Two years later, radiation levels in Japan's Fukushima prefecture are only slightly higher than other regions. But parents with school-aged children are slow to return home following the 2011 nuclear disaster. And local schools have seen their enrollment fall dramatically. But community residents are keeping their school doors open in the hopes that families will soon return home. On April 24, Japan's NHK World NEWSLINE program reported on the story of a school and its only student.

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Reporter:
It's the start of the school year in Onami Elementary School on the rural fringes of Fukushima City. But it's rather a lonely ceremony. There's only one student, sixth grader, Takashi Sato.

Takashi Sato:
I'm the only student this year. But that gives me the opportunity to interact more closely with my teachers. 

Reporter:
After the explosion at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant, radiation levels in the Onami district were considerably higher than in other parts of Fukushima City. Before the disaster in March 2011, there were 30 children attending Onami Elementary. But most of them were taken out of the area and there's only one student left. Even so, the city's Board of Education decided the school should be kept open.

Kenji Fukuchi:
We must take into consideration the possibility that children will return to the school in  future. We should not rush to shut down the school or integrate it with another school merely foir the sake of economy.

Reporter:
The Board was swayed by people who stayed behind in the district. Hideo Sato is the head of the neighborhood association in Onami. Like his father, he studied at the school and so did his children.

Hideo Sato:
Children are our treasure and they are the ones who will build our future. School is therefore more important than anything else.

Reporter:
Strenuous efforts have been taken to reduce radiation levels in the area. Throughout Fukushima, the biggest issue has been where to store the radioactive waste. Onami was the first community in the city to set up its own waste storage site. Radiation in the area is down to a half or even a quarter of its earlier levels.

Hideo Sato:
Thanks to the decontamination  work its just point-three-six-nine micro-sieverts per hour. Our duty is to improve the environment so school enrollment will rise.

Reporter:
Sato is now receiving one-on-one lessons at the school. Steps are also  being taken so he can attend lessons and extracurricular activities at other schools, giving him the chance to interact with other children.

Masaaki Abe:
There are many local people who want to help our student so the school can survive.

Reporter:
Next year, two children in the Onami district will reach school age, raising hopes that the school has a future.

(LinkAsia: June 15, 2012)
Kara Tsuboi:
Japan is overhauling its post-secondary education system. And the new plan would let advanced students graduate after the 11th grade and go to college up to a year early. NHK explains what the change means for high-performing high schoolers.

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NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: June 8, 2012

Reporter:
Education in Japan is compulsory for nine years: six years in elementary school and three years in junior high school. About 96 percent of junior high school students then go on to three years of high school. The ministry's plan would allow high school students to graduate after only two years before entering university.

Miho Takai, Vice Education Minister:
The percentage of students who can continue in post-secondary education is increasing around the world. Nurturing young talented is indispensable for Japan's development. It's important to create new opportunities for students to receive higher education and also to improve the quality of education.

Reporter:
Many countries allow gifted students to skip grades to enter university. South Korea implemented such a system in 1995. By 2000, four high schools, including one in Busan, had hired university professors. Their job is to focus on gifted students who are expected to lead the country in the future in the field of science and technology. Singapore has two types of high schools. One offers a four-year rapid course, and the other a five-year standard course. Students are enrolled in either type, depending on the results of the achievement tests they write during six years of elementary school. About 20 percent of high school graduates go on to enroll in three elite universities in Singapore. About 15 percent attend prestigious universities abroad. Six Japanese universities have already introduced a system allowing the early admission of high school students who have not yet graduated. One of them, Chiba University, adopted the system in 1998. Hideyuki Okamura studies in the university science department. Okamura made use of the early admission system to enter the university two years ago.

Hideyuki Okamura, Student:
I decided to use the early entrance system, rather than staying in high school for one more year. I thought that at university, I would be able to have deeper exchanges and get to meet a greater variety of people.

Reporter:
Okamura says the early entrance system was attractive, and it allowed him to take high- level classes and attend research laboratories at an early stage. But only 101 high school students, including Okamura, have so far entered the six universities. The reason is students are required to quit high school before graduating if they want to enter university early. Under the new education ministry plan, students who skip grades to enter university will be certified as high school graduates.

Takashi Nakayama, Professor, Chiba University:
Students are reluctant to leave school without a certificate. Their parents and teachers also don't like the idea. This plan offers them hope. A proper academic environment should be provided when students need it.