Officials at Japan's labor ministry plan to get tougher on discrimination against working women who are pregnant or have small children. The officials say they will instruct labor bureaus across the country to tighten their oversight. (NHK)

Thousands of history buffs visited the Koyamada ruins here on Jan. 18 to see the recently unearthed burial mound that may have been constructed for Emperor Jomei (593-641). (Asahi)

Japan's Tourism Agency plans to provide financial assistance to municipalities that promote so-called family time projects for encouraging parents to take time off from work when their children are on school breaks. (Jiji Press)

ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--Nearly four years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, discussion of the fate of a damaged school building that was engulfed by the tsunami finally started between a residents' association and the bereaved families of students. (Asahi)

The National Center for University Entrance Examinations on Saturday began two days of tests across the nation. The center said that 559,132 students are sitting for the exams at 690 test centers nationwide. (Japan Today)

Sumo wrestlers frequently engage in superstition. For instance, I have heard of wrestlers who drink only one brand of beer simply because its logo is a white star. In sumo jargon, a win is "shiroboshi," which translates literally as "white star." (Asahi)

Monday was Coming of Age day in Japan, an annual celebration held on the second Monday of January where those who have turned 20 over the past year come together to celebrate while everyone else gets a day off work. (rocketnews24.com)

On Monday, if you are out and about in Japan, you'll see many young people dressed in their best; the girls especially will look pretty in their kimono. That's because Monday is Coming-of-Age Day (成人の日) - when young Japanese who turned 20 during the previous year or will do so before March 31 this year are officially recognized as adults. (Japan Today)

Japan's government is reviewing new social welfare programs now that a hike in the consumption tax has been postponed. Officials are now preparing a draft budget plan for fiscal 2015. (NHK)

Children at a kindergarten in central Japan have braved the cold at an annual karate practice. (NHK)

A growing number of private junior high schools are introducing English testing in their entrance examinations in anticipation of the language being emphasized in elementary schools in coming years to improve students' conversation ability. (Asahi)

A 19-year-old male student at Sundai Prep School in Tokyo has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after he stabbed a fellow classmate with a kitchen knife. (Japan Today)

The Tokyo metropolitan government announced Thursday a plan to establish "English village" facilities for primary, middle and high school students to experience life through communication entirely in English, in a waterfront area where athletic facilities and the Olympic Village will be concentrated at the time of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. (The Japan News)

A high school boy from Saitama Prefecture created some 8,000 Twitter accounts to participate in a lottery over the Internet and won some 70 bottles of an energy drink, it was learned Friday. (Japan Times)

Police in Yamagata City said Wednesday they have arrested a 60-year-old high school teacher arrested over a fatal hit-and-run case. (Japan Today)

Advisors to Japan's education ministry have called for revising the university entrance exam system. (NHK)

Police in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, have arrested a 49-year-old man after he entered an elementary school, brandishing four folding knives. (Japan Today)

Dozens of geisha and their apprentice "maiko" took a class in the art of self-defense for protection against unwelcome attention while walking alone on dark, deserted streets at night. (Asahi)

A 10-year-old boy sustained minor injuries after an unknown man attacked him with a knife in Kita-Nagoya on Monday afternoon. (Japan Today)

The proportion of high school students in Japan who had been promised employment next spring as of the end of October topped 70 pct for the first time in 20 years, an education ministry survey showed Friday. (Jiji Press)