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Education Policy in Japan: Building Bridges towards 2030

Education in japan: strengths and challenges.

Japanese Educational System: Schooling to Higher Education

Jamila Brown Updated on July 16, 2024 Education in Japan

Many of you reading this article would likely have finished university. However, it’s essential to understand the Japanese educational system, especially if you are in Japan or planning to move in with school-going kids or a foreigner looking for higher education in Japan.

In this article

School Education System in Japan

The Japanese school education system consists of 12 years, of which the first 9 years, from elementary school (6 years) to junior high school (3 years), are compulsory. After compulsory education, the next 3 years are for high school.

In Japan, compulsory education starts at age six and ends at age fifteen at the end of junior high school.

Japan performs quite well in its educational standards, and overall, school education in Japan is divided into five sections. These are as follows:

• Nursery school ( hoikuen or 保育園) – Optional
• Kindergarten ( youchien or 幼稚園) – Optional
• Elementary school ( sh ō gakk ō or 小学校) – Mandatory
• Junior high school ( Chūgakkō or 中学校) – Mandatory
• High School (高校 or Kōkō) – Optional

Once students graduate from high school in Japan, they can opt for university (daigaku or 大学) or vocational school (senmongakk ō or 専門学校) for higher education.

Cram Schools in Japan

Many Japanese students also attend cram school (“juku” or 塾) to catch up on the academic competition.

These are specialized schools that help students improve their grades or pass entrance examinations. These extended programs start after school, around 4 p.m., and, depending on the program, can end well into the evening. 

Classes are held from Monday to Friday, with the occasional extra classes in schools on Saturdays. The school year starts in April and ends the following year in March.

Many Japanese schools have a three-semester system. These are as follows:

• First semester: From April to August
• Second semester: From September to December
• Third semester: From January to March

National and public primary and lower secondary Japanese schools do not charge tuition, making it essentially free for all students in Japan. Foreign children aren’t required to enroll in school in Japan, but they can also attend elementary and junior high school for free. Please check this guide for foreign students’ schooling in Japan. 

However, if you wish to send your kids to international schools, you will need to pay a good amount of fees.

(Image credit: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), Japan

Types of Japanese School 

The typical age groups of students for elementary, junior high school, and high school in Japan are as follows:

• Elementary school for six years: (6 years old – 12 years old)
• Junior high school for three years (12 – 15 years old)
• High school for three years (15 – 18 years old)

Although high school isn’t compulsory, 99% of students nationwide pursue upper secondary education after graduating from junior high school.

There are public and private schools all across Japan. Public elementary and lower secondary schools are free, while private schools require much higher tuition fees.

All public schools are funded equally. Moreover, they have the same curriculum, and all schools have the same educational expectations nationwide. After World War II, education became more democratized to make education more accessible to low-income families. 

International Schools in Japan

International schools have become more popular across Japan due to the rise of foreign residents in Japan.

While Japanese schools primarily instruct in Japanese, international schools have instructions in English. These schools are largely for children of expats and bicultural children; however, Japanese residents can also attend if they choose to. However, International schools are much more expensive than Japanese public schools.

There are many international schools across Japan, but not every school is accredited by the Ministry of Education. Some schools lack proper accreditations for Western standards as well. Therefore, if you’re interested in enrolling your children in an international school, you should do your research to make sure your children can pursue further education upon graduation. 

Educational Facilities for Mentally Challenged

Physically and mentally challenged students can receive “special needs education.” This is called ‘tokubetsushienkyouiku’ (特別支援教育) and supports students in being self-reliant and enhancing their communication skills.

According to the National Institute of Special Education (NISE) 2022 report, 3.26% of the total number of students in Japan received special education in various forms. Children with more acute problems can attend specialized schools.

Most of these institutions are overseen by the local government and cater to children from kindergarten to senior high school. 

Japanese School Curriculum 

Students in Japan take all the basic subjects similar to those around the world. These basic subjects are math, science, Japanese, Physical Education (P.E.), Home Economics, and English. People might notice a difference between Japanese and Western schools focusing on etiquette and civics.

For the first three years of school, students don’t take exams. Therefore, the core focus of education is on establishing good manners and developing character. Students are taught to respect each other, be generous, and be kind to nature.

The curriculum becomes more academically focused once they enter the fourth grade. 

Japanese education heavily emphasizes equality above everything else. While many schools in the West quickly adopt the latest technology to give their students the upper hand, most National and Public schools across Japan are very low-tech.

Basic information technology courses are offered in national and public schools in Japan, but students are generally not allowed to use electronic devices in the classroom. This is to ensure equality among all students, regardless of income level. 

In some countries, if students fail to perform adequately, they will likely be held back from further improving their skills. However, in Japan, students always advance to the next grade regardless of their test scores or performance.

In Japan, even if students fail tests or skip classes, they can still join the graduation ceremony at the end of the year. 

School Life in Japan

Schools across Japan don’t have a janitorial staff. Students spend 10-15 minutes cleaning the school at the end of the school day. Similarly, right before any vacation, they’ll spend 30 minutes to an hour cleaning.

Once your child becomes a student, you’ll likely notice that they’ll start spending much of their free time at school due to their club activities.

School club activities ( bukatsu or 部活) are serious business in Japan. It’s a chance for students to create friendships and learn self-discipline, but they are known for taking up most students’ time. Students choose a club to join at the start of their first year, and they rarely change. Club activities happen all year round. 

Aside from school clubs, students will have other activities throughout the year, such as sports day, school marathons, trips, and school festivals.

Each school is different in what sort of activities they have, but most schools will have a school festival. It’s a chance for students to work together and show off their talents to their families and friends in the area. It is usually the year’s biggest event, and students spend months preparing for the big day. 

School Exams

Exams ( shiken or 試験) are a serious part of the Japanese education system. They measure not only a student’s overall learning of the material but also the schools they’ll be able to attend, starting from elementary school.

Students who want to attend junior high school, high school, and university must take entrance exams to get into those schools. And, of course, the very best schools require the highest test scores. 

University entrance exams in Japan can also be particularly tough. Every February, about half a million students across Japan sign up to take them. Students who pass can look forward to acceptance from the university they applied to.

After graduating from high school, students who fail to get admission to their desired academic institution for the next level of education are called Rōnin (浪人). Rōnin is an old Japanese term for a masterless samurai. Such students must study outside the school system for self-study to prepare for the entrance test during the next academic year.

However, the Ronin students have the option to take admission in yobikō (予備校). Yobiko is a privately run school that prepares students for college admissions.

Even if you fail to get admission during the next 2-3 years, you can keep preparing because even good universities will accept you once you pass the admission test.  

The education system is changing slowly as foreign companies introduce their own customs and practices. Since many Western companies hire employees based on skill, experience, and personality rather than test scores, many schools have adapted to de-emphasize the need for testing. 

Higher Education in Japan

After finishing high school, many students continue their higher education at a university or a vocational school in Japan.

There’s a saying that students study hard in high school to relax in university. Attendance often isn’t required in university. Unfortunately, since many students have to endure strict rules in high school, university is seen as a time of rebellion, at least for the first two years. 

Many students start their job search (shuukatsu or 就活) at the start of their third year. It may look strange to some Westerners, but wearing black suits and changing their hair to its natural color are expected norms to secure a job upon graduation.

Vocational schools have also become more popular in Japan. These Japanese vocational schools are typically only two-year courses. These institutions focus more on teaching the skills needed for a specific occupation. Upon graduation, students are awarded the title of advanced professional. 

University Programs in Japan

Bachelor’s degrees.

Bachelor’s degree programs gakushi (学士) last at least four years. However, degrees in medical dentistry, pharmacy, and veterinary program extend to six years.

Most universities start their academic year in April and end in March the following year. The first semester is from April to September, and the second is from October to March .

Some Japanese universities offer flexibility in when international students can start their program, depending on the area of research. Bachelor programs require at least 124 credits to complete. 

Eligibility for a Bachelor’s program in Japan as an international student requires the applicant to have completed at least 12 years of formal education in their home country.

Those without a formal education must pass the National Entrance Examination Test. School transcripts, a personal statement, and one to two letters of recommendation are also required.  

Since many international programs are taught in English, prospective students must have completed 12 years of education in English.

Students who don’t qualify must prove their English language proficiency through tests like TOEFL or IELTS .

Programs taught in Japanese are also available to international students. However, students must prove their Japanese language proficiency at an intermediate level through either the Examination for Japanese University Admission (EJU) or the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) .

Master’s Degrees in Japan

Master’s programs or shuushi (修士) in Japanese universities combine lectures, research, student projects, and a written dissertation.

To be eligible for a Master’s degree, you must have completed a four-year bachelor’s program.

Along with university transcripts, applicants will likely need two letters of recommendation, a resume, and an outline of the research proposal.

Master’s programs in Japan last for two years and require 30 course credits to be completed.

There are several Master’s programs available in English in sciences, humanities, arts, and education. Before applying, you must provide proof of language proficiency for non-native Japanese speakers interested in enrolling in a Japanese-instructed program. 

Doctorate Degrees in Japan

Doctoral programs or hakase (博士) is the highest level of academic study available in Japan.

Japanese Ph.D. programs are based on quality research and high-tech teaching techniques. Most doctoral programs in Japan last for a minimum of three years. As in any other country, admission requires completing a bachelor’s and master’s degree. 

Japanese Research Programs

Students who don’t meet the university’s initial qualifications or are only interested in conducting research can enroll as a research student or kenkyusei (研究生) at a graduate school of their choosing.

Students are not eligible for academic credit or a degree upon completion of their research; however, this is an ideal route for students interested in enrolling in graduate programs before fully committing to a program.

Many students use this to improve their Japanese language skills before applying. To become a research student, applicants must receive approval from a prospective advisor of the school they wish to attend. 

Scholarship Opportunities for Higher Education in Japan

Compared to the cost of university in America and many other countries, university tuition in Japan is quite reasonable.

The average tuition fee for Japanese universities is about $10,000 per academic year, but it can vary depending on the school .

Many university students rely on their families for financial support, but that might not be possible for international students. Scholarships are quite rare in Japan, but several scholarships are available to international students for various programs.  

An important help during your scholarship application process is the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) . JASSO provides student services and is responsible for scholarships, study loans, and support for international students.

You may like to check the following links for more information about the scholarships for university education in Japan:

• Japanese Government (MEXT) Postgraduate Scholarships 
• The Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship for Privately Financed International Students 
• Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resource Development Scholarship 
• Asian Development Bank Japan Scholarship Program
• Scholarships available through JASSO

Individual institutions also offer merit-based scholarships for international students. Be sure to check with the student offices for their qualifications.

Higher Education in Japan for Foreigners

Japan’s reputation for high educational standards makes it a great choice for international students to pursue higher education in Japan.

Japan is home to an array of technological innovations with a mix of traditional cultures, making it an attractive choice for higher education.

Although it’s not well known, many universities in Japan offer programs for international students. These programs are available primarily in English but also offer students a chance to learn the Japanese language and customs. We do have an article about English university education in and around Tokyo .

Japanese universities offer programs for Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in many different areas of study. 

Why Study in Japan?

Japan has held a strong reputation for being the center of technology and innovation for quite some time, which is well reflected in its universities.

International experience also gives applicants a competitive edge over their competition. More employers value international experience as it shows drive and willingness to experiment. If your end goal is to work in Japan, starting as an international student allows you the chance to build a professional network.

Despite Japan’s reputation as a monolithic culture, many opportunities exist for non-Japanese students to study for higher education in Japan. The reputation of Japanese universities is well reflected at each institution, so any program you choose will be well worth your time.

Conclusion About the Education System in Japan

Education in Japan may seem a little different compared to your own culture. However, there’s no need to be alarmed about the quality of education, as Japan is often cited for having a 99% literacy rate .

Despite its emphasis on testing, the Japanese education system has been successful. Its strong educational and societal values are admired worldwide and produce some of the most talented students.

Moreover, for higher education, Japan offers a good mix of traditional and modern university programs that testify to its rich academic history and innovative future.

These programs provide top-notch education and a unique opportunity for foreigners to immerse themselves in the Japanese culture and way of life.

Pursuing higher education in Japan can be a transformative experience, bridging gaps between the East and the West. Japanese universities are a compelling destination for those seeking an academic adventure filled with learning, discovery, and personal growth.

Furthermore, Japan is a good destination for higher education if you wish to take advantage of its career growth prospects. With a continuously increasing demand-supply of talent because of its aging and declining population, Japan is a good destination for career growth prospects. Having a college education in Japan helps in achieving that goal more efficiently.

Jamila Brown is a 5-year veteran in Japan working in the education and business sector. Jamila is currently transitioning into the digital marketing world in Japan. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and writing about the culture in Japan.

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• Education Policy Outlook

Education Policy Outlook 2021

Shaping responsive and resilient education in a changing world.

Education systems operate in a world that is constantly evolving towards new equilibria, yet short-term crises may disrupt, accelerate or divert longer-term evolutions. This Framework for Responsiveness and Resilience in Education Policy aims to support policy makers to balance the urgent challenge of building eco-systems that adapt in the face of disruption and change (resilience), and the important challenge of navigating the ongoing evolution from industrial to post-industrial societies and economies (responsiveness). Building on international evidence and analysis from over 40 education systems, this framework endeavours to establish tangible, transferable and actionable definitions of resilience. These definitions, which are the goals of the framework ( Why? ), are underpinned by policy components of responsiveness ( What? ), which define priority areas for education policy makers. Policy pointers for resilience ( How? ) then illustrate how policy makers can apply these components in ways that promote resilience at the learner, broader learning environment and system levels of the policy ecosystem. Finally, a transversal component looks into the people and the processes undertaken in order to reach a given purpose ( Who? ). The report has been prepared with evidence from the Education Policy Outlook series – the OECD’s analytical observatory of education policy.

• Résumé - Perspectives des politiques de l'éducation 2021
• https://doi.org/10.1787/75e40a16-en
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Japan’s Third Basic Plan for the Promotion of Education sets out the goals for the entire education system in the period 2018-22, and defines a comprehensive approach to policy implementation. Its overarching aim is to ensure that the education system prepares learners for the world of 2030. As such, there is a focus on developing the skills required for the knowledge economy though the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) and problem solving into learning, as well as promoting lifelong learning and enabling learners to adapt to changes in the labour market. The plan builds on the success of the first and second basic plans for education, which include improving standardised test scores in lower-performing regions, implementing individualised learning and support plans for students with special educational needs (SEN), and reducing the cost of ECEC for low-income families. Outstanding issues from the previous two basic plans were taken into account when setting goals for the current plan. Key measures include strengthening school-community partnerships and reforming school leadership to allow teachers to focus their energy on teaching and to maintain Japan’s holistic approach to education with support from the community. There is also a focus on promoting collaboration between schools, and between the different services that sustain the well-being of learners. The implementation process involves systematically setting goals for education policies, developing indicators to monitor progress, and identifying measures to achieve these goals. Measures and goals of the Plan are refined on a continuous basis. Many activities are carried out by local actors, and local governments are encouraged to develop distinctive goals and measures based on their context.

