Category: Education

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 2, 2025 Number of comments0
Abuse Children Crime Education Japan Sexual abuse

Japanese Teacher Admits Sharing Child Pornography

Japanese elementary school teacher Fumiya Kosemura pleaded guilty to charges of sharing child pornography via social media, in the first hearing on his case at Nagoya District Court on Wednesday. The charges are “correct, and I’m very sorry,” said Kosemura, 37, a teacher at a public elementary school in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, who has been indicted for voyeurism and indecent assault. According to the indictment, Kosemura filmed secretly the underwear of a 7-year-old girl at a facility in Kanagawa and shared the video data within the group between January and February this year.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt August 25, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Education Intellectual disabilities Japan

Japan’s Ministry of Education to Examine Appropriate Teaching Methods in High Schools

The Ministry of Education announced plans to review how tsūkyū shidō—a system that allows students with developmental disabilities to take some lessons in separate rooms while remaining in regular classes—can be better implemented in high schools. While more than 200,000 students nationwide now use tsūkyū shidō, the highest number on record, participation among high school students remains limited. Starting next year, the ministry will designate model schools to study effective teaching methods, expand support with a focus on employment after graduation, and promote awareness of the system. It will also research ways to share information between schools and disability support facilities using ICT, and improve teachers’ understanding of severe behavioral disorders.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 19, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Education Japan Sexual abuse

Japanese Government to Seek Students’ Opinions for Sexual Abuse Prevention

Japan’s Children and Families Agency will hold an in-person session next month to hear the opinions of junior high and high school students on a planned system for checking whether teachers have sexual crime records.  Over the so-called Japanese version of Britain’s Disclosure and Barring Service, the government set up a panel of experts in April to discuss its details, and plans to draw up related ordinances and guidelines later this year and implement them on Dec. 25, 2026. Around 12 students will be selected by lottery from volunteers to participate in the upcoming hearing session at the agency.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 10, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Education Health Japan Work

Experts Warn of “June Syndrome” among Children in Japan

Experts warn about so-called June syndrome, or mental and physical distress due to accumulating fatigue over the two months since the beginning of April, when many people start new jobs or schools in Japan. Much like the better-known May syndrome, or May blues, June syndrome is a general term for mental and physical disorders and is medically classified as adjustment disorder. Common symptoms include inability to get up in the morning, insomnia, headaches, abdominal pain, dizziness, nausea, malaise and loss of appetite. According to the education ministry, the number of students who refuse to attend elementary or junior high schools totaled a record 346,482 in the 2023 academic year through March 2024. Although there are no monthly data on the start of children’s refusal to go to school, many say that June syndrome is behind the increase in truancy.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 21, 2025 Number of comments0
Coronavirus COVID-19 Disability Education Japan

Japanese students abroad up 1.5-fold post COVID-19 pandemic

The number of Japanese students who studied abroad in the fiscal year through March 2024 rose 1.5-fold from the previous year to 89,179 following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent survey by a public organization. But the survey conducted by the Japan Student Services Organization also showed that the total was about 26,000 fewer than the peak in the year from April 2018, the highest since comparable data became available in fiscal 2009.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt May 13, 2025 Number of comments0
Children Education Japan

Bullying victim quit prestigious Japan national elementary school

A pupil at a prestigious national elementary school in Tokyo quit the school this year after being the victim of bullying, a source close to the matter said Monday. It was the second straight year that the Elementary School attached to University of Tsukuba has reported a “serious” incident to the education ministry. The law to promote preventive measures for bullying stipulates incidents as “serious” if they are deemed to have caused severe physical and mental damage to students or students are forced to be absent from school for a considerable period of time.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 26, 2025 1
Barrier Free developmental disabilities Education Japan

Nippon Foundation Estimates 360,000 Young People in Japan have been Diagnosed with Developmental Disorders

On March 27, the Nippon Foundation announced an estimate that 364,000 young people between the ages of 20 and 25 have been diagnosed with developmental disorders. It said that 870,000 people believe that they have the disorder even though they have not been diagnosed. In order to understand the actual situation of young people who are unable to adapt to university life or job hunting, an online survey was conducted in November 2024. 17,398 people responded.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 18, 2025 Number of comments0
ADHD Autism Education Japan Musashino Higashi Gakuen Podcast

Scandal-Hit ‘Inclusive’ Tokyo School Files Suit Against Parents Association and Reporter After Concerns Raised Over New Chairman [Podcast Episode]

On April 15th, Musashino Higashi Gakuen, an educational corporation based in Tokyo renowned for its inclusive educational model, filed a lawsuit seeking 725.72 million yen in damages. The lawsuit names several defendants, including individuals affiliated with an association purporting to protect the school, parents and guardians of graduates from its advanced vocational school, along with a reporter from the ‘Weekly Bunshun.’

by Michael Gillan Peckitt April 17, 2025 1
ADHD Autism Barrier Free Disability Education Japan Musashino Higashi Gakuen

Scandal-Hit ‘Inclusive’ Tokyo School Files Suit Against Parents Association and Reporter After Concerns Raised Over New Chairman

On April 15th, Musashino Higashi Gakuen, an educational corporation based in Tokyo renowned for its inclusive educational model, filed a lawsuit seeking 725.72 million yen in damages. The lawsuit names several defendants, including individuals affiliated with an association purporting to protect the school, parents and guardians of graduates from its advanced vocational school, along with a reporter from the ‘Weekly Bunshun.’