Highlighting JAPAN

through articles

By featuring articles written by experts in many different genres, this online magazine provides people all over the world with information on modern Japan.

March 2009

Career Education

all of the documents (2,810KB)

Career Education: Learning for the "Real Life" after School

PDF(139KB)

Japan is undertaking a range of policy initiatives to better connect young people in Japan with the world of work. The Japan Journal reports.

An Unwavering Enthusiasm for Education

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Masakazu Yamazaki, playwright, critic and former chairman of the Central Education Council, looks at the history of education in Japan and the roles it has played in society.

Trust-based Training

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Iichiro Kono, president of the Institute of National Colleges of Technology, Japan discusses the characteristics and goals of these distinctive higher education facilities.

Flexible Education

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Koji Takahashi, director of the Office for Administrative Reform at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), comments on the introduction of "special structural reform zones for deregulated educational services."

Building Bridges to the World of Work

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Yukie Hori, vice senior researcher at the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (JIL), explains Japan's initiatives and vision in respect of internships.

Financial Planning for All

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The Central Council for Financial Services Information supports the economic activities of Japanese citizens by offering financial education and financial services information. Koichiro Shibuya, the Council's deputy director-general, explains these efforts.

Reworking Employment

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Professor Yoshio Higuchi, an expert in labor economics at Keio University, examines changes in Japanese management in relation to employment practices and discusses some medium- to long-term approaches to related issues.

The New Energy Award

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Recipient projects for the thirteenth New Energy Award were finalized in December 2008. Masaki Yamada examines the status of new energy development and application in Japan as seen through the winning projects.

Yokai and the Japanese Mind's Eye

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Kazuhiko Komatsu, a professor at the International Research Center of Japanese Culture, discusses the world of Japanese monsters.

Signs for All Times

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Pictograms such as those depicting restrooms, elevators and wheelchairs were introduced in Japan at the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. Their roots, however, reach back much further than that, as pictogram designer Yukio Ota explains.

Three Lanes to Safer Roads

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According to data released in February by Japan's National Police Agency, road accident fatalities in 2008 were at their lowest level for more than fifty years. Advances in automobile safety technologies, improvements to the road system itself, and tougher regulations have all played a part. With a focus on the last of these, Gavin Blair explains the reasons for the decline in road deaths.

The Land of the Rising Sun

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Despite dark clouds hanging over the Japanese and world economies, at Japan's annual solar power exposition the sun was shining. Tony McNicol reports.

all of the documents (2,810KB)

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