Astronaut Furukawa communicates with Tohoku children

Astronaut Furukawa communicates with Tohoku children

OTSUCHI, Japan - An elementary school student (L) in the quake- and tsunami-hit town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, speaks with Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa aboard the International Space Station via radio on Oct. 15, 2011. Sixteen students from five elementary schools in the town participated in the event, chatting with the astronaut for about 10 minutes.

Security guards posted at Ikeda elementary school

Security guards posted at Ikeda elementary school

OSAKA, Japan - A security guard stands in front of the gate of the state-run Ikeda Elementary School in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on June 11. A total of five security guards were posted at the four gates of the school compound, where the Ikeda junior and senior high schools are also located. Eight elementary school children were stabbed to death and 15 others were wounded on June 8 when a man stormed into the school, attached to the state-run Osaka Kyoiku University, and attacked them with a kitchen knife.

6 schools on Miyakejima Island resume classes

6 schools on Miyakejima Island resume classes

MIYAKEJIMA, Japan - Photo shows pupils at Ako Elementary School in the village of Miyake on Miyakejima Island, whose classes resume July 3, along with five other elementary and junior high schools after seven days of temporary closure caused by the threat of a volcanic eruption on the island. Life on Miyakejima, a small volcanic island 180 kilometers south of Tokyo, is gradually returning to normal.

Astronaut Furukawa communicates with Tohoku children

Astronaut Furukawa communicates with Tohoku children

OTSUCHI, Japan - An elementary school student (L) in the quake- and tsunami-hit town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, speaks with Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa aboard the International Space Station via radio on Oct. 15, 2011. Sixteen students from five elementary schools in the town participated in the event, chatting with the astronaut for about 10 minutes. (Kyodo)

New 1st graders start school in Minamisoma

New 1st graders start school in Minamisoma

MINAMISOMA, Japan - New first graders, wearing masks due to their parents' concerns about radiation leaks from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, raise hands to cross a road on their way to Kashima Elementary School in Minamisoma, near the plant, in Fukushima Prefecture on April 25, 2011. Entrance ceremonies for some 160 new first graders were held the same day at five locations in the city, including the school. Initially, 647 children were scheduled to enter elementary schools this month in the city located about 10 to 40 kilometers north of the power plant, but many of them have evacuated since the accident at the plant. (Kyodo)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Liberec, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Radek Petrasek)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Liberec, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Radek Petrasek)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Liberec, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Radek Petrasek)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Liberec, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Radek Petrasek)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

test for COVID, school children, classroom, schools reopen

Special schools for disabled children, first five grade of elementary schools open. Face masks remain compulsory in school and both teachers and pupils will have to test for COVID twice a week. Test for Covid in elementary school in Olomouc, Czech Republic, April 12, 2021. (CTK Photo/Ludek Perina)

Security guards posted at Ikeda elementary school

Security guards posted at Ikeda elementary school

OSAKA, Japan - A security guard stands in front of the gate of the state-run Ikeda Elementary School in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on June 11. A total of five security guards were posted at the four gates of the school compound, where the Ikeda junior and senior high schools are also located. Eight elementary school children were stabbed to death and 15 others were wounded on June 8 when a man stormed into the school, attached to the state-run Osaka Kyoiku University, and attacked them with a kitchen knife.

6 schools on Miyakejima Island resume classes

6 schools on Miyakejima Island resume classes

MIYAKEJIMA, Japan - Photo shows pupils at Ako Elementary School in the village of Miyake on Miyakejima Island, whose classes resume July 3, along with five other elementary and junior high schools after seven days of temporary closure caused by the threat of a volcanic eruption on the island. Life on Miyakejima, a small volcanic island 180 kilometers south of Tokyo, is gradually returning to normal.