Tag - elementary-schools

 
 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

A bereaved family member, Hideaki Tadano, watches as preservation work is carried out at the Okawa Elementary School disaster memorial site, in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on June 11.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2026
Donations help preserve tsunami-ravaged school in Miyagi Prefecture
The donations were collected through a campaign by families who lost loved ones when a tsunami struck Okawa Elementary School in March 2011.
Firefighters at Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School in Tokyo's Kita Ward on Friday after a fire at the facility.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2026
Eleven people taken to hospital following fire at Tokyo elementary school
The fire started around 11 a.m at Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School in Kita Ward.
Pupils of Ikeda Elementary School in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, lay flowers at a monument at the school on Monday, the 25th anniversary of a mass stabbing that killed eight children.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2026
Work to improve safety continues 25 years after mass stabbing at Osaka school
On June 8, 2001, a man armed with knives broke into the school and stabbed eight children to death, and injured scores of others.
The Nagoya District Court sentenced Shota Suito, a former elementary school teacher, to three years and six months in prison in Japan’s first case involving possession of AI-generated child sexual deepfakes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 5, 2026
Nagoya court recognizes AI-created explicit images as child pornography
The sentence marked the first case in Japan in which the law has been applied to the possession of AI-generated sexual deepfakes.
Cake shop and bakery worker topped rankings in a recent poll for jobs girls want to do when they grow up, in leading place for the 28th straight year since the company began the survey in 1999 and chosen by 21.2% of respondents this time.
BUSINESS
May 5, 2026
Police officer and bakery worker top kids’ dream jobs; parents eye civil service
The survey results were announced ahead of this year’s Children’s Day in Japan on Tuesday.
The Nagoya District Court has sentenced Yuji Wada, a 42-year-old former elementary school teacher who started a group chat encouraging the sharing of indecent images of young girls, to two years and six months in prison.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 16, 2026
Ex-teacher who opened group chat for sharing indecent images gets jail
Yuji Wada, one of seven teachers who reportedly victimized more than 75 children, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison by the Nagoya District Court.
Jun Izumita in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, in January. He serves as a storyteller at the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum in the town.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 8, 2026
Former teacher shares stories of children affected by 2011 disaster
Spurred by memories of children who died in the disaster, the former teacher began working at the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum as a storyteller.
Digital textbooks let students check pronunciation and practice instruments with videos, but some worry about potential effects on children's eyesight.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2026
Japanese government passes bill to make digital textbooks official
Digital textbooks are expected to be used as official learning materials from as early as fiscal 2030 after government screenings in fiscal 2028.
Haiku and paintings on the theme of cherry blossoms by elementary school students from Japan and the U.S. are displayed in Washington on Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2026
Cherry blossom haiku and art by Japanese and U.S. children on show in Washington
The exhibition marks Japan’s gifting of 250 cherry blossom trees to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding this year.
Co-representative Yasuyuki Tokuda (left) of the defense team speaks at a news conference in the city of Fukuoka on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 17, 2026
High court rejects retrial appeal over 1992 Fukuoka child murder
The defense plans to file a special appeal with the Supreme Court against the decision.
Officials from the Liberal Democratic Party, the Japan Innovation Party and Komeito shake hands after reaching an agreement on free public elementary school lunches, in parliament on Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2025
Ruling bloc and Komeito agree on free school meal program
In areas where school meals for the month cost more than ¥5,200, the additional cost may be paid by local governments or collected from parents.
Bilateral relations between China and Japan may be tense, but life goes on for the hundreds of thousands of Chinese people in Japan. “Politics and daily life are very separate,” says Zhang, a mother of three.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 15, 2025
Japan-raised Chinese children navigate complex cultural terrain
Despite bilateral tensions, daily life goes on for the hundreds of thousands of Chinese people who call Japan home — including the children and teenagers who have grown up here.
Police have arrested an elementary school teacher in Okayama Prefecture, the seventh and final suspect related to a group of teachers who allegedly shared voyeuristic videos of school girls on social media.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 7, 2025
Final suspect held in case of teachers accused of sharing child sexual abuse images
It was the seventh arrest related to a group of teachers who allegedly shared voyeuristic videos of school girls on social media.
An elementary school teacher holds items purchased out of pocket for use at work, in the city of Hiroshima in June.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Oct 13, 2025
Many public school teachers pay out of pocket for work-related costs
Payments for expenses related to classes made up 58.8% of the cases, the highest rate.
Police issued third arrest warrants on Thursday for two elementary school teachers involved in an online chat group that shared secretly taken images and videos of girls.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 12, 2025
Teachers arrested for allegedly sharing images of girls face more charges
The total number of children victimized by the group has risen to at least 25, according to the police.
The average correct answer rate for description-type questions in the Japanese-language section of the fiscal 2025 national achievement test for third-year junior high school students was as low as 25.6%, according to the education ministry.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2025
Japanese students struggle with description-type tests
Students seemed to struggle especially with questions asking them to write their thoughts in a way others can understand.
Shun Sasaki, 12, an elementary school student in Hiroshima, guides foreign visitors in English as a volunteer guide in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima on July 15.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 31, 2025
Hiroshima schoolboy keeps memories of war alive with guided tours​ in English
Shun Sasaki’s volunteer work has let to him being selected as one of two local children to speak at this year’s ceremony marking 80 years since the A-bomb was dropped.
The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section on a national test dropped to 67.0% from 67.8% the previous year among elementary school sixth-graders.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2025
Students in Japan struggle with Japanese language and math sections on national exam
The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section for junior high school third-graders fell to its lowest since the current question format was introduced in fiscal 2019.
Aichi police have arrested two elementary school teachers for allegedly taking "upskirt" photos of children and sharing them through a private social media group.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 25, 2025
Two elementary school teachers arrested for sharing ‘upskirt’ photos of children
Investigators said the two were part of a group chat that included multiple teachers from elementary and junior high schools.
A notice sent from the Sendai Municipal Government to those denied entry to an after-school care facility
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Jun 16, 2025
Sendai faces growing waitlist at after-school care facilities
The Sendai government has been working to expand the capacity of such programs, but many of them are still full.

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
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