Local News

The National Institute for Educational Policy Research conducted a survey of Japanese sixth graders which revealed that with the exception of Kagoshima Prefecture, more than half of the students were unable to properly place the Kyushu prefectures on a map. The two prefectures often mistaken were Fukuoka and Miyazaki Prefectures. Their location was improperly identified by only 41.8% and 40.1% of the students respectively. The Institute thinks Kyushu might present problems for the students because they tend to memorize prefectural locations in order starting from the north and working south.