Record 54% of Japan students lack motivation to study amid pandemic, survey shows

A record 54.3% of students at elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan said they lacked motivation to study last year, a private survey showed Wednesday, apparently reflecting the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in stifling social interaction. The figure compared with 45.1% in 2019, the year before the pandemic began in Japan, and 50.7% in 2020 after COVID-19 broke out. Such data was first collected in 2015. The study was conducted by the Benesse Educational Research and Development Institute and the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo. It collected answers by mail and other means from around 10,000 students ranging from fourth graders to high schoolers between July and September in 2021.