Covert

Hi all,

Following are a dozen news stories that have appeared in Japanese
national newspapers over the past week concerning children's issues and
educational matters here in Japan.

Happy reading,

Brian Covert
(KnoK NEWS)
Osaka, Japan

------------------------

(1) Asahi Evening News - Sunday, 22 October 2000

CHILD OF WAR TAKES UP THE ARMS OF COMPASSION

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi wears many hats: the author of the phenomenal
bestseller "Madogiwa no Totto-chan" (Totto-chan: Little Girl at the
Window); actress; television talk-show host; financial supporter of a
theater for the deaf; essayist; and UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

The latest English-language edition from the Totto-chan output --
"Totto-chan's Children: A Goodwill Journey to the Children of the World"
(Kodansha International, 2,500 yen) -- was born out of her field trips as
a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund.

*for whole story, go to --->

http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1022/asahi102207.html


(2) Mainichi Daily News - Sunday, 22 October 2000

MOBILE PHONES SILENCE CHATTY STUDENTS

Long gone are the days when students babbling amongst themselves plagued
university professors' classes.

Instead, students are now more likely to ruin a class by being totally
silent.

And, according to a shocking study by an associate professor at Konan
Women's University, quiet lecture halls are most likely the result of
students' fascination with e-mailing from their mobile phones.

*for whole story, go to -->

http://www.mainichi.co.jp/english/news/archive/200010/22/news03.html


(3) Mainichi Daily News - Sunday, 22 October 2000

UNIVERSITY COVERED UP ACCOUNTANT'S FRAUD

Taxpayer-funded Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology covered up
embbezzlement by a senior accountant of about 8 million yen in public
funds, it was learned Saturday.

The university paid a full amount of retirement allowance to the
45-year-old accountant, who resigned over the incident, and failed to
report the incident to its regulator, the Ministry of Education.

*for whole story, go to -->

http://www.mainichi.co.jp/english/news/archive/200010/22/news10.html


(4) The Japan Times - Monday, 23 October 2000

MORE WOMEN WANTED FOR EDUCATION BOARDS

The Education Ministry has decided to seek a revision in an education law
that would require local governments to include more women and younger
people on their education boards so that a greater diversity of opinions
will be reflected in local education policies, ministry sources said
Saturday.

Critics say that education boards are out of touch with school students,
as the bodies are dominated by middle-aged and elderly men.

*for whole story, go to --->

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20001023a7.htm


(5) Asahi Evening News - Tuesday, 24 October 2000

IN PRAISE OF HELPING CHILDREN TO GROW NICELY

[S]ome local authorities have begun to pay serious attention to the
effects of praising children, for example, by setting up a system to
award children for their strong points, not only for grades in school
subjects.

The town of Kokubunji, Tochigi Prefecture, became one of the first
municipal authorities to reward children in this way with the passing of
a local ordinance on the issue 15 years ago.

Under the system, children up until junior high school are rewarded for
kindness, effort and voluntary activities as well as for achievements in
sports and their studies.

*for whole story, go to --->

http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1024/asahi102401.html


(6) The Daily Yomiuri - Tuesday, 24 October 2000

BIG JUMP SEEN IN INDECENT ACTS BY TEACHERS

The number of public school teachers disciplined for indecent behavior
toward students, including those who were dismissed or suspended from
duty, increased more than fourfold in the 10 years up to fiscal 1998, The
Yomiuri Shimbun learned Monday.

According to the results of an Education Ministry survey, the total
number of public school teachers disciplined for any reason increased by
50 percent during the decade.

*for whole story, go to --->

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1024so06.htm


(7) Asahi Evening News - Wednesday, 25 October 2000

MOTHERS SHOW LITTLE HESITATION TO GET GRANDMA TO RAISE THE KIDS

Raising children is still an "impossible task" for working couples.
Although the government has championed child rearing to counteract the
nation's low birthrate, the provision of public child-care services --
notably, nurseries -- is sadly inadequate.

Many working couples still rely on the "parents' network." Many younger
couples -- no longer nervous about the delicate "wife and mother-in-law"
relationship -- also show no hesitation in asking the older generation
for help.

*for whole story, go to --->

http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1025/asahi102510.html


(8) Asahi Evening News - Wednesday, 25 October 2000

PANEL CALLS FOR LAW SCHOOL SYSTEM

Members of the Justice Ministry's council for judicial reform agreed
Tuesday to propose the introduction of a system of postgraduate law
schools.

The council has discussed plans to establish law schools that aim to
cultivate high-quality legal specialists in Japan. The proposal will be
included in the interim report that the council is to submit to the
Cabinet in mid-November.

This report is a step toward the creation of postgraduate law schools
that would emphasize meaningful learning of legal concepts, as opposed to
rote learning. The new system will be designed to help 70 to 80 percent
of students who work conscientiously pass the bar exam. Currently, only 3
percent of applicants pass each sitting of the bar exam.

for whole story, go to --->

http://www.asahi.com/english/asahi/1025/asahi102507.html


(9) The Daily Yomiuri - Wednesday, 25 October 2000

PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL TO SUSPEND OPERATIONS

Nippon Kageki Gakko, a two-year performing arts school and the training
ground for members of OSK Nippon Kagekidan, an all-female revue troupe
that has produced a host of popular performers -- including "queen of
boogie-woogie" Shizuko Kasagi -- is to close for the time being due to
financial difficulties.

The school, located in Ayameike, Nara Prefecture, has announced that it
will suspend operations from next spring, when its current second-year
students graduate. The students are the last remaining pupils at the
school, which has not recruited any new students in the last two years.

*for whole story, go to --->

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1025cu14.htm


(10) The Daily Yomiuri - Wednesday, 25 October 2000

GOVT TO EDUCATE STUDENTS ON GOOD DIETARY HABITS

The Education Ministry will produce two textbooks designed to educate
children about the importance of regular, well-balanced meals, ministry
officials said.

The plan is a response to the increasing number of children who have
become overweight or underweight because of irregular dietary habits.

*for whole story, go to --->

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1025so12.htm


(11) The Daily Yomiuri - Friday, 27 October 2000

PARENTS CAMP IN SCHOOL FOR 10 DAYS TO ENROLL KIDS

With the number of young families in suburban towns booming, some parents
seeking to enroll their children in private kindergartens in Kohoku New
Town in Tsuzuki and Aoba wards, Yokohama, have been waiting in line for
more than 10 days since application forms were made available earlier
this month.

Parents who live beyond a 500-meter radius of Yokohama Reimei
Kindergarten, which opened last year, have been lining up since Oct. 15
to try to ensure their children secure places at the school, which are
allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications will be
accepted from Nov 1.

*for whole story, go to --->

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1027so15.htm


(12) Mainichi Daily News - Friday, 27 October 2000

PUBLIC, PRIVATE UNIS AGREE TO COLLABORATE

A public and private university will collaborate for the first time in
the nation's history to promote student and faculty exchanges in the arts
and sciences, the Mainichi Shimbun learned Thursday.

At the urging of Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, officials at Tokyo
Metropolitan University, located in Hachioji, Tokyo, have made a pact
with members of Chuo University, a private college also in Hachioji, to
set up an exchange system in which students from the universities will
receive credits for attending classes at each other's university.

*for whole story, go to --->

http://www.mainichi.co.jp/english/news/archive/200010/27/news04.html



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