Truancy and Crime Reach Record Levels
After decades of boasting the world’s most studious youngsters, Japan’s schools reported a record number of truants in the school year that ended March 31, a new survey has found.
The Education Ministry said about 139,000 elementary and junior high school students did not attend classes for at least 30 consecutive days. That was a more than 3% increase from the 2000-01 academic year.
The truancy report came days after the National Police Agency said crime reached a record level in the first half of the year, with nearly 1.4 million crimes reported between January and June.
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