christmas.We are spending our first Christmas in our new home. Since we couldn't go out this year, we ordered the Christmas dinner from Casita, dressed up, and decorated the dining room like a restaurant. (Kimono Mom)

Students at this unique suburban Tokyo school learn valuable life lessons in the kitchen. (NHK)

About 18 percent of more than 1,000 universities and other higher education institutions in Japan continued to reduce their in-person teaching to less than half of their total as of October due to the coronavirus pandemic, the education ministry said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

The number of teachers at public schools in Japan who received disciplinary action or a reprimand for sexual misconduct in fiscal 2019 stood at 273, the second-highest figure on record, education ministry data showed Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Japan will remove the limit on the amount of time that children can spend looking at screens in class from April as it aims to introduce digital textbooks to all schools by fiscal 2025, Nikkei has learned. (Nikkei)

She’s worried about side effects and has faith in the precautions already underway. The 32-year-old elite athlete isn’t alone. (washingtonpost.com)

Easy Christmas Dinner Idea - Best Holiday Meal Recipes. Japanese mom & baby is cooking the hot pot for Christmas at home. (Kimono Mom)

Traditional Japanese architectural craftsmanship used in timber-framed structures was approved Thursday for addition to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, a committee of the U.N. cultural body said. (Kyodo)

Finance Minister Taro Aso and education minister Koichi Hagiuda agreed Thursday to reduce the maximum number of students per class at public elementary schools to 35 by fiscal 2025 from the current 40. (Japan Times)

A written character that evokes everything people in Japan were urged to avoid this year -- crowds, confined spaces and close contact with others -- was on Monday voted the country's top linguistic symbol of 2020. (yahoo.com)

Marriage and childbirth go hand in hand in Japan, perhaps more so than in many other developed countries, but for Rei Kakyoin, a self-identified asexual, the former was never an option. (Kyodo)

Some people’s lives are like horror movies. It’s strange that, in an age that can create virtual reality, self-driving cars and intelligent machines, the world’s third-largest economy can’t solve the problem of human misery. Maybe it’s insoluble. (Japan Times)

The number of people who killed themselves in Japan in November increased 11.3% from a year earlier to 1,798, rising for the fifth straight month, data from the National Police Agency shows. (Japan Times)

A university in Japan is introducing an entrance exam method in which applicants can use smartphones and tablet computers to search for information. (NHK)

Japan's government and ruling parties agreed Thursday to stop paying 'special' child benefits to households with an annual income of Y12 million or more. (Japan Times)

We’ll be taking a look at ten of the best ways to learn this awesome language. (newsonjapan.com)

Japanese junior high school students are improving their scores in mathematics while elementary school students' scores in science are declining. (NHK)