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Author(s) OECD

18 Dec 2021

Selected indicators of education resilience in Japan

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Education System Profiles

Education in japan.

Sophia Chawala, Knowledge Analyst, WES

Japan’s economy was once the envy of the world. From the ashes of World War II rose a nation that, in a little over two decades, became the world’s second-largest economy. The Japanese Miracle, a period of rapid economic growth lasting from the post-World War II era to the end of the Cold War, made Japan the global model to emulate in industrial policy, management techniques, and product engineering. The postwar period left no room for the country’s continued reliance on military-industrial production and development. To effect a rapid transformation, Japan had to reimagine and redefine its national image beyond its militaristic and industrial past, which for centuries had been the cornerstone of its economy and national identity.

But by the 1990s, Japan found itself beleaguered, stuck in its worst recession since World War II. Years of rapid economic growth had given way to decline and eventually stagnation. While Japan’s economy has improved marginally since that “Lost Decade,” many of the conditions underlying that decline remain. Others, most notably the growing economic and military threat from China and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, have only grown.

Many analysts attribute Japan’s recent problems, particularly its slowing economy, to the country’s declining birthrates. In the 1970s, with the hyperactive economy causing the cost of living to rise and encouraging young men, and increasingly, women , to focus on their careers, birthrates began to fall. As a result, population growth slowed and eventually declined. According to the Statistics Bureau of Japan , 2019 marked the ninth year in a row of population decline. The population fell that year to 126.2 million, a decrease of 276,000 (0.22 percent) from the previous year. At the same time, improved health care caused life expectancy to rise—Japan’s population today enjoys one of the longest life expectancies in the world—and Japan’s elderly population numbers to swell. Around 28 percent of Japan’s population is over the age of 65, the highest proportion of that age cohort of all the countries in the world.

These demographic trends have had serious economic consequences. A shrinking workforce has complicated efforts to recover from the 1991 collapse in asset prices, leading to a prolonged economic recession, the effects of which are still being felt today. The employment outlook for many of the country’s youth has also deteriorated, with weak economic growth, an aging workforce, and the unique employment practices of most Japanese companies—workers in Japan are often hired for life with salaries highly correlated with seniority—forcing Japanese companies to “ refrain from hiring new regular workers and to increase their reliance on irregular workers.” The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these issues, with one analyst predicting a “steep recession” and warning that the health crisis would deal the “final blow” to Japan’s economy.

Its sluggish economic performance has afforded Japan’s rapidly developing neighbors time to catch up to and, in China’s case, surpass Japan. In 2010, China succeeded Japan as the world’s second-largest economy , a status Japan had held since 1968. This milestone also symbolized a rebalancing of power in East Asia, with China increasing its pursuit of foreign policy goals that Japan views as a threat to its national security. China has increased its military presence around the strategically important Senkaku Islands, or as they are known in China, Diaoyu Islands , control over which Japan and China have disputed for decades. China’s growing economic strength has also allowed Beijing to pursue its strategic goals through trade agreements, international investment, and access to supply chains and its massive domestic market.

To counter the rising influence of China, Japan has turned its eyes to the rest of the world, nurturing strategic alliances with large Western powers like the United States. It has also introduced measures aimed at fueling economic growth and innovation. The Japanese government has sought to promote technological advances, increase economic links with other East and Southeast Asian countries, and diversify its workforce for a more globalized and fast-paced future. Like many other countries that have sought to diversify their workforce in the face of global crises, the Japanese government has investigated reforming certain components of its education system.

The Backdrop to Reform: Japan’s Educational Performance

Education is one of the most important aspects of Japan’s national identity and a source of pride for Japanese citizens. The country’s high-quality education system has consistently won international praise. An emphasis on the holistic development of children has for decades led Japanese students to achieve mastery in a variety of academic disciplines—their performance in science, math, and engineering is particularly noteworthy. In the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015, Japan ranked second in science and fifth in math among 72 participating countries and regions .

The school system also still embodies the values of egalitarianism, harmony, and social equality, which were highlighted as early as the first postwar education law, the 1947 Fundamental Law of Education , also translated as the Basic Act on Education. According to the OECD, Japan ranks highly among wealthy nations in providing equal opportunities to students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Only 9 percent of variation in performance among compulsory school students is explained by socioeconomic hardship, about 5 percent below the OECD average.

Despite international praise for Japan’s educational system, many of the system’s underlying principles have come under increasing scrutiny in recent decades. The educational system has become the focus of increasing discontent because of its perceived rigidity, uniformity, and exam-centeredness. The extent to which the country has succeeded in providing equal access to education is also being questioned, especially when its selective, competitive tertiary level is considered. The gap in access to higher education between the upper and lower classes is widening alongside growing income inequality. While most obvious at the higher education level, this inequality is growing at each educational stage and is driven by several variables including the proliferation of private preschools and senior high schools, the growth of exclusive institutions aimed at preparing students for university and high school entrance examinations, and rising tuition fees at higher education institutions (HEIs). These challenges, combined with the need to provide education and training relevant to the expanding knowledge economy, have prompted renewed calls for education reform.

Education Reform: Past and Present

Education reform in Japan is not new. Western education systems came to influence Japanese education shortly after the 1868 Meiji Restoration, which transferred effective political power from the Tokugawa shogunate to the emperor, ushering in an era of modernization across all sectors of Japanese society. In 1872, Japan’s newly established Ministry of Education adopted from the American school system the three-tier elementary, secondary, and university structure, and from the French, strong administrative centralization. A group of newly established Imperial Universities took on certain aspects of the German university model . Despite those early international influences, domestic resistance to outsiders quickly followed, intensifying sharply during World War II.

But following Japan’s surrender in 1945, foreign influence on the educational system resumed, with all national reform and revitalization efforts falling under the aegis of the occupying Allied powers, led largely by the U.S. Of all the areas identified for reform, Allied personnel and the newly installed Japanese cabinet considered educational reform to be the most important, expecting it to play a principal role in channeling the thoughts and beliefs of the Japanese people in a more liberal and democratic direction. In 1946, the Educational Reform Committee laid out what would remain the core issues for Japanese education ministers until well after the years of occupation. The committee identified three issues as top priorities: the decentralization of educational administration, the democratization of educational access, and the reform of the educational curriculum.

Although occupation ended in 1952, it was not until the late 1980s and early 1990s that Japan’s economic slowdown and growing integration in the global economy solidified these priorities as essential cornerstones of Japanese policy and national identity. The unexpected economic decline made it clear to Japanese policymakers that remaining competitive on the global stage would require a highly skilled and educated workforce, able to increase worker productivity and drive technological innovation. In response, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) stepped up its reform efforts, focusing on democratization, decentralization, and internationalization with the goal of developing a new generation of globalized and resilient Japanese youth. As occurred at earlier stages in the country’s history, these reforms have sought to balance modernization with respect for tradition. Current reforms are shaped both by an openness to ideas found in the educational systems of other countries and a deep respect for long-held values and principles, especially those of societal honor, communal harmony, and self-sacrifice.

While the reforms have produced some positive results for Japan, they are not without their shortcomings. The OECD’s 2018 report, Education Policy in Japan: Building Bridges towards 2030 , warns that the reforms, though well regulated and well-intentioned, risk being “adopted only as superficial change.” The content and success of these reforms will occupy much of the discussion below.

Student Mobility

For years, Asian countries have sought to even out imbalances in inbound and outbound student flows—historically, the region has sent out more students than it brings in. For many of the region’s countries, such as China, the effort to erase that imbalance has meant putting in place policies and programs aimed at effecting a transformation from mere sources of international students to educational destinations of choice in their own right. Japan is no stranger to the desire to balance inbound and outbound numbers. However, with more inbound than outbound students, Japan has, somewhat uniquely, often had to work harder to promote outbound mobility than many of its neighbors.

One notable priority of the MEXT’s 2013 National Education Reform Plan was the promotion of internationalization by raising total numbers and softening the imbalance between outbound and inbound student mobility, among other initiatives. To increase outbound mobility, the government set a goal of doubling the number of Japanese students studying abroad , from 60,000 in 2010 to 120,000 in 2020. For inbound mobility, the government sought to attract 300,000 international students by 2020 . Observers view increasing the number of inbound and outbound students as central to the nation’s economic development plans . After graduation, talented international students can help fill positions left empty by Japan’s shrinking domestic workforce, while the internationalized education received by Japanese students studying abroad can be leveraged by the country’s corporations and national government to further trade and diplomatic ties.

Inbound Student Mobility

With Japan’s aging population causing university admissions to decline, the Japanese government has launched several initiatives to attract foreign students; the Study in Japan Global Network Project (GNP) is one. A global recruiting initiative co-managed by MEXT and the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), the GNP helps Japanese universities establish overseas bases in key regions, such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, and South America, from which they can directly promote the benefits of studying in Japan to prospective international students. GNP also allows staff members of university overseas offices to visit high schools in various countries to recruit students, prioritizing those schools that have previously sent students on exchange trips or study abroad programs to Japan.

Other initiatives include CAMPUS Asia , an East Asian regional initiative aimed at promoting the cross-border mobility of students from Korea, Japan, and China through student exchanges and institutional partnerships. Internationalization efforts undertaken by individual universities and educational associations, such as the Global 30 Project , also seek to attract international students to Japan. Currently, the Top Global University project, an initiative of MEXT, supports internationalization efforts at 37 of the country’s top universities. At the selected universities, the project seeks to promote international academic and research partnerships, increase the number of courses offered in English, and facilitate the recruitment of international students and faculty, among other objectives.

Some Japanese universities have also begun adding study abroad requirements to their programs and adopting an academic curriculum and semester system conducive to overseas study. For example, in 2016, Chiba University made overseas study a graduation requirement for all students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, introducing at the same time a six-semester academic calendar to accommodate it. In 2020, the university made study abroad mandatory for all students university-wide.

These initiatives have been met with considerable success. By one measure, Japanese universities reached the 2020 enrollment targets set by the government a year early. According to JASSO , which includes in its measures international students enrolled in non-university, Japanese language institutes, more than 312,000 international students traveled to Japan to study in 2019.

Measuring just university enrollments, the number enrolled in HEIs reached more than 228,000 that same year, up nearly 70 percent from 2013. Over 90 percent of those students came from other Asian countries, with students from China and Vietnam alone accounting for nearly two-thirds of all international students in Japan.

Still, despite these promising results, Japan’s inbound mobility rate remains low compared to that of other developed countries. Although increasing by more than a third over the previous decade, Japan’s inbound mobility rate stood at just 4.7 percent in 2018. Several obstacles hinder efforts to increase international student enrollments, most notably, language. Despite attempts to increase their English language offerings, few programs in Japanese universities are taught in English, a situation that forces many interested international students to undergo intense Japanese language training prior to the start of their studies. Another barrier is student uncertainty surrounding the in-country employment pathways available to international students earning Japanese credentials, a lack of clarity that raises concerns about the value of Japanese higher education to international students. To facilitate international students’ transition from the university to the workplace, national universities have begun hosting monthlong internships in cooperation with local governments and private companies.

Differing Measures of Student Mobility: Short Term vs. Full Time

Various organizations in Japan differ in how they define international students and in how they measure outbound and inbound student mobility, so reported international student numbers can differ widely. Some organizations, such as JASSO, consider short-term study abroad programs as a barometer of success, and measure student mobility numbers accordingly. JASSO defines the act of studying abroad as participation in any post-secondary educational program, a definition that includes not only formal university programs, but also language and cultural programs. While government agencies like MEXT and intergovernmental organizations like UNESCO are primarily concerned with full-time higher education enrollment, JASSO’s numbers also reflect Japanese university students pursuing short-term exchange programs abroad, often for six months or less. The pool of students measured by the Japan Association of Overseas Studies (JAOS) is even broader. When measuring and reporting outbound student mobility numbers, JAOS includes students going abroad for secondary education in addition to those in degree programs and short-term language and exchange programs. Another common means of evaluating Japanese outbound mobility rates is through the lens of university exchange agreements. As of 2017, the top three destinations for Japanese students participating in institutional exchange programs were the U.S., Canada, and China.

Chinese Students in Japan

China’s economic growth since the start of the millennium has greatly benefited Japan’s education sector. Despite long-standing tensions between East Asia’s two largest economies, Chinese students currently make up the largest portion of international students studying in Japan. In 2019, four in ten international students in Japan were from China.

Per the UNESCO Institute of Statistics , the number of Chinese students studying in Japan peaked at 96,592 in 2012, up from 28,076 in 2000, an increase of more than 300 percent. Analysts attribute this growth to “ a nexus of factors ,” including “the popularization of educational mobility during China’s reform era” and “Japan’s efforts to attract students from overseas.” China’s cultural and physical proximity to Japan likely also plays a role, as do regional exchange initiatives, such as CAMPUS Asia, discussed above.

Given China’s growing middle class, the latest generation of Chinese students in Japan is more affluent and aspirational, largely self-financing their overseas studies. However, China’s economic growth and own improving HEIs mean that more students are willing and able to study further afield or at home. Since their peak in 2012, Chinese enrollments in Japan have declined, falling to 84,101 in 2018.

Outbound Student Mobility

Outbound mobility, as measured by JASSO, is just under the government’s goals. According to JASSO , more than 115,000 Japanese students studied overseas in 2018, up from just under 70,000 in 2013. However, far fewer Japanese students are pursuing a full degree program at an overseas university. According to UNESCO, less than 32,000 degree-seeking tertiary students studied overseas in 2018, less than 1 percent of all Japanese tertiary students .

Japan has never been a major source of globally mobile students. But, around 2005, after decades of low population growth, outbound mobility began a sharp and swift decline. According to UNESCO data, by 2018, outbound student numbers had fallen by nearly half their 2005 level (63,492).

While low birthrates are widely recognized as a key driver of Japan’s low outbound mobility rate, some experts also attribute the low rate to some of the country’s unique cultural characteristics. Students from other Asian countries that have low and declining birthrates, like South Korea and China, study overseas at far higher levels than those of Japanese students. Some Japanese experts , including government officials, attribute the low rates of study abroad to the “inward-looking mindset” of the country’s students, a state of mind known in Japanese as Uchimukishikou . In everyday usage, the term describes an internal, psychological state stemming from personal lack of interest; a state that combines intimidation, fear, and inhibition typically felt when confronting an uncertain and highly consequential event. But the Japanese government has elevated the term to national prominence, employing it to explain a lack of overall interest among Japanese students in overseas study or work. Other trends within Japan’s borders likely contribute to low outbound student numbers, such as the growth of domestic higher education opportunities, the expansion of doctoral programs and student grants, and the increasing availability of English language training in Japan.

Those students who do study overseas tend to head to English-speaking countries. According to UNESCO, four of the top five destinations in 2018 were English speaking: the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. In Germany, the only non-Anglophone country in the top five, English language university programs are widely available. In recent years, German universities have greatly increased the number of master’s and doctoral programs taught in English .

