Each April, as the new academic year starts, it's customary for schools in Japan to hold an entrance ceremony for incoming students. The new pupils assemble in the auditorium, sit quietly while the principal and teachers make speeches, and often sing the alma mater. (rocketnews24.com)

Yokozuna grand champion Harumafuji has enrolled in a master's course at Hosei University to study economic development. (NHK)

A document believed to be the original text of the Imperial Rescript on Education, issued in 1890 as basic norms of moral education in prewar Japan, has been discovered, the education ministry said Tuesday. (Jiji Press)

Internet search engine Google has unveiled a collection of works by legendary Japanese manga artist, Osamu Tezuka. (NHK)

Two elementary schools and one junior high school reopened Monday in the Miyakoji district of this northeastern Japan city after an evacuation advisory related to the country's worst nuclear accident was lifted earlier this month. (Jiji Press)

Japanese trust products designed to allow gift tax exemptions for grandparents' donations to cover the educational costs of their grandchildren have enjoyed higher popularity than expected since their launch in April 2013. (Jiji Press)

Some new social studies textbooks and maps for primary schools to be used from spring next year clearly state that the Takeshima islets in Shimane Prefecture and the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture are "territories inherent to Japan," according to the education ministry, which announced Friday the results of the screening of primary school textbooks for the next academic year. (The Japan News)

The Japanese government plans to provide financial assistance to help households on welfare pay lunch fees, bus fares and costs of educational materials for their children who go to nursery school, kindergarten, or other types of authorized preschools, officials said Thursday. (Jiji Press)

A junior high school symphony orchestra from Japan's disaster-hit Fukushima Prefecture has performed in one of the most prestigious concert venues in London. (NHK)

A group of U.S. fathers urged Japan on Monday to comply with the international convention for settling cross-border child custody disputes and help them and other American parents reunite with their children living in Japan. (Japan Times)

Japanese teenagers finished 3rd in a global assessment of young people's skills in solving problems encountered in real life. (NHK)

The so-called Hague treaty that sets rules on parental custody of children after the breakups of international marriages is set to take effect in Japan on Tuesday. (Jiji Press)

The Japanese government plans to allow foreign trainees in a government-sponsored technical internship program in the construction sector to extend their stay as a temporary measure. (NHK)

The education ministry has decided to provide financial support for primary schools that offer preparatory classes for preschool children on Saturdays, as part of efforts to reduce problematic behavior among new primary school students. (The Japan News)

Children with better-educated and higher-earning parents tend to demonstrate higher academic abilities, a Japanese education ministry-commissioned survey study showed Friday. (Jiji Press)

The government will expand a government-sponsored technical internship program for foreign nationals in fiscal 2015, to allow trainees to stay in Japan for up to eight years. The adjustment-from the current maximum of three years-is intended to address a shortage of construction workers, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. (The Japan News)

Police in Takahashi, Okayama Prefecture, have arrested an 18 year-old student attending a part time high-school for attempted murder after he stabbed a school teacher with a knife. (Japan Today)

A total of 29 applicants from the Philippines and Indonesia have passed an annual national examination to qualify to work as nurses in Japan, the health ministry said Tuesday. (abs-cbnnews.com)

Wang Ke, a once-missing Chinese professor at Japan's Kobe University, said Tuesday that he was detained by Chinese authorities between March 7 and Monday during his visit to the country. (Jiji Press)

Children in a Japanese city are banned from using their mobile phones after 9pm in a bid to fight cyber bullying. (Daily Mail)