Japanese school kids overcome coronavirus quarantine with a Minecraft graduation ceremony

(Image credit: @Backyennews)

A group of Japanese elementary schoolchildren found a creative workaround to the coronavirus quarantine which has prevented them and countless others from attending their end-of-year graduation ceremonies: building and holding their own ceremony in Minecraft

As SoraNews24 reports, Japanese Twitter user Backyennew shared several photos and videos highlighting the inventive efforts of his son and his schoolmates. Backyennew says his son already regularly played Minecraft with his friends, so it quickly became their go-to hangout after the Japanese government closed schools two weeks ago in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Using it as a social space to hold their own graduation ceremony just made sense. 

It looks like these kids built a whole dang assembly hall, complete with a stage, seating, and a proper red carpet which they could all walk down in order to receive their virtual diplomas. The backdrop is even emblazoned with the word "Summer," just to reinforce the end-of-school vibes.

It's a shame that these kids, to say nothing of affected kids around the world, have had to miss school due to the coronavirus quarantine, but it is heartwarming to see them come together to overcome it like this. This video from Backyennew is especially wholesome: 

Some of the comments translated by SoraNews24 are equally uplifting. "This will probably be an even better memory than a regular graduation for them," one user said. "The kids are alright," said another. 

In an effort to combat the boredom and loneliness that can accompany social distancing, indie developer Terry Cavanagh is giving out copies of his games - Dicey Dungeons, VVVVV, and Super Hexagon - for free.  

CATEGORIES
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

Latest in Minecraft
Minecraft Vibrant Visuals
16 years after Minecraft first released it's getting a modern visual upgrade with a retro lighting trick that Mojang hasn't seen "in any other game"
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Minecraft Diamond Armor
Minecraft Pocket Edition got its name because one of its devs was a big "Nintendo nerd" who wanted to pay homage to the Game Boy Pocket
Minecraft key art showing Steve holding a pickaxe.
Minecraft modder uses "3 hours of my life that I'll never get back" to create a new mod that gives Steve Jack Black's voice
Minecraft Netherite Armor
A developer porting Minecraft to the Dreamcast is now able to "Blast through an existing world file at 2,800 km/h"
Minecraft Steve
Notch cancels the "Minecraft 2" he announced days prior because spiritual successors are "always kinda sad nostalgia dumps"
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"