Japanese Students in the U.S. and Canada

Historically, Japan has been one of the leading countries of origin for international students studying in the U.S. Each year since 2000, according to IIE Open Doors data , Japan has been one of the top 10. The popularity of the U.S. among Japanese students stems in part from long-standing ties between the governments of both countries. Since the signing of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan in 1951, Japan has been aligned strategically and militarily with the U.S. The resulting atmosphere of cooperation and mutual goodwill has helped nurture an abundance of educational exchange programs , such as the U.S. Embassy’s TeamUp campaign which fosters “institutional partnerships between U.S. and Japanese colleges and universities to facilitate student exchange.” Another project, the TOMODACHI Initiative , a public-private partnership developed in the wake of the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, has facilitated thousands of educational and cultural exchanges for American and Japanese citizens.

That said, since 2000, Japanese enrollment in U.S. higher education institutions (HEIs) has declined sharply. According to Open Doors , the number of Japanese students studying in the U.S. during the 2019/20 academic year was 17,554, falling from a high of 46,810 in 2001/02. Growth has been negative in all but two years since 2000/01.

Nearly half (49 percent) of the Japanese students that are in the U.S. are enrolled at the undergraduate level , while 26 percent are registered in non-degree programs, 16 percent in graduate programs, and 8 in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs (18 percent) are the most popular field of study for these students , followed by business and management (17 percent) and intensive English (14 percent) programs.

There has been much speculation on the reasons behind the downturn in the number of Japanese students in the U.S. Among the proposed theories are feelings of hesitation and unease about studying abroad stemming from crucial differences between Japanese and U.S. education systems.

Differences in the academic calendar may prove an obstacle to Japanese students hoping to study abroad. Since the beginning of the Meiji era, Japan has always matriculated and enrolled students in the spring, a season closely associated in Japanese culture with new beginnings. There have been recent debates on whether schools should shift the start of the year to the fall to align with most other countries in the world. However, such plans have never come to fruition because of the heavy cultural implications associated with the start of the school year and the uncertainty surrounding the consequences that such a change would bring. A change to the academic calendar would not only complicate the graduation timeline of Japanese students, it would also complicate their job search. Traditionally, the job-search process for Japanese college students starts in the fall of their penultimate year of study, or the second semester of their junior year.

For Japanese students choosing to study in the U.S., the country’s fall to spring academic calendar could delay the job-search process. Furthermore, students who studied abroad or possess a degree from the U.S. are not guaranteed a leg up in the domestic job market in Japan. Rather, potential employers in Japan have negatively judged returning students for their inability to readjust to the norms of the Japanese workplace.

Another challenge for Japanese international students on short-term study abroad programs is the recognition of their international academic coursework. Credits earned at overseas universities through exchange or short-term study abroad programs are often not recognized at Japanese universities. Finally, soaring tuition fees at HEIs worldwide, and especially those in English-speaking countries, are of great concern to Japanese students.

These differences are also likely to present obstacles to Japanese students thinking about studying overseas in countries other than the U.S. Still, the recent experience of Canada seems to tell a different story.

In contrast to the U.S., where the number of students has continued a long-standing decline in recent years, the number of Japanese students studying in Canada has increased, albeit at an uneven rate. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the number of Japanese students with study permits reached a high of more than 10,000 in 2001, before a nearly unbroken, decadelong decline brought numbers to a 20-year low of less than 6,000 in 2010.

Enrollment numbers began to rebound in 2011. They were given an additional boost by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s 2013 policy goal of doubling outbound student mobility, mentioned above. MEXT, which measures international student numbers differently from Canada’s IRCC, reported that between 2013 and 2015, there was a 24 percent increase in outbound mobility to Canada, from 6,614 to 8,189 students. The increase in outbound mobility to Canada outpaced both overall Japanese outbound mobility growth and Japanese mobility growth to the U.S., which grew 21 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

Several factors are likely driving the divergence in growth trends between the U.S. and Canada. Canadian universities offer many of the same benefits of U.S. universities, with few of the drawbacks. Japanese students, like students from other countries around the world, are increasingly drawn to Canada’s high-quality and relatively affordable colleges and universities. A 2017 MEXT survey also found that Japanese students and parents prioritize public safety. Canada is widely perceived as a safer study destination than the U.S. Previous WES research revealed widespread concerns among international students in the U.S. about gun violence both at their institution and in the surrounding community.

In Brief: The Education System of Japan

The structure of Japan’s education system resembles that of much of the U.S. , consisting of three stages

of basic education, elementary, junior high, and senior high school, followed by higher education. Most parents also enroll their children in early childhood education programs prior to elementary school. Children are required to attend school for nine years—six years of elementary education and three years of lower secondary education. At the primary and secondary levels, the school year typically begins on April 1 and is divided into three terms: April to July, September to December, and January to March.

High educational outcomes have earned Japan’s educational system a sterling reputation on the global stage, especially at the elementary and secondary levels. On worldwide assessments of educational attainment, the country consistently scores above average in educational performance, participation rates, and classroom environment. In the OECD’s 2018 PISA , 15-year-old Japanese students scored 16 points above the OECD average in reading and literacy, 36 points higher in mathematics, and 38 points above in science.

That said, Japan’s education system faces a number of challenges, among the most significant of which are demographic aging and enrollment declines. Elementary and secondary enrollment peaked in the 1980s, with elementary enrollment reaching a high of nearly 12 million in 1982, and secondary enrollments, a high of over 11.4 million in 1988.

Since then, enrollment at both levels has declined sharply. In 2018, the latest year for which data were available, elementary enrollment had fallen to just under 7 million, and secondary enrollment to around 6.5 million. That decline has closely tracked the country’s aging population. After reaching 24 percent in 1976, the percentage of the Japanese population age 0 to 14 declined steadily, falling to 13 percent in 2018.

The ramifications of these declines have rippled outward to affect nearly all aspects and levels of Japanese education, society, and economy. The following sections will not only explore the varying impact of demographic trends on different levels of education in Japan, they will also outline the structure and content of each level of education, other current challenges, and important reforms and modifications that are aimed at mitigating internal and external pressures.

Administration of the Education System

Responsibility for educational administration and policy development is divided between government authorities at three levels: national, prefectural, and municipal. At the national level, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), or Monbu-kagaku-shō , is responsible for all stages of the education system, from early childhood education to graduate studies and continuing, or lifelong, learning. MEXT ensures that education in Japan meets the standards set by the 1947 Fundamental Law of Education which stipulates that the country provide an education to all its citizens “that values the dignity of the individual, that endeavors to cultivate a people rich in humanity and creativity who long for truth and justice and who honor the public spirit, that passes on traditions, and that aims to create a new culture.” To fulfill that mandate, MEXT sets and enforces national standards for teacher certification qualifications, school organization, and education facilities, among others. It provides a significant portion of the funds for public schools, universities, research institutions, and, under certain circumstances, issues grants to private academic institutions. MEXT is also typically responsible for the development of national education policies, although in recent decades prime ministers have often convened ad hoc councils to determine education policy.

At the elementary and secondary levels, MEXT develops national curriculum standards or guidelines ( gakushū shidō yōryō ) which contain the “ basic outlines of each subject taught in Japanese schools and the objectives and content of teaching in each grade.” Typically, private educational publishers develop and print textbooks following these guidelines. Elementary and secondary schools can only use textbooks reviewed and approved by MEXT, which provides textbooks to students free of charge.

Although MEXT revises the curriculum guidelines roughly once every 10 years, their overall structure and objectives have remained more or less the same since 1886. Since then, curriculum guidelines have emphasized standardization, objectivity, and neutrality to avoid divisive political, factional, and religious issues. While this emphasis may lead one to assume that the national government strictly limits and controls educational content and teaching methods, in theory, these guidelines are only intended to establish nationally uniform standards of education, allowing students throughout the country access to an equal education. The system is designed to give teachers the freedom to develop individualized lesson plans and tests. Still, comparisons with other OECD countries suggest that Japanese teachers have limited control over classroom instruction and curriculum. Among the recent concerns cited as limiting the freedom of Japanese teachers is the 2007 introduction of a national academic achievement test. Observers note that in order to reach achievement test targets, local schools and educational authorities have tightened control over teaching methods and educational content.

At the prefectural and municipal levels, the external influences mentioned in the introduction are readily apparent. In the post-World War II era, democratization and the decentralization of education were core issues of educational reform, spurring the Japanese government to adopt the system of boards of education common in the U.S.

Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, each of which is composed of smaller municipalities, such as cities, towns, and villages. Boards of education, representative councils responsible for the supervision of education at the elementary and secondary levels, exist at both the prefectural and municipal levels. At the prefectural level , governors appoint members to five-member boards of education for terms of four years. Prefectural boards are responsible for appointing teachers and partially funding municipal operations and payrolls, including funding for two-thirds of teachers’ salaries, with the remaining third financed by the national government. At the municipal level, members are appointed by local mayors. Municipal boards are responsible for the supervision of day-to-day operational tasks at elementary and junior high schools, the management and professional development of teachers, and the selection of MEXT-approved school materials.

A 2015 reform of the board of education system—the first such reform in nearly 60 years—expanded the control of local chief executives, such as governors or mayors, over educational administration and planning, and reduced the role of boards of education. Authority to appoint the superintendent, the most powerful local educational authority, was transferred from the board of education to the local chief executives. The reform also increased their authority to determine local policy goals—it transferred authority to establish the local education policy charter to chief executives, reducing boards of education to an advisory role. Reformers hope the changes will lead to improvements in a system long criticized for its lack of transparency, accountability, and clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

Early Childhood Education

Traditionally, two principal forms of early childhood education (ECE) have existed in Japan: kindergarten ( yōchien ) and day care ( hoikuen ). Under the jurisdiction of MEXT, yōchien is a non-compulsory stage of the country’s educational system, coming immediately before elementary school, providing preschool education to children from the ages of three to six. Children typically attend yōchien for around four hours each day. As at other levels of Japan’s basic education system, MEXT develops and publishes curriculum standards for kindergartens, which must meet criteria necessary for the curriculum to realize the nation’s educational goals. The latest, issued in 2017 , seeks to foster a “zest for living,” a goal pursued at all levels of the educational system, and lay the groundwork for learning at the elementary level and beyond.

Administered by a different ministry, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare , hoikuen exists outside the Japanese educational system. Its principal function is to provide basic childcare services for children age one to six while their parents are at work. Typically lasting for eight hours, or the length of a typical working day, hoikuen often include some educational elements like reading and math.

Both yōchien and hoikuen centers can be owned and operated by public or private bodies, such as local municipalities, educational corporations, or non-profit organizations. However, the majority of students enroll at private institutions, some of which are highly selective and expensive. Many parents believe that enrolling their children in these highly selective institutions increases their children’s chances of being admitted to more selective institutions later in their educational career. In fact, some yōchien and hoikuen centers even prepare students for admissions tests at private elementary schools.

With more and more Japanese mothers entering the workforce, yōchien kindergarten programs, which have traditionally provided educational supervision for only part of the day, have in recent years faced

difficulty maintaining enrollment numbers. For the same reason, the demand for full-day hoikuen services has been on the rise. Historically, there have been long, persistent waitlists for parents hoping to enroll their children in hoikuen centers.

Given the clear demand for full-day childcare services, more and more yōchien have begun to adopt the day care elements more typical of hoikuen centers. For example, some yōchien have begun to offer extended hours to meet the demands of working parents, not ending their classes until the end of the workday. Some local governments have also started combining yōchien and hoikuen centers and mandating enrollment for all children prior to elementary school. The national government has even introduced measures merging childcare and early childhood education services into a single facility known as nintei-kodomoen . However, because of conflicting ministerial jurisdictions, reform efforts have often been stymied by administrative complications and are yet to achieve widespread success.

Still, early efforts at reform, combined with declining birthrates, have proved effective in reducing hoikuen waitlists. In 2019, waitlists for day care facilities reached an all-time low, with just under 17,000 children waiting to enter day care, a decrease of more than 3,000 children from the previous year.

Elementary and Lower Secondary Education

Elementary education marks the beginning of compulsory education for all Japanese children, lasting six years and spanning grades one to six. Children enter elementary education provided they reach age six as of April 1.

The elementary curriculum emphasizes both intellectual and moral development. All students must take certain compulsory subjects , like Japanese language, mathematics, science, social studies, music, crafts, home economics, living environment studies, and physical education. For public school students in grades five and six, English has been a compulsory subject since 2011. Since 2020 , English has been mandatory starting in third grade. Moral development is promoted through a moral education course and informal learning experiences designed to inculcate respect for society and the environment. The importance of moral education—long a taboo subject given its association with the nationalistic excesses of Imperial Japan—to Japan’s educational policies has increased over the past few decades. In recent years, the reintroduction of moral education as a formal course was spurred by reports of rampant student truancy, bullying, and school violence.

Classes remain large by international and OECD standards , despite efforts by MEXT to improve student-teacher ratios and recruit additional instructors. In 2011, MEXT limited first grade classes to 35 , down from 40, although intentions to extend similar limitations to other grades subsequently failed. Nearly all the country’s elementary schools, known as shōgakkō , are public. Enrollment at public elementary schools is free.

Students completing the elementary education cycle are awarded the Elementary School Certificate of Graduation (s hogakko sotsugyo shosho ) and automatically accepted into public junior high school.

Lower secondary education, the final stage of compulsory education, lasts three years, comprising grades six to nine. Instruction is conducted at junior high schools, or chūgakkō , 90 percent of which are public and tuition-free. Some municipalities have established nine-year unified compulsory education schools which combine primary and lower secondary education. Students hoping to enroll in private junior high schools or national junior high schools affiliated with national universities are required to sit for admissions examinations administered by the institution.

All public junior high schools follow a standard national curriculum which comprises the compulsory subjects previously taught at the elementary level. In addition to compulsory subjects, students can also choose from a wide range of electives and extracurricular activities in fields such as fine arts, foreign languages, physical health and education, and music.

Lower secondary education is a critical stage in a typical student’s educational journey, as grades partially determine whether a student will be accepted into a good senior high school, and consequently, into a top university. It also culminates in the first significant stage of what is colloquially referred to as “ examination hell ,” a series of rigorous and highly consequential entrance examinations that are required for admission to senior high schools and universities. Many students in the final two years of junior high school attend Juku , or cram schools, in preparation for the competitive senior high school admissions examinations.

Students completing junior high school are awarded the Lower Secondary School Leaving Certificate and are eligible to sit for senior high school admissions examinations.

Yutori Kyōiku: Compulsory Education Reform

Since the 1990s, the direction that education reform in Japan should take has been a hotly debated topic. Experts have long criticized Japanese education for its “strict management” which “places excessive emphasis on standardization and student behavioral control.” They have also voiced concerns about the “the widespread practices of rote memorization and ‘cramming’ of knowledge,” which have been accused of “depriving pupils of opportunities to develop their intellectual curiosity and creativity.” Finally, experts allege that the “intense competition among students vying for admission to prestigious senior high schools and universities has caused tremendous psychological pressure for these students and their parents.”

