Monthly allowances given by parents to students who entered private colleges in the Tokyo metropolitan area last spring dropped for the 16th straight year, a survey has showed.   The average allowance per month for first-year students at school away from home fell by ¥1,000 from the previous year to ¥85,700, according to the survey released Wednesday by the Tokyo….Read more

Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hirokazu Matsuno announced the new curriculum guidelines for elementary and junior high schools as well as the new education guidelines for kindergartens in the March 31 official gazette. In light of comments received from the public on the draft version [of the guidelines], MEXT made an unusual move and changed its draft….Read more

The government’s plan to improve the English proficiency of students has yielded dismal results, according to the education ministry’s latest survey of junior high and high school students.

The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has adopted a statement that the government approves the use of the 1890 Imperial Rescript on Education as a teaching material at schools. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the use of the rescript in ethics classes “cannot be disapproved.”   The rescript, which served as the prewar standards for education in Japan,….Read more

Yomiuri front-paged an announcement by the Education Ministry on Wednesday of the results of its fiscal 2016 survey of the English proficiency of students at public junior high and high schools across Japan. The survey showed that the proportion of third-year junior high school students with English skills equivalent to Grade 3 in the Eiken English proficiency test or higher….Read more

The number of foreign students in Japan rose by 14.8 percent as of May 2016 from a year earlier, propelled by a boost in those from Vietnam, a public tally showed Friday.   According to the Japan Student Services Organization, an independent administrative entity affiliated with the education ministry, 239,287 foreigners were studying across Japan as of May 1 last….Read more

On March 30, Times Higher Education (THE), which issues the world university rankings, announced for the first time university rankings for Japan. The list was formed in cooperation with Benesse Corporation. While the world university rankings emphasize the research capacities of the institutions, the Japanese version looks more at the quality of undergraduate education. The top 15 positions out of 20 on….Read more

Half of the 68 boards of education nationwide favored applicants with good English skills in the hiring process for public elementary school teachers this past academic year, according to a government survey.     According to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, 34 boards said they favored applicants who were proficient in English, based on results in assessments….Read more

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Thursday it will open a language immersion facility in Koto Ward in September 2018 to raise the English proficiency of children ahead of the 2020 Olympics.