Spring approaches, and the thoughts of the media, which like nothing better than the warm comfort of a predictable news cycle, turn to education. Students are wrapping up the scholastic year and some are taking tests that will determine their lives. Last year, reporters got a bonus; That story about the young man who, while taking the entrance exam for Kyoto University, solicited answers via his cellphone from social-network sites. It was the kind of bombshell whose repercussions would have continued reverberating well into the new school year had that earthquake not been such a distraction.
This season's education story is the University of Tokyo's plan to change the start of the academic year from spring to fall in order to align with other countries and become more "internationally competitive." Known locally as Todai, Japan's most prestigious institute of higher learning has been talking about it for some years, and the university's president, Junichi Hamada, made it official at a press conference on Jan. 20. The stated aim for the change, which the university hopes to implement in five years, is to enroll more foreign students and send more of its own Japanese charges overseas.

Last week in Counterpoint I wrote about the three deep gaps crisscrossing this country, turning it into a kakusa shakai (society of disparities). These rifts, amply recognized today among the populace and in the media, are: the income, or wealth, gap; the goal gap; and the education gap.
Only one of these can bridge the other two. Only one of them is the vehicle that has the potential to propel Japan forward once again into the vangard of advanced nations. This is education.

Hino Motors Ltd. is testing trucks that can withstand extreme cold in a bid to expand sales in the Russian market, company officials said Saturday.
Since late January, Hino Motors has been conducting testing in Magadan in Russia's Far East — where the mercury can plunge to minus 50 degrees — and is planning to launch the cold-weather trucks around 2015.

Orlando forward Glen Davis has been suspended for two games by the Magic for conduct detrimental to the team.
Davis will miss Friday's home game against Cleveland and Saturday's game at Indiana.

Kevin Rafferty's Feb. 1 article, "President Obama's dreams are suffering nightmares," reads like a love letter to Barack Obama, calling him the "young, intelligent, telegenic president."
Research by Matt Welch of Reason magazine shows that no speech varies less from president to president than the State of the Union address. Talking down to the American people at the eighth-grade level, as some say, is only a symptom of the underlying disease that infects virtually all politicians: paternalism.

"Star Tanjo" ("Birth of a Star") was one of the most influential TV series of the 1970s, an audition show that launched the careers of dozens of idol singers. "Star Draft Kaigi" ("Star Draft Council"; Nippon TV, Tues., 10 p.m.) takes the general structure of "Star Tanjo" — representatives of talent agencies bid for contestants — and tricks it out for 21st-century viewers with a variety-show component: a panel of comedians, in this case led by the duo Cream Stew and outspoken commentator Matsuko Deluxe, who make a point of picking on the contestants.
This week's lineup features elementary school-age children, including a fashion model who has perfected a kind of "sexy expression," and a boy who wants to parlay his skills at karate into a career as an action star along the lines of his hero, Bruce Lee.

Playing as a teammate with Shigeo Nagashima and Sadaharu Oh was awesome. Yu Darvish should win more than 15 games this season with the Texas Rangers.
There is not much a Japanese ballclub can do about losing a free agent star player. The Yokohama DeNA BayStars, under new ownership, will be vastly improved and a pennant contender within three years.

Regarding the Jan. 31 article "Foreigners' poor test grades force rethink on nurse tests": Our society is aging fast and we need to improve nursing care, especially for more and more elderly people. So, hiring professional nurses from abroad is a very good way to increase the supply and release pressure on the system.
Reading now that almost no one passed the Japanese-language test and hearing Sachie Shirai, spokeswoman for Bima Cooperation for Overseas Nurses and Care Workers, say "The only thing they lack is Japanese proficiency — not technical knowledge" makes me wonder if I'm hearing right. Does she think the test should be prepared in Indonesian or English so that more will pass?

Five Chinese trainees have returned to Japan to resume their training at a Miyagi Prefecture seafood processing company whose executive officer died while helping them survive the March 11 tsunami.
They will take part in on-the-job training at Sato Suisan Co.'s plant in the town of Onagawa for up to 2½ years.

The number of foreign nationals detained by immigration officials for one year or more has dropped significantly since a more flexible approach was adopted in response to harsh criticism of long-term detentions, according to the Justice Ministry.
As of August, 167 foreigners at immigration facilities in Ibaraki, Osaka and Nagasaki prefectures had been held for at least six months, the ministry said Friday.

When Japan Airlines introduced foreign cabin attendants, the counter-argument at the time was that, in an emergency, Japanese passengers might not be saved because the foreign cabin attendants would not be able to communicate with them.
The intended purpose of the health ministry's nursing exam is not to certify foreign applicants but to send them back to their home country after they have been exploited for three to four years.

Former Olympic figure skating champion Evgeni Plushenko says he will have surgery on his left knee in Germany on Feb. 23.
The 29-year-old Russian won a seventh European title last week in Sheffield, England, to add to his Olympic gold from 2006 and three world championships.

Lindsey Vonn captured her 50th World Cup victory by winning the downhill on the demanding Kandahar course Saturday.
"It's crazy, I am at a loss for words. I already cried with one of the TV crews and that is enough crying for the day," Vonn said. "Fifty World Cup wins is a huge mark for me in my career and more than I even thought possible."

Three-time U.S. figure skating champion Jeremy Abbott has withdrawn from next week's Four Continents because of a right hip injury.
Abbott was replaced Friday by Richard Dornbush, who finished 13th at last week's U.S. National Chhampionships but was fifth in the free skate. Dornbush was the silver medalist at the 2010 U.S. championships and was the top U.S. skater at the world championships, finishing ninth. Adam Rippon, who was second to Abbott at nationals, and Ross Miner, who was third, also will represent the United States.

Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto have agreed to start policy consultations between their regional political groups on fielding candidates for the next general election and to seek a decentralization of power and other reforms.
A wave of such groups has sprouted up recently, led by populist local leaders seeking to challenge the central government.

University of Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence.
The Hall of Fame coach, who turns 70 in May, has been suffering for several months from spinal stenosis, a lower back condition that causes him severe pain and hampers mobility, the school said Friday in a news release.

Former Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa said he will oppose any bills the Noda administration submits in the current Diet session to raise the sales tax, describing the planned hike as "unreasonable" and "unsuitable as an economic policy."
In an interview, the ruling DPJ kingpin also said Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda would find it hard to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap general election, hoping to win a public mandate for his plan to raise the sales levy.

Kimiko Date-Krumm and Ayumi Morita both came back from a set down to win Saturday as Japan took a 2-0 lead over Slovenia in the first round of the Fed Cup's World Group II.
Veteran Date-Krumm defeated Polona Hercog 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and Morita followed with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over 17-year-old Nastja Kolar at Bourbon Beans Dome.

The chief of the Okinawa Defense Bureau was found to have given lectures on the coming mayoral election in Ginowan on Okinawa Island, the site of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, to bureau workers.
Although the bureau chief, Mr. Ro Manabe, may have tried to hide his true intentions in giving the lectures, it is logical to think he was hoping that lecture participants would vote for a candidate acceptable to the government on the issue of moving the Futenma functions to Henoko in another part of the island. Okinawan people will further stiffen their opposition to the Henoko plan.

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Yeah, so everyone called me "Shinchugun" (Occupation Army).