To address these concerns, the government issued national curriculum standards in 2002 that put in place a concept known as yutori kyōiku, which roughly translates as “relaxed education.” The updated guidelines brought about significant changes, reducing the length of the school week from six to five days and cutting curriculum content by 30 percent. The guidelines also mandated the creation of a new “Integrated Studies” course, which granted schools and municipalities discretion to create their own courses to provide students with a “ learning space outside the traditional bounds of the curriculum that would not be closely associated with entrance tests or tightly defined learning outcomes.”

But a year after the new curriculum guidelines were introduced, yutori kyōiku policies faced intense criticism. The disappointing results of Japanese students in the OECD’s 2003 PISA study shocked the nation. In the study, the average performance of Japanese 15-year-olds dropped from first to sixth rank in mathematics and from eighth to 14 th in reading. In just three years, mean performance had dropped from 557 to 543 in mathematics, from 522 to 498 in reading literacy, and from 550 to 548 in science.

Experts also highlighted the results of the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), an assessment that measures U.S. eighth grade student performance comparatively with that of other secondary students around the globe, as a sign of the country’s declining educational quality. While Japanese students again performed well overall, outperforming the global average in mathematics, when compared with other high-performing Asian countries, Japan’s performance was disappointing. Between 31 percent and 44 percent of students from Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong scored at the advanced benchmark for math, compared with just 24 percent of Japanese students. Many Japanese scholars attributed the Japanese students’ relatively poor performance in these international education assessments to the more relaxed nature of the yutori kyōiku reforms.

Public concern over declining performance prompted the Japanese government to review the yutori kyōiku reforms. What followed were a number of reforms aimed at maintaining some of the benefits of the educational reforms of the 1990s and early 2000s while increasing the academic rigor of Japanese compulsory education. MEXT issued new curriculum standards in 2008 and 2009 which increased academic lesson hours while reducing Integrated Study and elective hours, and a number of municipalities, supported by MEXT, reintroduced Saturday classes. MEXT also introduced mandatory foreign language courses to the elementary school curriculum, as mentioned above. More recently, reform in Japan has avoided the yutori kyōiku concept, instead promoting “ Active Learning ” with the aim of developing “students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes compatible with the new visions of learning for a knowledge-based society in the twenty-first century.”

Upper Secondary Education

After nine years of compulsory education, students have the option of enrolling in senior high schools ( kōtō-gakkō ), widely regarded as the most strenuous stage of Japanese education. Despite being a non-compulsory level of education, the transition rate from junior to senior high school is extremely high, in part due to the integral role a student’s performance in senior high school plays in determining future access to higher education and employment. Per MEXT , as many as 98 percent of Japanese junior secondary students choose to move on to upper secondary schooling.

Admission to senior high school is typically determined by three criteria: an entrance examination, an interview, and junior high school grades. Of these criteria, the fate of a student’s placement in higher education—and even of their career in the years beyond—is determined most heavily by the entrance examination ( kōkō juken ). Students take these examinations, which are administered by their senior high school of choice, between January and March. Typically, entrance examinations test a student’s proficiency in the core subjects of Japanese, mathematics, science, social studies, and English.

Students hoping to enroll in public high schools take entrance examinations standardized by the prefectural board of education which has jurisdiction over the school. If students fail the entrance examination for a public school, they will often opt to apply to a private school. Unlike public schools, private senior high schools typically create their own examinations. Although nearly three-quarters of the country’s senior high schools are public, the proportion of private senior high schools has been growing in recent years. Students enrolling in the country’s limited number of unified junior high and senior high schools ( chuto-kyoiku-gakko ) are spared the entrance examination. Since reforms introduced in 2010 , students have been able to attend public high schools free of charge, while students attending private high schools receive government subsidies.

The employment prospects of students who fail to gain admission to either a public or private senior high school are often grim, with many forced to find work as unskilled blue-collar laborers, an occupational category traditionally thought of as low status. Given the highly competitive nature of senior high school admissions and coursework, it is no surprise that senior high school is perceived as a vehicle toward higher social status. This exclusivity, however, has long raised concerns about equity and access. Since the 1980s, MEXT has attempted to rectify these concerns through a series of reforms, the most significant of which was the introduction of the credit system to senior high schools . In the late 1980s, MEXT implemented the credit system for part-time and distance education learners, allowing them to learn at their own pace and graduate when they completed the required number of credits. In the early 1990s, the credit system was expanded to full-time senior high school students as well.

Senior high school lasts for three years, comprising grades 10 to 12, with students receiving 240 days of instruction each year. Following recent yutori kyōiku-inspired educational reforms, the school week is officially five days long, from Monday to Friday. Still, as mentioned above, workarounds exist, with educational authorities issuing special approvals to public schools to hold Saturday classes, while many less regulated private schools have reintroduced Saturday classes at monthly or bimonthly intervals.

As at the lower secondary level, the senior high school curriculum comprises three years of mathematics, social studies, Japanese, science, and English, with all the students in one grade level studying the same subjects. Electives are also similar to those offered at earlier levels, including physical education, music, art, and moral studies courses. However, the high number of required courses often leaves students with little room to fit in electives or subjects matching their personal interests. Although MEXT has pushed to expand the types of courses taken in high school to promote individuality, purpose, and inspiration, implementation has proved difficult because of a lack of qualified teachers.

Students must obtain a minimum of 74 credits to graduate. Students who graduate are awarded the Senior High School Graduation Certificate ( sotsugyo shomeisho ) and are eligible to sit for university entrance examinations.

Senior high schools use a numeric grading scale ranging from 1 to 5.

Technical, Professional, and Vocational Education

Amid Japan’s current economic challenges, technical and vocational institutions have attracted considerable attention from reformers and government planners. Concerns that the education system is “ obsolete and dysfunctional , with the curricula lacking relevance to the realities of society and the economy,” has led to calls to expand and strengthen vocational and professional education. A 2017 MEXT white paper , which laid out key priorities in education reform, included a call to strengthen and reform the country’s technical and vocational education. To meet the challenges of globalization, economic transformation, and declining birthrates, the paper highlighted the importance of diversifying the country’s education system by increasing the availability of vocational schools and junior colleges. That paper followed a 2016 revision to the 1947 School Education Act; the revision urged professional institutions to collaborate with industry leaders to develop curricula that better balance practical and theoretical components.

Government planners are hoping that these efforts will expand and strengthen what is an already diverse landscape of vocational and professional institutions. Japan possesses a wide variety of institutions offering specialized education and professional and technical training to Japanese students at the secondary, post-secondary, and continuing education levels. Given the unique recruitment practices of Japanese employers—discussed further below—these institutions are attracting a growing number of university students who choose to study in a vocational institution either simultaneously or after graduating from university, to increase their employability, a phenomenon known in Japan as “double schooling.”

Specialized Training Colleges ( senshu gakku )

First introduced in 1976 , specialized training colleges ( senshu gakku ) offer courses of study aimed at developing skills and competencies that are needed for specific occupations. Three categories of specialized training colleges exist : general, upper secondary, and post-secondary, each maintaining different requirements for admission and offering training programs that vary in content and intensity.

Most specialized training colleges are privately owned and operated. New specialized training colleges must meet minimum quality requirements set by MEXT, after which they can be granted approval to operate by the prefectural government in which they are located.

Specialized Training College, General Course (senshu gakko ippan katei)

The lowest level of specialized training college offers courses in general vocational subjects such as Japanese dressmaking, art, and cooking. MEXT does not set admission requirements for entry to general courses, instead allowing individual institutions to set their own. As of 2017 , there were 157 colleges offering general courses to around 29,000 students.

Specialized Training College, Upper Secondary Course (koto-senshu-gakko)

More popular are the specialized training colleges offering courses at the upper secondary level. As of 2017, 424 institutions offered upper secondary courses to around 38,000 students. Admission to courses at this level requires possession of the Lower Secondary School Leaving Certificate. Courses typically last between one and three years. Those completing a course lasting three years or more that meets minimum academic requirements set by MEXT are eligible for enrollment in a university or a professional training college. Students graduating from these courses are awarded a Specialized Training College Upper Secondary Certificate of Graduation.

Professional Training College (senmon gakko)

The highest level of specialized training college is the professional training college, which offers courses at the post-secondary level. Admission is open to graduates of senior high schools, with courses lasting between one and four years. Students who graduate from specialized vocational schools are able to enroll in a traditional four-year university but can also use their degrees directly toward careers in their specialty. Options for specialization are vast but are typically classified into eight fields of study : industry, agriculture, medical care, health, education and social welfare, business practices, apparel and homemaking, and culture and the liberal arts.

Students completing a MEXT-approved course of at least two years and 62 credits (1,700 credit hours) are awarded a diploma (s enmonshi ). Those completing a MEXT-approved course of at least four years and 124 credits (3,400 credit hours) are awarded the advanced diploma ( kodo senmonshi ).

With birthrates falling and universities accepting a higher percentage of applicants, professional training colleges have struggled to maintain enrollment levels . Still, as of 2017, 2,817 professional training colleges existed, offering courses to around 660,000 students or around 15 percent to 20 percent of senior high school graduates . To encourage enrollment, some professional training colleges have adopted a dual education approach, organizing class schedules in a manner that allows students to study for a vocational diploma and a university degree simultaneously (the double schooling mentioned above).

Colleges of Technology ( kōtō-senmon-gakkō or KOSEN)

Unlike other vocational institutions, colleges of technology, which were introduced in 1961, provide education and training that straddles the secondary and post-secondary levels. Students who are 15 years of age, or those completing junior high school, are able to study in these colleges, which primarily offer courses in engineering, technology, and marine studies. Programs typically last for five years, requiring 167 credits. Students who complete programs from colleges of technology are awarded a title of Associate ( jun gakushi ).

Colleges of technology are growing in popularity among university graduates who fail to secure employment immediately after graduation.

Professional and Vocational Junior Colleges ( tanki daigaku )

A subset of junior colleges, discussed below, professional and vocational junior colleges (PVJC), pursue “teaching and research in highly-specialized fields with the aim to develop practical and applicable abilities needed to take on specialized work.” Programs at PVJCs are two or three years in length, requiring 62 to 93 credits, one-third of which must be earned in “practicum, skills training, or experiment,” including “on-site training conducted off-campus.” Students completing their studies are awarded the associate degree (professional) and are able to transfer to a general university or a professional and vocational university.

Professional and Vocational Universities ( senmon shoku daigaku or PVU) and Professional Graduate Schools ( senmon shoku daigakuin )

Other HEIs include professional and vocational universit ies ( senmon shoku daigaku , or PVU), which offer courses similar to those offered at PVJCs and award four-year, 124 credit bachelor’s degrees (professional) .

Professional Graduate Schools ( senmon-shoku-daigakuin ), which “specialize in fostering highly-specialized professionals who will be active internationally” and include law schools and schools for teacher education, award graduate professional degrees , such as the Juris Doctor and other professional master’s degrees. Programs range from one to three years in length with widely varying credit requirements. These professional degrees often meet eligibility prerequisites to sit for professional examinations; for example, a Juris Doctor is required to sit for the national bar examination.

Nursing Education

Before sitting for their national licensing examinations, nurses in Japan must complete at least three years of post-secondary education and training . Midwives and public health nurses must study for an additional year in a specialized program. Nursing programs are taught at a variety of institutions; universities, junior colleges, and nursing schools ( kangoshi-senmon ), which are overseen by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW), offer three-year programs in general nursing and one-year specialized programs in public health or midwifery. Universities are the only institutions authorized to offer four-year nursing programs, which often include a year of specialized training in midwifery or public health and lead to bachelor’s degrees in nursing.

Nursing programs typically follow a standard curriculum set by MEXT and MHLW. Students who successfully complete three years of general nursing education are eligible to sit for the National License Examination for Nursing; a high passing score allows them to begin practicing. After receiving their general nursing license and completing an additional year of specialized training, students can sit for National Public Health and National Midwifery Examinations.

Higher Education

Japan offers a wide and diverse landscape of HEIs that comprises junior colleges, universities, and graduate schools in addition to the post-secondary professional and vocational institutions touched on above. The country has one of the largest higher education sectors in the world, with around 3.9 million students enrolled in post-secondary education in 2018. That same year, a total of 2.9 million students were enrolled in universities, with 2.6 million enrolled in undergraduate programs and 254,000 in graduate programs. Enrollment rates are also high; according to MEXT , in 2017, the percentage of 18-year-olds studying at the post-secondary level was 81 percent, with 53 percent studying at a university, 22 percent at a specialized training college, 4 percent at a junior college, and 1 percent at a college of technology.

Three categories of Japanese universities exist: national universities, established by the national government; public universities, established by prefectures and municipalities; and private universities, established by educational corporations. One noteworthy characteristic concerning the composition of Japanese HEIs is the country’s high proportion of private institutions, which expanded rapidly in response to growing demand for higher education in the postwar economic boom years. In 2018 , less than a quarter of Japan’s 782 universities were public or national—with just 86 national and 93 public universities, compared with 603 private universities. That same year, private institutions enrolled nearly four-fifths of all higher education students , giving Japan the seventh-largest private higher education student population in the OECD.

However, despite making up the majority of Japanese HEIs, private universities are often considered less prestigious than their national and public counterparts. Even today, national and public universities typically rank higher on domestic and international league tables and are responsible for the bulk of Japan’s academic research output. Of the 11 universities making up RU11 , a consortium of Japan’s top research universities, only two are private, Keio University and Waseda University. Even more prestigious are the National Seven Universities , a group of national universities established and operated by the Empire of Japan until the end of World War II, the oldest and most prestigious of which is the University of Tokyo.

Recent reforms have helped modernize Japan’s highly respected national universities. The National University Corporation (NUC) Act , implemented in 2004, reorganized this HEI category, which had previously been managed directly by MEXT, transforming national universities into public corporations, a move that expanded their autonomy in academic, budgetary, and other matters. The NUC reforms also empowered national university presidents, allowing them to make important organizational, strategic, and academic decisions without statutory or MEXT approval.

Still, despite its size and diversity, higher education in Japan remains more challenged than any other stage of the country’s educational system. Problems include quality concerns, growing inequality, and shrinking enrollment. Japan’s population decline has meant that fewer and fewer students graduate from senior high school and that fewer are eligible to enroll in universities. Although the population of 18-year-olds has remained more or less steady for the past decade, MEXT projects that from 2021 onward, the decline, which was uninterrupted from 1991 to 2009, will begin again. The decline has had and will likely continue to have far-reaching ramifications in the higher education sector. As mentioned above, the decline has also prompted the Japanese government, universities, and higher education associations to look overseas for students to fill empty university seats. It has also driven some universities to ease admissions standards , replacing strenuous entrance examinations with interviews and student essays.

