Students To Get Credits For Quake Volunteer Work

[Mulboyne]

The Asahi reports that universities nationwide, in tandem with the Education Ministry, are considering a framework which will offer course credits for students who do volunteer work in the disaster-hit areas of Tohoku. The aim of the plan is two-fold: firstly, to find a way not to penalize those students who have already committed their time to volunteering at the expense of their studies; secondly, to encourage other students to consider doing so. Measures might also include lower tuition fees and insurance to cover anyone who gets injured while volunteering.

Source (Japanese)

[L S]

From New York Times - article here

While many of their elders wrote them off as too coddled to live up to traditional Japanese values of self-sacrifice and hard work, many young people are finding meaning in the crisis. Even before the earthquake, this generation was struggling with a sense of thwarted opportunities in a stagnant economy...

...Now some graduates, destined for corporate life, have found purpose volunteering to work at nonprofit groups shuttling aid to the newly destitute in the prefectures north of here. Students have taken to the streets to collect donations for those in need. Blogs and social networking sites are flooded with comments from young people asking what they can do to help.