EDUCATION

The average life expectancy of Japanese men and women in 2016 reached record highs, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Thursday. (Jiji)

The Japanese government said Tuesday it will aim to lower the country’s suicide rate, currently the worst among the Group of Seven advanced nations, by at least 30 pct by 2026 to levels equivalent to those in its G-7 peers. (Jiji)

This August, a mobile phone service provider will release a smartphone that only works during daytime hours in an effort to restrict elementary school students’ screen time, the company said Tuesday. (Japan Times)

Hornets have stung a group of more than 20 kindergarten children in Tokyo. The victims have been rushed to hospital. (NHK)

Princess Kako, a granddaughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, will study at the University of Leeds in England from September to June next year, it was reported at a cabinet meeting on Friday. (Japan Today)

Students at a junior high school in Tochigi Prefecture’s Takenazawa town have felt ill after eating cheese at the school cafeteria, local board of education representatives said. (Japan Today)

Hiroshima District Court rejected Wednesday a petition calling for the reversal of a Japanese government decision to exclude a Korean school from its tuition-free high school education program. (Jiji)

Japan will set aside roughly 4 trillion yen (.6 billion) in the next fiscal year’s state budget for measures that focus on education as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s strategy to spur growth, government sources told Reuters on Tuesday. (Reuters)

The number of female researchers at private companies and other institutions in Japan reached the highest level ever last year, government data showed, although it remained low by international standards. (Japan Times)

The education authority of a city in eastern Japan has apologised to a fourth grade boy and his family for verbal and physical abuse by his form teacher. (straitstimes.com)