Educators have long been concerned with the quality, rigor, and purpose of education at Japanese universities. In contrast to the rigor of secondary education, university studies are typically considered easy , with students sailing through the first two and a half years before focusing on the job search in their final year and a half. The unique Japanese system of shūshoku katsudō (job hunting), long the country’s predominant recruitment practice, has meant that university education and the job market are more intimately connected in Japan than they are almost anywhere else in the world. Under the system, companies recruit exclusively from among new or soon-to-be university graduates, rarely hiring older job seekers. Once hired, these new university graduates often remain at the same company for life, with pay highly correlated with seniority, a system of employment known as s hūshin koyō . As new graduates typically have little to no practical experience, recruiters place enormous emphasis on the prestige of a job seeker’s university and senior high school. Top employers, such as the Japanese government and the country’s largest companies, hire almost exclusively from Japan’s most prestigious universities. Job seekers who do not have a university education, and students attending an overseas university that follows a different academic calendar, face extreme difficulties obtaining employment.

The importance of a university education is reflected in employment rates. According to a 2012 OECD study , the employment rate for both men and women who hold a university education is significantly higher than for those with just an upper secondary education. The study also revealed a large gap in employment between men and women. Among men, 92 percent of those with a university education and 86 percent of those with an upper secondary education were employed, compared with just 68 and 61 percent of women with a university and an upper secondary education, respectively. Gender inequality is a widely recognized issue throughout Japan, not only in the workplace, but also in higher education. In a series of investigations, beginning at Tokyo Medical University in 2018, found that a handful of universities were systematically manipulating their entrance examination scores, lowering the test scores of women to ensure that they made up only a small minority of all admitted students. After the scandal forced Tokyo Medical University to make corrections, more women than men passed the entrance examination.

Japan’s singular reliance on private sources to fund higher education further exacerbates concerns about unequal access to a university education. As students at all universities, whether national, public, or private, pay tuition fees, private sources , such as students and their parents, fund a comparatively large share of Japanese higher education. The share of private expenditure on higher education, reaching nearly 69 percent in 2017 , is among the highest in the OECD. Additionally, few scholarships or grants are available to students who need them, and a large proportion of Japanese students take out private or government-sponsored loans to fund their studies, raising concerns about the ability of less well-off individuals to obtain a university education and a comfortable post-graduation career.

Critics have also highlighted a mismatch between the education and skills imparted at the country’s universities and those needed to prosper in the modern world. In response, policymakers in Japan have called for the “internationalization” ( kokusaika ) of universities to better prepare students to navigate and succeed in an interdependent global economy. In many cases, these internationalization efforts have gone furthest in private universities, while national and public universities have struggled to adapt. In a 2008 survey conducted by MEXT , only 5 percent of faculty members in Japan’s most prestigious public institutions came from overseas.

University Admissions

“Thus there is a general belief that a student’s performance in one crucial examination at about the age of 18 is likely to determine the rest of his life. In other words: the university entrance examination is the primary sorting device for careers in Japanese society. The result is not an aristocracy of birth, but a sort of degree-ocracy .”

Despite the passage of half a century, those words, written in a review of Japan’s national education policies that was published by the OECD in 1971, still ring true today. Attending a prestigious university has a direct impact on one’s employment and life prospects, making the university admissions process one of the most significant stages of Japan’s educational system. While MEXT encourages universities to consider a range of factors when making admissions decisions, such as interviews, essays, and secondary school grades, entrance examinations are far and away the most important factor.

Students with a Senior High School Graduation Certificate who want to enroll at public universities or certain private universities typically take two entrance examinations: the National Center Test for University Admissions ( daigaku nyūshi sentā shiken ), more often referred to simply as the National Center Test or Center Test; and a university-specific entrance examination. National Center Tests, administered by the National Center for University Entrance Exams , are held annually over two days in January. There are 30 tests total, all multiple-choice, in six subjects : geography and history, civics, the Japanese language, foreign language, science, and mathematics. Students can sit for up to 10 examinations over the two days, typically choosing subjects required by their preferred universities for admission.

Institution-specific examinations at prestigious universities are often even more difficult than the National Center Tests. Students often elect to sit for multiple institution-specific examinations at several universities in case they do not get in to their preferred university. Prior to both examinations, universities distribute booklets to students to help them prepare for the subject examinations.

Criticism and Reform: The Common Test for University Admissions

Many Japanese policy experts have criticized the National Center Test, alleging that the test’s outdated emphasis on rote memorization contributes to a lack of independent and critical thinking in Japanese students. They also contend that the high-stakes nature of the test inflicts significant psychological distress on students and their parents, even going so far as to assert that the test reinforces a centuries-old cultural stigma that associates failure with being ostracized. For example, a large number of students who fail to achieve scores high enough for admission to their preferred university elect to retake the entrance examinations the following year. These students, who made up one-fifth of all students sitting for the National Test in 2011, are known as rōnin , a term that historically referred to wandering samurai stripped of their social status by the loss of their feudal master. Rōnin opting to study in a Juku , or cram school , which students can attend both before or after they sit for an entrance test, are typically relegated to a specific section of the school, segregated from other students. There, they subject themselves to long, grueling hours of study in hopes of raising their test scores high enough to gain admission to the college of their choice.

The test has also been decried for its lack of accessibility. Test prices are high and can cost students up to 18,800 Japanese yen , or around US$180, for just three subjects. 1  Cram schools can cost far more. Yobikō , which like Juku prepare students for entrance examinations, can cost as much as a year of university tuition. These high costs exacerbate economic inequality in an already-stratified Japanese society, stirring up tensions by furthering the impression that only the most socially and financially fit will be admitted to top-tier universities and, in turn, be guaranteed high-paying jobs in the future.

To address some of these issues, the Japanese government plans to replace the National Center Test with the Common Test for University Admissions, or Common Test, scheduled to be held for the first time in 2021. MEXT hopes that the new Common Test will select “ entrants based on a multifaceted methodology that ‘fairly’ evaluates the skills that individuals have built up for themselves,” encouraging critical and independent thinking and deep analysis of problems instead of rote memorization. One means of achieving these goals is the introduction of written sections for mathematics and Japanese language tests. The significance of the new Common Test is enormous. It not only reveals a willingness to adapt to the demands of an ever-more globalized, knowledge-based world, but also signals a reevaluation of deep-seated cultural values, especially those of success, fairness, and individuality.

Higher Education Institutions, Programs, and Degrees

The structure and requirements of Japan’s higher education programs strongly resemble those of the U.S. The academic year for most HEIs is split into two semesters, April to September and October to March, although some institutions operate on a trimester or quarter system. Although the government and university officials in recent years have debated beginning the academic year in the fall to better align with international practices, no nationwide action has yet been taken. The language of instruction in most programs is Japanese, although a small number are taught in English.

Junior Colleges (tanki daigaku)

Junior colleges ( tanki daigaku ), sometimes referred to in English as community colleges, offer two- to three-year programs in a variety of fields. Two-year courses require the completion of a minimum of 62 credits; three-year courses require a minimum of 93 credits. Between 1991 and 2005, junior colleges awarded their graduates the title of Associate. Since 2006, students have been awarded an associate degree ( tankidaigakushi ) which allows them to transfer to an undergraduate program at a university. At times, credit exemptions are awarded.

The vast majority of students enrolled at junior colleges are women . In 2009, women made up nearly 90 percent of junior college enrollments . With more and more women choosing to study at four-year universities, however, enrollment at junior colleges has declined sharply.

Universities (Daigaku)

Universities offer bachelor’s degree programs ( gakushi ) requiring a minimum of four years of full-time study. They are offered in a variety of fields, including the humanities, social sciences, sciences, engineering, and agriculture. Bachelor’s degree programs typically require the completion of a general education component, which usually comprises 30 to 60 credits taken in the first two years of the program. Students must earn a minimum of 124 credits to graduate. Medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical sciences, and veterinary sciences programs require six years of study and between 182 and 188 credits.

Curricula in medical programs generally consist of subjects in biology, physics, mathematics, and chemistry, with four years dedicated to academic study and two years dedicated to clinical practice and training. Upon completion of the program, students are awarded a Bachelor of Medicine. Graduates passing a national licensing examination are legally authorized to practice, beginning with a two-year rotating residency. A Bachelor of Medicine is required for admission to a three-year Doctor of Medical Science program.

Master’s degrees ( shushi ) typically require two years of full-time study and the completion of 30 credits. Master’s degree programs are offered in a variety of subjects and consist of coursework, a thesis, and an oral examination. Admission requires a bachelor’s degree or 16 years of school.

Doctoral degrees ( hakase ) require three to five years of full-time study. Graduation from a master’s or professional degree program is typically required, although some institutions also demand that applicants pass an additional entrance examination. Students admitted to a doctoral program with just a bachelor’s degree are typically required to complete 30 credits of coursework in their first two years.

Both master’s and doctoral degrees are taught at graduate schools , which are usually divisions of universities, although some are operated as independent institutions. Relatively few Japanese students pursue graduate education, in part because of the perception among employers that graduate students are not much more qualified than undergraduate students. Unlike enrollment at the undergraduate level, where most students attend private institutions, graduate level enrollments are concentrated in national universities.

National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education (NIAD-QE)

Since 1991, the National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education (NIAD-QE), known prior to 2016 as the National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation (NIAD-UE), has also awarded degrees on the basis of accumulated credits or the completion of a NIAD-QE-approved academic program. For example, a graduate of an associate degree program who has earned at least 62 credits from a university over a two-year period can apply to NIAD-QE, which, after evaluating and approving the student’s academic coursework, awards a bachelor’s degree. NIAD-QE also awards bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees to students completing a course of study at an educational institution run by a government ministry , such as the National Defense Academy of Japan or the National Defense Medical College . Students in master’s and doctoral programs also sit for an examination conducted by a committee of experts convened by NIAD-QE.

Quality Assurance and Accreditation

Japan’s current system of quality assurance and accreditation is complex. It consists of government control over the establishment of new HEIs, external accreditation, and institutional self-monitoring and self-evaluation.

MEXT has sole statutory power to charter new universities , with the decision of whether to approve the establishment of a new university based on the outcome of a review conducted by the Council for University Chartering and School Corporation, a MEXT agency. The council evaluates the compliance of proposed universities in light of standards set by the government in areas like the organization and administration of the university, staff qualifications, student-to-faculty ratios, facilities, and educational programs, among others. After the institution has begun operations and before the first cohort graduates, the council conducts a “Survey to Track Implementation of University Foundation Plans” to ensure that the university has continued to uphold the standards set by law.

Since 2004 , Japanese HEIs have been subject to the certified evaluation and accreditation (CEA) system. Under this system, all HEIs must undergo a comprehensive evaluation of their education, research, and facilities by MEXT-approved CEA organizations at fixed time intervals. As of 2020, MEXT had approved 15 CEA organizations , each of which develops and applies its own evaluation criteria. CEA organizations are approved to evaluate only certain institution types, such as universities or colleges of technology, or professional programs, such as law and business management. While the CEA evaluation is mandatory, HEIs are free to choose from among the list of approved CEA organizations. The evaluation results are published publicly.

All public and private universities, junior colleges, and colleges of technology are required to undergo CEA evaluation once every seven years. Besides comprehensive institutional evaluations, professional programs offered by PVJCs, PVUs, and professional graduate schools are required to undergo evaluation once every five years. For universities, MEXT has approved five CEAs, the largest of which is the NIAD-QE , which also maintains a searchable database of recognized HEIs and programs.

Universities, junior colleges, and colleges of technology are also required to conduct internal quality assurance and self-assessment reviews, the results of which are published publicly. Following the 2004 NUC reforms, national universities are subject to additional evaluations by MEXT to monitor their progress in achieving previously determined goals. The results of these evaluations determine the level of funding national universities receive from MEXT.

Grading Scales

Although grading scales vary by institution, most national universities employ a variation of a five-scale grading system, with most using letter grades ranging from S (superior) to F (fail). Other universities use a numeric 0 to 100 grading scale, with a 60 being the minimum pass for each course. Students performing at an inadequate level are given an F and are encouraged to retake the same subject(s) in the following semesters. As of 2016 , most Japanese universities had also adopted a grade point average (GPA) system.

Teacher Training

Despite Japan’s large student population, the country employs relatively few teachers. As mentioned above, student-teacher ratios are well above the OECD average. Despite recent attempts by MEXT to reduce these ratios, a national drive to cut public sector spending has negatively impacted the hiring of new teachers. Between 2014 and 2015, the total number of teachers declined .

Working conditions for teachers are also far from ideal. Teachers are overworked, employed for an average of about 54 hours a week, and, as is the case for the rest of the Japanese workforce, their terms of employment have become increasingly precarious. In 2012, around 16 percent of Japanese teachers were employed on short-term or part-time contracts, up from less than 9 percent in 2005. Irregular employment often hinders teachers’ professional development, limits the time available for lesson planning, and lowers morale, all of which can have a detrimental impact on educational quality.

Outside of higher education, teachers at all educational levels must hold teaching certificates in order to practice. Prefectural boards of education issue these certificates to candidates who have earned a minimum number of credits as set by MEXT-approved academic programs. Candidates typically study at general universities and junior colleges, although graduate schools of education have recently been established to provide advanced teacher education and training. Academic teaching programs include courses on pedagogy as well as those related to the subjects that prospective teachers intend to teach.

A separate teaching certificate is required to teach in different stages or types of education—kindergarten, elementary, lower secondary, upper secondary, and special needs teachers must all obtain different teaching certificates. Three different classes of certificates are awarded—advanced, class I, and class II—and each requires different academic credentials. A master’s degree is needed to earn an advanced teaching certificate, a bachelor’s degree for a class I certificate, and an associate degree for a class II certificate. The class II certificate is not an option for teachers at the upper secondary level, and those teachers who hold a class II certificate at other levels are urged to continue their studies and obtain at least a class I certificate. Teachers are required to renew their licenses every 10 years by completing a set of courses developed by MEXT and taught at MEXT-approved universities or teacher training institutions.

WES Document Requirements

Secondary education.

• Academic transcript—issued in English and sent directly to WES by the institution attended
• Graduation certificate—a clear, legible photocopy of the graduation certificate or diploma issued in English by the institution attended
• For completed doctoral degrees, a letter confirming the award of the degree—sent directly by the institution attended

Click here for a PDF file of the academic documents referred to below:

• Senior High School Graduation Certificate
• Associate degree
• Title of Associate (College of Technology)
• Diploma (Professional Training College)
• Advanced Diploma (professional Training College)
• Bachelor’s degree
• NIAD-QE bachelor’s degree
• Master’s degree
• Doctor of Philosophy

1.  University-specific entrance examinations raise costs even more, adding around 17,000 yen per exam to a student’s total expenditure.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of World Education Services (WES).

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• Overview of the Japanese Education System

The Japanese Education System

• Types of Higher Education Institutions
• Higher Education Qualifications
• Admission to Higher Education Institution
• Quality Assurance System
• Learning Assessment

Overview of the Education System

The Japanese educational system starts with pre-school education, followed by 6 years of elementary education, then 6 years of secondary education (3 years of lower secondary and 3 years of upper secondary education), which leads to a wide range of higher education. The 9 years of elementary and lower secondary education cover compulsory education.

