UNESCO's decision to include washoku, or Japanese-style food, on its intangible cultural heritage list has given school administrators and cooking specialists hope that Japanese will become more interested in passing their traditional food culture on to future generations. (Yomiuri)

Japanese students' success is built on the imperative of recalling a minimum of 2,000 Chinese characters used in everyday Japanese - known as "kanji". (telegraph.co.uk)

The new novel by literary superstar Haruki Murakami was Japan's biggest-selling book of 2013, the nation's largest distributor said. (Dawn)

Third-year university students in Japan who graduate in spring 2015 kicked off job-hunting activities on Sunday. (Jiji Press)

Education minister Hakubun Shimomura announced Friday that school-by-school results of the nationwide achievement test for primary and middle school students will be released at the discretion of municipal boards of education from fiscal 2014. (Yomiuri)

A private senior high school in Fukushima Prefecture will formally close down at the end of March due to a lack of students in the wake of the 2011 nuclear accident. (NHK)

The education ministry said Tuesday it will focus financial support on national universities that promote reforms. (Yomiuri)

Japan's labor ministry plans to expand adult education benefits under the employment insurance program in a bid to help adults build medium- and long-term careers, officials said Tuesday. (Jiji Press)

Japanese police have arrested a man after a teacher in his son's school shot a chair in the staffroom with the father's revolver, officials and reports said Tuesday. (New Straits Times)

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will make it mandatory for organizations offering after-school care services to limit the number of primary school students per group to 40 and assign at least two staff members for each group in principle. (Yomiuri)

"No Child Left Behind." "Race to the Top." The names suggest mobility, progress, moving on up and not falling back. The goal of education, according to these national education initiatives with their standards and testing, is forward motion and competitive advantage, progress and success, both in an unabashedly economic context. (The Atlantic)

Police have arrested an Associate Professor at Keio University on suspicion of engaging in indecent acts with a junior high school girl. (News On Japan)

An event to attract more French students to Japan was held in Paris on Sunday. (NHK)

A group of lawyers has established the first ever national anti-bullying defense network in Japan to help represent the families of children who killed themselves due to bullying. (Japan Today)

Japan's government will work to provide better health care services for foreign nationals. It plans to establish a system by the time Tokyo hosts the Olympics and Paralympics in 2020. (NHK)

An Olympic medalist, an astronaut and other professionals have talked about their experiences of studying abroad to encourage more Japanese students to go overseas. (NHK)

In September, Tokyo-based Jibun Mirai Associe Co. (JMA) announced it would adopt Nova as its official corporate name - 19 months after it acquired the eikaiwa (English conversation) school chain from its previous operators, and almost six years after its well-publicized downfall. (Japan Times)

A government council has started discussions on easing conditions for foreigners' resident status to open the way for those wishing to train at restaurants serving traditional Japanese cuisine, government officials said. (Yomiuri)

The proposal by the government's Education Rebuilding Implementation Council to introduce a new type of test is aimed at rectifying the current situation in which test-takers are assessed by exams that put too much emphasis on their acquired knowledge rather than comprehensive ability. (Yomiuri)

Japanese universities taking part in an education fair in the United Arab Emirates are calling on young people to study in Japan. (NHK)