Japan Begins Full-Scale Review of 'September Semester System' Introduction Plan... "Decision Expected by Summer"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Japanese government has decided to conclude by this summer whether to introduce the 'September academic term system' in the fall of next year, Asahi Shimbun and others reported on the 20th. The discussion on its introduction seems to be accelerating due to the prolonged school closures caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to the report, the Japanese government held a vice-ministerial level meeting on the September academic term system yesterday at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence. At this meeting, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the responsible department, presented two plans based on the introduction in September next year. This was due to the judgment that preparation would be difficult because there is not enough time to introduce it immediately.

The first plan is to immediately introduce the September academic term system next year, allowing new elementary school students entering next year to spend 17 months in the first grade instead of 12 months. The second plan is to gradually introduce the system from 2021 to 2025, allowing new students each year to spend 13 months in the first grade instead of 12 months. In this way, by 2026, new students entering in September will be able to return to spending 12 months in the first grade.

However, there are problems in the process of implementing each plan. In the case of the first plan, new students next year may be disadvantaged in future exams or job hunting activities. Also, NHK reported that the number of new students next year would increase by 400,000 compared to previous years, requiring additional teachers and classrooms. Asahi pointed out that even the second plan, which somewhat shares the burden, has institutional difficulties and may cause setbacks in local governments' childcare support payments.

Asahi reported, "Based on this, the government plans to organize the issues that each related ministry must resolve by early next month and make a decision by summer." A senior Japanese government official told Nihon Keizai, "There is not much time left."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.