There are kindergartens (幼稚園 yochien ), day care centers (保育所 hoikusho ), and “centers for early childhood education and care” (認定こども園 nintei-kodomo-en ) for pre-school education. As for elementary and secondary education, typical educational institutions include elementary schools (小学校 shogakko ) for elementary education and lower secondary schools (中学校 chugakko ) and upper secondary schools (高等学校 kotogakko ) for secondary education. There are also schools for special needs education (特別支援学校 tokubetsu-shien-gakko ) [departments of kindergarten, elementary, lower secondary, and upper secondary] for children and students with disabilities.

In addition, in 1998, it became possible to establish 6-year Secondary Education Schools (中等教育学校 chuto-kyoiku-gakko ) which combine lower and upper secondary education, and in 2016, it became possible to establish Compulsory Education Schools (義務教育学校 gimu-kyoiku-gakko ) which combine elementary and lower secondary education.

For upper division of Secondary Education Schools and upper secondary schools, there are also schools that offer part-time courses (定時制 teiji-sei ) in the evening or at other specific times and periods, correspondence courses (通信制 tsushin-sei ) that offer distance education, and 高等専修学校 koto-senshu-gakko which is Upper Secondary Courses of Specialized Training Colleges (専修学校高等課程 senshu-gakko-koto-katei ).

Types of higher education institutions (HEIs), higher education qualifications, and admissions are described in the following sections.

Organization of the School System in Japan

Organization of the school system in Japan (PDF)

Academic Calendar

Governed by law, the academic year for elementary and secondary education institutions and Colleges of Technology (KOSEN) starts on April 1 and ends on March 31. At universities and Specialized Training Colleges, rectors or presidents determine the beginning and end of the academic year for their institutions. At upper secondary schools, upper secondary department of schools for special needs education, and universities, matriculation and graduation of students may take place in the middle of an academic year according to the division of academic term of each institution.

Many universities in Japan use a semester system (first semester from April to September, and second semester from October to March), but there are also some universities that use trimester or quarter systems.

<Reference> - Number of universities admitting students at times other than April (AY2021)   Undergraduate level: 261 universities (34.8%, N=752)   Graduate level: 342 universities (53.0%, N=775)

- Number of universities implementing each academic term system at undergraduate level (AY2021)   Semester system: 694 universities (92.3%)   Trimester system: 17 universities (2.3%)   Quarter system: 49 universities (6.5%)   Other systems: 120 universities (16.0%)

- Number of universities implementing each academic term system at graduate level (AY2021)   Semester system: 592 universities (91.6%)   Trimester system: 10 universities (1.5%)   Quarter system: 37 universities (5.7%)   Other systems: 96 universities (14.9%)

* Since the above figures represent the number of universities that have faculties and graduate schools implementing each academic term system and it may not be uniform within one university, the total does not equal the number of universities that responded to the MEXT’s survey.

[Source] Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) " 大学における教育内容等の改革状況について（令和3年度） " [Japanese only] (AY2021: Status of university reform concerning educational content, etc.)

Statistics of Higher Education

(as of may 1, 2023), number of higher education institutions.

Number of Student Enrolment in Higher Education

Number of Full-time Faculty and Staff in Higher Education

<Reference>　MEXT, School Basic Survey Results [Japanese only]

*1　Includes graduate schools

*2　32 prefectural colleges of agriculture (農業大学校) are included in 'Public'.

*3　Only the institutions defined by the "Guideline for the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications - Asia-Pacific Regional Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education" (MEXT, 2019) are included. There is no published statistical data on the numbers of student enrolment, full-time faculty and staff.

Number of International Students in Japan

Number of Japanese Students Studying Abroad

Major Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Higher Education

For the laws and regulations listed below, English translation is avialable for Basic Act on Education only. Please also note that only the original Japanese texts have legal effect, and the English translations are to be used solely as reference materials.

• Basic Act on Education (Act No.120 of 2006 amended Act No.25 of 1947 in its entirety.)
• School Education Act (Act No.26 of 1947)
• Order for Enforcement of the School Education Act (Cabinet Order No.340 of 1953)
• Enforcement Regulation of the School Education Act (Ordinance of the Ministry of Education No.11 of 1947)
• Degree Regulations (Ordinance of the Ministry of Education No.9 of 1953)
• Rules on granting the titles of Diploma and Advanced Diploma to graduates of Post-secondary Courses of Specialized Training Colleges (Public Notice of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture No.84 of June 21, 1994)

Links to Standards for the Establishment of each type of higher education institutions are listed on the Quality Assurance System page.

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Japan’s schools: myths, realities, and comparisons with the united states.

In the 1980s, when the Japanese economy was booming, debates over educational reform in the United States seemed often to start in Japan. The Japanese economy was outperforming the US economy because Japanese schools were outperforming our schools, or so the argument went until their economy collapsed. When the US economy eventually rebounded, no one cited our educational system as a source of its recovery, and the connection between education and the economy was forgotten.

During the decade-long debates over whether Japanese education could or should be a model for US education, American politicians and the media regularly added their opinions to the point where even the average American could reel off casual impressions of schools in Japan. Some people embraced Japanese education as a model of high standards and rigorous schooling; others rejected it as a test-obsessed, anxiety-producing failure. The debate was never resolved, but the sound bites presented in support of either side still linger, even though they lack nuance and often are outright wrong.

The collapse of Japan’s bubble economy has since returned the study of Japanese education to the scholarly community where nuance isn’t lacking, but where theoretical concerns have replaced political ideology and kept us from agreement on even some of the most basic points. For conservatives, Japan represents the success of a test-driven education; for progressives, it illustrates the detriments of using tests as a means of improving education. Others still point out more accurately that the Ministry of Education 1 discourages Japanese schools from using standardized tests to assess their students and themselves. The impetus for most testing comes at the initiative of academically oriented schools and the private, for-profit juku (private supplementary school) industry in response to the high school and university entrance examination system.

In addition to political and theoretical debates, another source of our impressions of Japanese education comes from exchange programs and study tours of teachers and students. By virtue of their trips to Japan or their hosting of visitors from Japan, these instant experts eagerly share the truths of what they have seen or heard about Japanese schools. Their vignettes cannot be disputed—they saw what they saw—but when they result in hasty generalizations, these observations fail to provide insight.

My own experience as an observer of the Japanese educational system began thirty years ago, and, looking back on my early years, I too spread my share of inaccuracies. So as a means of penance, here is my attempt to counteract my own and others’ distortions by presenting a summary of the most common misconceptions about Japanese education, followed by some thoughts on comparative education and its use as an impetus for reforming US education.

The Ministry of Education

Japan, like most of the rest of the world, has a centralized system of education that gives the Ministry of Education (MOE) far more influence and fiscal responsibility than the US Department of Education in our decentralized system. During the war years, the MOE operated as a powerful arm of the Japanese military, using textbooks and regimented school rituals to prepare boys for life as soldiers. In the years after the US Occupation, the MOE reasserted its power and often battled the Japan Teachers Union and others over textbook content, standardized testing, teacher evaluations, and other issues. As a result, for many Japanese and foreign observers, the MOE represents all that was and is wrong with Japanese education.

Given this history, it is not surprising that many people still think of the MOE as a rigid enforcer of draconian policies. In response to recent Japanese government efforts to deregulate, however, the MOE has shifted its approach and begun promoting autonomy, flexibility, and diversity in the schools. At a meeting a few years ago, a Ministry of Education bureaucrat told me that the MOE and the local schools seem to have switched positions, and that many local school officials—accustomed as they were to rigid MOE regulations—are now pressing the Ministry for more clarity and direction. For example, in an effort to promote interdisciplinary, active, and locally-based learning, the MOE included “integrated studies” (a time for teachers and schools to determine content) in a recent curricular revision, but many schools are still struggling to determine how to use this more open-ended aspect of the curriculum.

Without a doubt, the MOE continues to exercise substantial control over Japanese education, but its power is shared and challenged by many other constituent groups, including parents, juku, local and regional education officials, elected politicians, and teachers themselves. 2 The debate over educational reform gets a lot of play in the Japanese media, and the MOE is under attack from many sectors for introducing progressive reforms under the heading “ yutori kyōiku ” or “education that gives children room to grow.” Recent changes include reducing curricular content and time in school, encouraging ability grouping, valuing thinking skills over basic content, and promoting student interest over external motivation. Critics accuse the Ministry of undermining education standards, a dramatic contrast to earlier criticism that standards were unrealistically high.

In response to the reforms, academically-oriented parents are putting pressure on schools to not disregard examination preparation, juku are regaining prominence by aggressively pointing out the academic gains made by their students, and politicians and the media are bringing forth example after example of poor-performing students. Teachers, caught between their desire to implement the reforms and to please parents, find themselves increasingly victims of “teacher bashing.” The MOE, for its part, is faced with unintended consequences of some of its policies. For instance, the shift to a five-day school week, ostensibly made to parallel a similar change in the workweek and to provide more family time, resulted in an increase in juku attendance. Similarly, some junior and senior high schools use the time designated for integrated studies to focus on examination preparation.

University Entrance Examinations

The Japanese post-secondary education system, too, has seen dramatic changes in the past decade and a half. Perhaps the most important ones are a result of the decline in the number of eighteen-year-olds from the peak of just over 2,000,000 in 1992 to about 1,400,000 in 2004. In 2012, the number will drop to less than 1,200,000, a decline of about 40 percent in twenty years. As a result, even Japan’s top-ranked universities now must pay attention to the recruiting of students, and many lower-ranking schools are unable to meet their enrollment goals. The pressure of demographic change has been exacerbated by MOE policies that foster competition between universities under the threat of reduced funding or the closure of some programs.

A detailed description of the various postsecondary reforms is not possible here, so I will focus on an area where many Americans continue to hold obsolete views: university entrance examinations. 3 Since 1990, with the introduction of the National Center Test, the university entrance examination system has changed dramatically. Individual departments within universities still manage their own admission process and write their own examinations, but those that use the first-stage Center Test (all public and many private colleges) are now able to choose sections from this examination, rather than testing the entire range of core subjects (English, Japanese, science, math, and social studies) as in prior years. In addition to varying test content, colleges also have created alternative admission options by designating spots in their incoming class for students from certain high schools or with specific skills or experiences (academic, arts, athletics, overseas residency, etc.). These students do not necessarily have to take the same entrance examination or score as high on the examinations they take. Still other applicants are allowed to choose essays or oral interviews rather than standardized, objective examinations. As a result of these changes, many high schools have begun grouping students so they can specialize on the specific subject matter and test format that they will face on their entrance examinations. Although students still enroll in a full range of high school classes, they narrow their attention to the two or three subjects that will be on their examination. This narrowing of curricular focus is another unintended consequence of the MOE’s introduction of flexibility into the educational system.

The complexity and diversity in the university admission system has been a boon to the cram school industry, driving students to the juku in hopes of understanding their options in addition to learning exam content. Many colleges, noticing the unbalanced preparation of their incoming students, have begun remedial programs. The need for these programs also results from the lowering of entrance standards by many colleges in response to the sharp decline in the applicant pool of eighteen-year-olds. In the end, young people have more choices than they did a few decades ago, and the incoming class of most universities includes students who have taken various routes to their admission. Only at the most selective colleges does the entrance system remain especially competitive, and even at these schools many more options now exist for prospective students.

Suicide and Examination Pressure

Probably the most common American impression of Japanese schools is that the high-stakes, high-pressure entrance examination system leads to a high suicide rate among young people. Like any stereotype, this one contains an element of truth: sadly, some students who do poorly on their exams in fact commit suicide. Although the overall suicide rate in Japan is about twice as high as the United States, the rate for young people, except for adolescent girls, is actually higher in the United States. 4

The putative connection between suicide and examinations probably arose during the first few decades after the Occupation, when the suicide rate for young people was high and Japanese public criticism of the Ministry of Education (MOE) was especially vehement. Each February, when the examination results were made public, the media featured heart-wrenching stories about youth suicide, often accompanied by tragic suicide notes thanking parents and family members for their support and deploring their own failure. A more careful look at the data on suicide, however, reveals that the majority of adolescent suicides during this time period resulted, not from the examination failures of the highly motivated students, but from disaffected students living on the margins of the war-ravaged society. In fact, as the enrollment of students in high schools increased during the late 1960s and 1970s, suicide rates for this age group actually declined. 5 Since the late 1990s, the overall suicide rate in Japan has risen significantly, perhaps as a result of the post-bubble recession and related bankruptcies and job loss. 6 Most observers, however, attribute the corresponding rise in suicide among young people to the influence of adult suicide, and the publicity associated with it, rather than to examination pressure.

Social Problems and Education: Bullying, School Refusal, and Shut-Ins

Bullying has long been one of the most widely studied social problems in Japan. The singling out of a child (or less often a teacher) by a group of children takes place most often in junior high schools. The physical and emotional abuse sometimes can be so severe that it leads to death, either by “inadvertent homicide” or suicide. American and Japanese commentators who were critical of Japanese education often used bullying along with the suicide rate as a means to bolster their criticisms. But just like suicide, the relationship to schooling is tenuous.

Although bullying is widespread and can lead to tragic consequences, by comparison to what many American schools confront, the problem can seem less significant. Drugs, weapons, gangs, and the resulting metal detectors and security guards, common to many American schools, don’t exist in most Japanese schools, although a recent spate of school intrusions and kidnappings have raised concern about the safety of schoolchildren.

A more recent problem in Japan is school refusal, when students drop out without an apparent reason, and its related hikikomori (withdrawal or shut-ins), when a young person refuses to leave the home or the bedroom. Some observers list the number of shut-ins in the hundreds of thousands, but official Japanese government estimates are closer to 50,000. Somewhat parallel in complexity and origin to the primarily Western problem of anorexia, shut-ins also are skewed toward one gender, in this case mostly male. Because the problem of shut-ins manifests in school—often arising from bullying or other problems that these young people face, then leading to school refusal, and finally to withdrawal—it is tempting to conclude that this and other social maladies are caused by the schools, but, like youth suicide, the issue is more complex.

In the years since the economic collapse, a number of social problems have emerged among young people, problems once termed “American problems.” Many Japanese politicians and commentators look back fondly on the days when the economy was strong, mothers were devoted to their children, and the schools were rigorous and teacher centered, implying a causal relationship between recent changes and various social problems. But just as most Americans would hesitate to blame the schools for drugs, violence, or teen pregnancy, we also should resist the temptation to link Japanese social problems to their schools. 7

Differences Between Levels and Types of Schooling

Americans instinctively understand the differences between schools in the United States and use various groupings to point to those distinctions: urban, rural, suburban; public, private; percent of students qualifying for federal free or reduced lunch, etc. Despite our comfort in our own diversity, however, we find it easy to speak of Japanese schools as if they are somehow all the same. Perhaps swayed by the homogeneity of black-haired children—some wearing identical school uniforms—we take generalizations that may fit one type of school and apply them to the entire system.

