In Japan, college is seen as not only of higher education, but also high fashion. That’s because your four years at university are pretty much your only respite from the uniforms and haircut regulations of middle/high school and the conservative dress codes of most (though not all) Japanese offices. (soranews24.com)

Non-Japanese speakers who want advice on the new coronavirus can call hotlines run by the Japan Tourism Agency and some local governments. (NHK)

What’s happening in Japan is written all over our faces — our blank, expressionless, masked faces. Never before, it seems safe to say, have so many people gone about masked. (Japan Times)

The education ministry on Tuesday issued guidelines to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection in schools across Japan that are scheduled to reopen in April after monthlong closures, calling for thorough ventilation of classrooms and warning against gathering in clusters. (Kyodo)

Princess Aiko, the daughter of Japan's Emperor and Empress, has attended her graduation ceremony at Gakushuin Girls' Senior High School in Tokyo. (NHK)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government will not extend its current request for school closures across Japan to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus and will allow classes to begin as scheduled in the new academic year starting April, the education minister said Friday. (Japan Timesj)

A government panel of medical experts said Thursday that schools can reopen in areas without new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections, proposing to relax the current nationwide approach to pre-empt a further spread. (Kyodo)

Suicides in Japan in 2019 fell to a historic low, marking the tenth straight year of decline, but youth suicides continued to rise, police said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

Osaka plans to offer free lunch meals for all students at municipally run elementary and junior high schools starting April amid the spread of the novel coronavirus, Mayor Ichiro Matsui said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

Japan's education ministry plans to draw up guidelines to provide educational opportunities for all foreign children living in Japan. (NHK)

About 70% of Japanese parents and caregivers are either "troubled" or "very troubled" by the nationwide closure of schools, according to a survey released on Tuesday. (Nikkei)

A court ruled Friday that Tokyo Medical University, which has admitted to rigging its exams to limit the entrance of female and certain male applicants, is obligated to reimburse candidates who were penalized. (Japan Today)

Many schools in major Japanese cities are providing open classrooms for students after the government's decision to close all elementary, junior high and high schools from March 2 over coronavirus fears as a large number of parents have no other way to look after their children, a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday. (Kyodo)

In line with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s request last week that schools nationwide close their doors following the COVID-19 virus outbreak, 98.8 percent of all municipally run elementary schools have started extraordinary breaks, education ministry data has shown. (Japan Times)

As many schools in Japan close temporarily to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, part-time teachers and other school staff face a loss of income. (NHK)

Nearly all prefectures began shutting schools Monday in a bid to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus in Japan, four days after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe surprised many with a request for schools to be closed countrywide until early April. (Japan Today)

The number of cases of harassment and bullying targeting local communities affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus and people involved in dealing with the situation has been on the rise in Japan. (Japan Times)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the government is planning to ask all elementary, junior and senior high schools and special support schools in the country to shut down from Monday, until the start of the spring holidays, in a bid to reduce the risk of students catching the new coronavirus. (NHK)

National and other public universities in Japan have begun staging their entrance exams, with precautions taken against the new coronavirus. (NHK)

With hay fever season ramping up and the flu still thriving, the spread of the novel coronavirus poses a challenge for medical institutions nationwide, which face the prospect of being flooded with patients who believe they have COVID-19. (Japan Times)