Distinctions between levels (preschool, elementary, junior high, high school) are perhaps the most important for Americans to note. In Japanese preschools and early elementary grades, teachers work to socialize students and structure the day around various group activities. 8 High school classes are more oriented to the individual student, but social grouping still takes place in club and other co-curricular settings. 9 Junior high schools are somewhere in between: they typically share an administrative connection to elementary schools, but most of their teachers are subject-area specialists.

Public versus private education offers another distinction, but these terms have different implications in Japan than in the United States. Less than one percent of elementary schools and about six percent of junior high schools are private. MOE funding regulations and the Japanese ideal of educational egalitarianism result in little variation in compulsory schooling, although family supplementary spending introduces disparity across socioeconomic groups. More private schools exist in the non-compulsory preschools (over 50 percent) and high schools (about 25 percent), although the casual observer would have trouble seeing any differences between these and the public schools. Preschools, both public and private, might better be distinguished by those with a daycare function and those that offer only a few hours of schooling each day for children with a stay-at-home parent or caregiver. And among all types of preschools can be found great differences in emphasis, from highly academic to those that rely on more child-centered activities.

At the high school level, among both public and private schools, the most noticeable difference is between academically-oriented (college-prep) schools and those whose students have other interests. For college-aspiring parents and their children, careful distinctions made between academic schools are based primarily on the percentage of graduates enrolling in elite universities, not on whether a school is public or private. Some private schools, however, are connected with schools at the next level all the way through college, giving their students an enrollment advantage. Students in these connected schools can minimize the stress and anxiety of the high school and university entrance examinations by moving directly from one school to the next. Private junior high and high schools also can circumvent some MOE reforms and give added emphasis to preparation for entrance examinations. As a result, they are rising in reputation and becoming more popular among college-motivated parents and their children, especially in urban areas. About 75 percent of Japanese college students enroll in private institutions, and, at this level, distinctions between private and public are more profound. With the exception of a few elite private schools, the public national universities still carry the most prestige; at the middle level there is a range of public and private universities; most of the lower ranking schools are private.

Distinctions also can be made within the category of private juku. The typical English translation, “cram school,” might better be changed to “private, supplementary school” in order to represent the diversity included in the generic Japanese term “juku.” For most Americans, juku refers to examination-preparation schools, but the Japanese term takes in a range of activities from full-time test preparation schools for high school graduates, to academic enrichment, remedial work, tutoring, and cultural pursuits for students of all ages. Juku also encompasses a variety of organizational structures from companies that generate billions of dollars in revenue (e.g. Kawai Juku and Yoyogi Zemi) to classes held in private homes as a means of supplementing the family income. 10 Most Japanese participate in at least one form of these educational opportunities at some point in their life; for many, these experiences become more important, enjoyable, and educational than the regular schools.

Creativity and the Curriculum

When Japanese education, with its high scores on international achievement tests, was being held up as a model for US educational reform in the 1980s and 90s, two of the most common rebuttals by American educators were that the Japanese curriculum was narrowly focused on the “basics,” and that Japanese teachers and their students lacked creativity. Anyone who has visited Japanese elementary and junior high schools knows that the first statement is incorrect. The Ministry of Education curriculum for grades 1–9 sets forth a full range of subjects, including music, art and physical education, subjects often dropped from US schools because of budget cuts and test preparation. The curriculum of most Japanese high schools, especially academically-oriented schools, is more narrowly focused on the subjects found on college entrance examinations, but club and afterschool activities allow time for additional pursuits.

The issue of creativity is more complex. The teaching model promoted by the most up-to-date teachers and teacher educators in Japan follows a pattern of the teacher (1) reviewing the previous lesson and introducing a new problem to the students, (2) letting small groups work to solve the problem, (3) asking a representative of each group to explain their solution, (4) commenting on the student responses, and (5) summarizing the lesson. US teachers saw examples of this kind of teaching in the TIMSS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study) video study of schools in Germany, Japan, and the United States. The videos unfortunately presented US teaching as drill-and-practice, rather than providing an example of US teaching at its best. A comparable image of good teaching in the United States might be where a teacher has the freedom to invent each day’s lessons, guided by student initiative and the knowledge of the curriculum appropriate for the grade level and subject area. John Dewey described this approach in The Child and the Curriculum (1902), and Herbert Kohl used it in his fifth-grade classroom in 36 Children (1967).

On the surface, the US approach seems more creative, but my own impression is that each country starts with a different concept of creativity. In the United States we value thinking “out of the box,” where the teacher and students invent something new. The Japanese, on the other hand, promote thinking “within the box,” where the teacher sets up a framework that focuses student attention, then allows them to explore creatively within that framework. At their best, each approach results in a great deal of creativity and a great deal of learning. The most pressing issue in both countries is to move beyond polarizing debates over government policies and get best practices, whatever they may be, into the classroom.

Japanese and US Education: Comparative Examples

Despite the misconceptions that many Americans have about Japan’s schools, there is a lot to learn from our attempts at comparison. Still, comparisons themselves can easily lead to further misconceptions when researchers selectively address certain aspects of an educational system. In my own writing, for instance, I sometimes present a one-sided view of Japanese education in order to use Japan as a mirror that allows us to better see our own system. In the edited book National Standards and School Reform in Japan and the United States, for example, my colleagues and I used Japan to portray the “way in which national standards may in fact affect educational achievement or teaching practice.” Our goal was to describe, “the interplay of various constituencies in Japan’s centralized system,” in order to “help American educators and policymakers consider issues that may apply to education in the United States.”10 The origin of the book was our belief that Americans instinctively reject national education standards without recognizing the possible benefits of a more centralized system. In the book, therefore, we focused on favorable aspects of Japan’s national curriculum.

One benefit of national standards is that they create a more stable curriculum that changes only incrementally over the years. Textbook publishers and teachers, because they know what is to be taught, can focus on creating the best books and best pedagogy for helping students learn the subject matter. A stable, common curriculum also makes it possible for teachers in Japan to work together to perfect their lessons through Lesson Study. Simply described, Lesson Study is a process by which teachers, most commonly in elementary schools, collaboratively design a lesson that brings to life their long-term goals while also teaching particular content. One team member then teaches the lesson while the others carefully study student responses. Finally, the entire team shares what they observed, drawing out the implications for the specific lesson and unit design and for teaching and learning in general. Some groups present their work in “public lessons,” in which teachers from other schools visit to watch and discuss the lesson. The structure that fosters Lesson Study includes professional development opportunities and planning time for teachers and the yearly designation of each school’s curricular area of study.

Recent efforts to bring Lesson Study to American schools illustrate the limitless potential of comparative research. 11 At its best, the study of another country’s educational system can become the source of new ideas. At its worst, it results in misrepresentation. The stereotypes about Japanese education arose from sweeping generalizations made from limited data, from comparative research misused to promote a political reform agenda, and from educational ideas appropriated without a full understanding of the context in which they emerged. The research on Lesson Study, ongoing for over a decade, has potential, I believe, because it takes a successful idea found in some Japanese schools and works to create a context whereby it could succeed in the United States.

As for the future of Japanese education, Ministry of Education reforms will likely continue to be skewed by the entrance examination system as parents, juku, junior and senior high schools, and universities maneuver to gain advantage. Japan’s educational system (most notably the juku) has become especially adept at delivering specific content, and the Ministry seems unlikely to shift too far away from a system that is so well integrated into Japanese society. Demographic, economic, and social forces, however, will continue to exert pressure on the system. The decline in the number of schoolage children, for instance, will soon result in a system where there are about as many spaces for university students as there are aspirants. And as the employment system has changed, many high school students have begun to consider options other than the traditional track leading to university admission. In response to economic competition from their Asian neighbors and concerns that life for Japanese young people is too soft, a strong conservative backlash is building that calls for a return to basic skills, traditional pedagogy, and increased competition. Progressive leaders remain concerned about the ability of the system to foster “new basics” such as thinking, problem solving, and inquiry, first mentioned by the Ministry of Education in the 1989 reforms.

Many observers have called Japan’s recent educational reforms the “third wave,” after the reforms of post-Meiji and post-WWII. These earlier reforms, too, were highly contested, but at least then there was agreement that something needed to be done in response to the forced opening of the country (modernization) and the loss of the war (democratization). The impetus for the current reform is not as clear. Some see it as a reaction to an antiquated system; others as a response to (or cause of) declining educational achievement; still others question the Ministry’s insistence on change in the first place. Japan’s economic collapse in the early 1990s coincided with the beginning of the third wave of reform, and the first generation to be educated under these reforms will soon graduate from college and enter the workforce, just as the country appears to be emerging from its “malaise.” If the country’s worldwide technological, economic, and cultural influence continues to grow, reformers of all stripes will surely line up to take credit.

In building an educational system for the twenty-first century, Japan has some important advantages. As they experiment with the “new basics,” they are able to weave them into a well-articulated curriculum of agreed-upon content. In other words, they have a solid foundation of content to which they are trying to add a pedagogy that fosters intellectual skills. In the United States, we have a long tradition of teaching toward these skills, but, despite our emphasis on standards and assessment, we still struggle as a nation to agree upon the content we should teach. During the past two decades of reform, our attempts to move toward higher academic standards and regular assessment have led us to question the efficacy and desirability of our pedagogy, almost as if the development of intellectual skills is antithetical to the learning of content. A decade ago, Americans were attracted to Japanese education because of their high standards and test scores. Ironically, if the current Japanese reform effort is successful, what we may learn next from the Japanese is a pedagogy of intellectual skill development that is grounded in subject-area content.

Still, it is hard to imagine Japanese education capturing American attention to the extent that it did fifteen to twenty years ago. Scholars, however, will continue to produce thoughtful studies that point out positive or negative aspects of the system and use Japan as a way to reflect on our own educational system. And others with a more social science bent will explore education as it relates to various aspects of Japanese culture, society, and the political system. In East Asia, on the other hand, where many countries are facing the same challenge, moving beyond a heretofore successful subject-based system, Japanese education will likely continue to receive a great deal of attention.

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1. In 2001, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture became the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology.

2. For information on educational reform, see Roger Goodman and David Phillips, eds., Can the Japanese Change Their Education System? (Oxford: Symposium Books, 2003); Ryoko Tsuneyoshi, “The New Japanese Educational Reforms and the Achievement ‘Crisis’ Debate.” Educational Policy 18:2 (May 2004): 364–394; Ryoko Tsuneyoshi, ed., Reconsidering Japanese Education: 21st Century Abilities in the Japanese Context (Tokyo: Graduate School of Education, University of Tokyo, 2004); and Christopher Bjork and Ryoko Tsuneyoshi, “Education Reform in Japan: Competing Visions for the Future.” Phi Delta Kappan 86:8 (April 2005): 619–626. Japan Echo , a bimonthly journal made up mostly of articles first published in Japanese magazines, often includes sections on Japanese education, valuable especially because they represent the diversity of opinion in Japan. See December 2000, June 2001, August 2003, February 2004, April 2005, and April 2006 at http://www.japanecho.co.jp/.

3. Nearly one third of Japan universities face enrollment difficulties, some to the point of possible financial collapse. For a discussion of recent changes in Japanese post-secondary education, see J. S. Eades, Roger Goodman, and Yumiko Hada, eds., The ‘Big Bang’ in Japanese Higher Education: The 2004 Reforms and the Dynamics of Change (Melbourne: Trans Pacific Press, 2005).

4. The World Health Organization breaks down suicide data by generations. The following data list the US (year 2001) rates per 100,000 followed by the Japanese (year 2002) rates. Ages 5–14: male 1.0 / 0.4; female 0.3 / 0.2. Ages 15–24: male 16.6 / 14.7; female 2.9 / 6.3. Japan overtakes the United States in this unfortunate statistic for all population segments above twenty-five years of age, with a strikingly higher rate for middle-aged men and older women.

5. Thomas Rohlen, Japan’s High Schools (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), 327–334.

6. A graph showing the Japanese unemployment rate superimposed over the male suicide rate from 1953 to 2003 shows a remarkable parallel. See W. Michael Cox and Jahyeong Koo, “Miracle to Malaise: What’s Next for Japan?” Economic Letter—Insights from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas 1:1 (January 2006) at http://www.dallasfed.org/research/eclett/2006/el0601.html.

7. For information on adolescent development, see Rebecca Erwin Fukuzawa and Gerald K. Letendre, I ntense Years: How Japanese Adolescents Balance School, Family, and Friends (New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 2000).

8. See Catherine C. Lewis, Educating Hearts and Minds: Reflections on Japanese Preschool and Elementary Education . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

9. For a discussion of clubs in Japanese secondary schools, see Peter Cave, “ Bukatsudō : The Educational Role of Japanese School Clubs,” Journal of Japanese Studies 30:2 (Summer 2004), 383–415.

10. See Nancy Ukai Russell, “Lessons from Japanese Cram Schools,” in The Challenge of Eastern Asian Education: Implications for America , edited by William K. Cummings and Philip G. Altbach (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997), 153–170.

11. For information on Lesson Study, see www.lessonresearch.net. See also Catherine Lewis, Rebecca Perry, and Aki Murata: “How Should Research Contribute to Instructional Improvement? The Case of Lesson Study.” Educational Researcher 35:3 (April 2006) 3–14.

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Education in Japan

• Distinctive Features of Education in Japan
• Past and Present of Education in Japan

1. Education System

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• Key Points of the Revised Foreign Language National Curriculum Standards (Course of Study) at Elementary School and Lower Secondary School Levels
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• The Safety of School Facilities in Japan
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The many facets of japan’s push to reform teaching, educators eager to go international, but how should families shop for the right school.

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In line with the globalization of Japanese education promoted by the government, Japanese universities are opening up to the world by creating programs that do not require Japanese language skills to earn degrees. There are also many programs and partnerships offered by universities to support student entrepreneurship.

Japanese elementary and secondary education, which excels in teaching essential academic skills, as well as developing social and cooperative skills, is also working to foster independence and individuality, while seeing an enhanced presence of international and prestigious boarding schools in recent years.

In an interview with The Japan Times, Shibuya Junior and Senior High School Principal Itsuko Takagiwa and the Sapix Yozemi Group’s Global Education Division Director Shino Takamiya shared their thoughts on how Japanese education is changing and what options there are for children from both Japanese and non-Japanese families in choosing schools.

What are the major differences between education in Japan and elsewhere?

Takagiwa: In recent years, the government has made early childhood education free. Japanese education is characterized by a system of guaranteeing uniform education in preschools, elementary schools and junior high schools across the country so there is as little economic impact on households as possible. A strong focus on social development is another notable factor.

For example, preschool education starts with teaching proper ways of greeting, how to take care of themselves, such as taking off their shoes, folding clothes after changing into play clothes, and organizing things. In most elementary schools, students eat the same lunches that schools provide and clean up classrooms and other school facilities. At some elementary schools, older students lead groups of younger pupils on the way to and from school.

Takamiya: Some parts of Japanese culture have seen renewed appreciation in modern times. In the field of sports, we see many news reports about how tidy Japanese national teams keep their locker rooms and fans cleaning up the stands. Many tourists speak about how impressed they are with Japanese ways of doing things. I think that these results are a testament to our Japanese education system that Ms. Takagiwa just explained.

On the other hand, in the United States, where I spent much of my childhood, education is a business just like medical services. That is why we see many educators having master’s or even doctorate degrees in the primary and secondary education sector. They are adept in presenting themselves and expressing their individuality. Naturally, they can help students do the same — bring out their individuality. Teachers not only accept students’ mistakes, but also tell students repeatedly that “mistakes are good” because that is how students will work their way to become who they want to be. Accordingly, their education is characterized by ample freedom and flexibility.

This is essentially different from the conventional Japanese education based on a demerit system where students are expected to achieve certain goals and making mistakes will only hinder their achievements.

Takagiwa: Freedom is actually very demanding. No one is going to make a decision for you. You have to make your own choice. So, if we say that no mistakes are allowed in making your own choices, it is not real freedom. I think American schools encourage mistakes because fearing mistakes stifles the freedom students need to foster their individuality. On the other hand, in Japan, there is this strong pressure to identify causes of mistakes and reflect on them.

Have you noticed any recent changes or improvements in Japanese education?

Takagiwa: There has been a move to introduce a new concept of learning to conventional education, which has relied almost entirely on the demerit system. The reason why this system has been dominant is because teachers have always known all the answers to the questions and the goals for learning. Anything that contradicts the existing answers or falls short of the goals has been subject to demerits.

In recent years, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has incorporated inquiry-based learning in the national curriculum guidelines that all schools providing elementary and secondary education are expected to follow. For this type of learning, there are no common, fixed goals for everyone. A teacher’s job is to think what would be an appropriate goal for each student and try to evaluate the growth of each student based on the student’s achievements, not based on the teacher’s own standards.

The fact that teachers are struggling to make this change is a sign that Japanese education is at a major turning point.

Takamiya: Having spent most of my childhood years abroad and having been educated in various countries due to my father’s career as a diplomat, I find Japanese education, especially the secondary level, more meticulous than in most other countries — something we can take pride in. There are many aspects that other countries can learn from. But if we look at university rankings, Japanese universities are struggling to break into the top ranks. Despite recent efforts to reform the entrance exam system and take more multifaceted and holistic approaches to evaluating students’ abilities, it seems we need more drastic measures to get in line with the rest of the developed world.

How does the Japanese university education fare in terms of cost?

Takamiya: One of the reasons why Japanese universities are not ranking higher than they are is because the criteria for university rankings do not include tuition.

In the rest of the advanced countries, as well as some of the emerging ones, education is costly and the price you pay often correlates with what you get. On the other hand, education in Japan is affordable and highly cost-effective generally across the board from elementary to higher education, whether public or private, compared with other countries.

Providing something of a high quality at a low cost should be considered a strong advantage, but it seems otherwise in the rankings.

Takagiwa: There is a history behind why the education in Japan is cheap. After World War II, education was positioned at the core in rebuilding the nation. The Japanese government established a national university in all 47 prefectures, each one offering at least the department of education and the department of medicine, investing tax money to provide the same education nationwide. This policy also limited the freedom of private schools. To ensure everyone the benefit of the same education, the government created a national standard, which has been updated and used to date, and expected all schools, including private ones, to follow it at least to some extent, providing financial assistance in return.

Still, private schools are more costly but have more flexibility than public schools. I think that the national curriculum guideline is actually well-designed and not too far from the International Baccalaureate Primary and Middle Years and Diploma Programmes, in principle, and if schools are willing to make some changes to their existing curriculum, they can provide education that is aligned with those international baccalaureate programs, giving students broader opportunities.

How should we choose schools at the elementary and secondary levels? What are the choices for children from abroad?

Takamiya: In my case, I did not have much of a choice because my father was trotting the globe on diplomatic missions and I went to any school that accepted me wherever we were, only to stay there for a few years. I went to a public school in advanced countries and to an American school and other international schools in developing countries. This was back then. We now have so many options when it comes to educating our children. At Triple Alpha, a company I manage that supports students wishing to study at boarding schools abroad, we advise families to consider what is best for their child. Finding the “Best Fit” school for our students is one of our core values.

“Best fit” doesn’t just apply to the level of academic performance. It is about what is best for each child to realize what he or she wants to do, and it requires a great deal of communication between the parents and child to find that out.

We see many opportunities for our students in Japan to take part in international education. In addition to existing public and private schools in Japan, as well as well-established international schools, such as the British School in Tokyo, an affiliate of Shibuya Junior and Senior High School that was founded in 1989, we have seen U.K. public schools and international schools being launched, such as the Harrow International School in Appi Kogen, Iwate Prefecture, and more schools scheduled to open this year, such as Malvern College in Kodaira, Tokyo, and Rugby School in Kashiwanoha, Chiba Prefecture.

Takagiwa: Studying for the entrance exams for private junior high schools in Japan is also a process of finding the best fit. The best time to learn the basics of all subjects, forming a habit of studying every day, and gaining the basic skills of learning, such as reading, is said to be during the six years of elementary school and the first two years of junior high. Choosing to go to a private junior high school and studying for the entrance exam means that you are doing exactly what you need to do at the most effective time.

In addition, students’ developmental process of three years of junior high school and three years of high school are more connected than that of six years of elementary school and three years of junior high school. Therefore, it makes sense to think and decide how you want to spend the six years of junior high and high school before graduating from elementary school.

When choosing a school in Japan, you tend to focus mostly on their academic level and choose the best one that your score allows. However, whether you are good at learning from textbooks or not, which has to do with recognition, is only a small part of human ability. Many parents are aware of that, and they care a great deal about what kind of schools can maximize their children’s noncognitive abilities, such as self-affirmation, creativity, resilience, concentration, leadership and self-discipline.

Being a safe and economically and politically stable country, we have many international schools and are attracting more, adding more options for both domestic and international students to choose from. One of the ways to decide which school out of public, private and international schools is suitable for your child would be to foresee how many years your child might spend in Japan not only while you are here, but also further into the future.

What are the major improvements necessary to make the Japanese education more open and foster youths who can pursue international careers?

Takagiwa: Developing a rich curriculum for Japanese as a second language, or JSL, for elementary and junior high school education is a must.

It is a national policy to increase the number of degree programs that are conducted only in English, but many of the existing English-taught programs at various universities in Japan are targeting only foreign students who want to study in Japan. They should be more open to domestic students, too.

Another change that we observe is that many of the top universities, including the University of Tokyo, are encouraging and supporting students’ entrepreneurship with an aim to creating not only new businesses, but also new ways of working. If this is the national policy, junior high and high schools must also shift in that direction.

In addition, these improvements should be implemented in schools across the nation, not just in big cities, and further efforts by the national and municipal governments are necessary to increase options for schools in rural areas to offer equal opportunities.

Takamiya: It is also absolutely necessary to improve the English proficiency of students in Japan. From the perspective of students and families, the time constraints mean it is essential to act quickly or rely on private-sector expertise if we need to make a rapid change. It would be nice to see more schools in Japan flourishing, such as Shibuya Junior and Senior High School, that are committed to providing world-class education with a high-level English-language curriculum.

What is the importance of studying abroad or having international experiences during elementary, junior and senior high school?

Takagiwa: For a long time, taking entrance exams for Japanese universities has been a rite of passage for many students. However, now that these exams are changing, the rites of passage can be more diverse. One of them could be going out to the world and getting to know what is normal at home is not normal in other parts of the world.

Everything that happens around you may be within your expectations in your daily life and everything may just flow without you making your own choices, but once you are in a different culture and environment, you need to ask and confirm how to do even the smallest of things and you need to do that in a foreign language. This is an important process for gaining independence, which gives you confidence to make your own decisions.

However, there is something that is very important you need to learn before setting out for your adventure — to respect other cultures, especially things related to religion and gender. It is something that the Japanese education has not been so good at. Another thing that will help you when you go abroad is to learn not only how to say a certain thing in English, but also how to make yourself understood. In our school, we ask English teachers to focus on the basic rules of communication in English, such as coming right to the point instead of starting from peripherals as is common when communicating in Japanese.

Takamiya: I had about 20 classmates, all of them with different nationalities, in an American school I went to in Khartoum. Everyone knew how to show pride in their own country and culture as a form of intercultural communication. I would learn about Sudanese culture from my Sudanese friend, Indian culture from an Indian friend, and so on, and they all seemed to discern their own culture with deference. I, on the other hand, had been told not to speak too much about myself because according to my mother, it is a virtue as a Japanese person to not express oneself openly. This backfired one day when my teacher said to my parents, “I have no idea what Shino is thinking in class; she does not speak up — why is this?” This was a wake-up call, not just for me but for my parents as well. This was the beginning of my cherishing of many bittersweet yet interesting, invaluable experiences from interacting with people from various cultures.

Studying abroad is merely one of the options for exploring parts of the world you have not seen before. Going out in society is just as important to learn about the world outside of classrooms. A simple example is, many children in the United States start to learn at an early age that by having part-time jobs such as babysitting or tutoring, they are already contributing to society. This surely is a natural and an ideal way to enter society while broadening their perspectives.

Itsuko Takagiwa

Graduated from the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Technology, at Keio University in 1989. Having started as a mathematics teacher, she has dedicated her career to education. She became the vice principal of Shibuya Junior and Senior High School in Tokyo in 1996 and was appointed vice principal of Waseda Shibuya Senior High School in Singapore in 2008. She has been the principal of Shibuya Junior and Senior High School since 2022.

Shino Takamiya

Attended high school and university in New York after having spent her childhood in Islamabad, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Washington D.C., Yokohama, Khartoum and Canberra. She currently serves in key positions at several private education institutions as director of Global Education Division at Sapix Yozemi Group, executive director at Best Teacher Co. Ltd., and CEO of Triple Alpha LLC, while raising three children with her husband, Toshiro Takamiya, CEO of Sapix Yozemi Group.

This page is sponsored by Sapix Yozemi Group.

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Japan: recent trends in education reform.

by Dr. Robert Fish

Two trends have dominated domestic debate regarding Japanese education since the 1990s. The trends can be symbolized as a perceived conflict between the catch phrase “yutori kyōiku,” roughly (and somewhat misleadingly) translated as a more relaxed education or education some freedom, and the “Action Plan for Improving Academic Ability,” a specific response to the perceived decline of the academic (meaning ability in math, science, and literacy) in comparison to their peers in other industrialized nations. Japan will implement a new comprehensive guide to elementary education in April 2011, representing an attempt to maintain some of the benefits of the educational reforms of the 1990s and early 2000s while increasing the academic rigor of Japanese compulsory education.

As in many democratic nations, the simplified debate between “yutori kyōiku” and “improving academic ability” masks a much more complex reality. To make sense of the debates over educational reform in the past two decades requires understanding of the basic structure of primary education in Japan and the relationship between policy and practice in Japanese schools.

The basic outline of Japanese public school education is outlined in a series of documents created by the Ministry of Education, Sports, Culture and Technology (MEXT). Most importantly is the Gakushū Shidō Yōryō, essentially a Handbook for Education that provides specific guidance to Japanese schools. The document determines such important topics as the subjects to be taught and the minimum number of hours to be spent on each subject at each grade level. In the late 1980s and 1990s, a number of leaders in different sectors of Japan expressed concern that Japanese schools produced graduates that had strong basic academic skills but lacked creativity, independence, and the desire to be lifelong learners. There was also widely held concern, especially amongst educators, that schooling was too intense, creating excessive stress on students. The Gakushū Shidō Yōryō that was implemented in 2002, responding to these trends, implemented the strongest version of “yutori kyōiku.” The ultimate desire was to instill in students “a zest for learning.”

MEXT implemented a number of reforms for compulsory education (through the completion of the third year of Junior High School, roughly 9th grade in the U.S. system). The three that have garnered the most attention are the reduction in the number of school hours, reduction of the number of hours devoted to academic subjects, and the creation of a course of “integrated studies.” The reduction in school hours was accomplished primarily through eliminating Saturday classes, a reform that had been gradually being implemented since the 1990s. The course in integrated studies was intended to allow schools the freedom to create a learning space outside the traditional bounds of the curriculum that would not be closely associated with entrance tests or tightly defined learning outcomes. With this freedom, the courses were to allow for greater choice, individualizing the courses to meet the individual goals of students in the upper grades, and allow for easier teaching about topics that worked across the curriculum, such as studying the natural environment, education for a global world, or studying “information technology.”

Shortly after the implementation of the new curriculum, Japanese students declined in their achievement on international comparative tests, especially the TIMMS and PISA studies. In response, a number of gradual changes were implemented designed to help improve the academic performance of Japanese students while maintaining some of the benefits of the earlier reforms. Key changes included a gradual increase in the required topics to be taught in the standard academic subjects, a gradual increase in the number of hours devoted to these subjects, and the implementation of national standardized testing at the end of the 6th and 9th grades (National Survey on Educational Performance) in mathematics and Japanese for the first time starting in 2007. The tests were implemented with a desire to assess the skills of the students as a whole and target areas where there were needs for improvement in the system. The tests were met with significant concern that they would be used as a means of creating greater comparison and competition between schools as well as increase pressure on students. The tests, which included extensive student and teacher surveys, provide a rich source of data regarding not just the strengths and weaknesses of Japanese students, but also rich data regarding other factors that can effect learning as diverse as the amount of time spent reading independently each day, student breakfast habits, and student use of cell phones to send e-mails each day. (Both test questions and summaries of results for each year can be accessed online (in Japanese) at: http://www.nier.go.jp/kaihatsu/zenkokugakuryoku.html ).

Based on the previous decade of experience with “yutori kyōiku” and significant data has been collected, especially since the implementation of standardized testing in 2007, the Gakushū Shidō Yōryō to be implemented in April 2011 represents a significant modification of the 2002 reforms. The decrease in school hours will be maintained, as will the integrated studies courses, but less emphasis than in the past decade. The topics to be covered in math and Japanese, which have been gradually increasing since 2004, will increase significantly as will the number of hours devoted to these subjects. As can be seen in the charts below, the number of overall teaching periods has increased, as well as the number of hours devoted to math and Japanese. (Each teaching period is 45 minutes. The number represents the required number of teaching periods per academic year, which runs from April – March.)

Comparison of School Periods in Japan, 2002 and 2012

The changes outlined in this summary represent substantive changes in the structure of a Japanese students’ school day – with obvious effects on learning. Teaching methods in Japan have also changed in recent years, but the changes have tended to be more gradual. While it goes beyond the scope of this summary to describe them in detail, three dominant trends have been to increasingly emphasize literacy across the curriculum, place greater emphasis on quantitative reasoning skills and the ability to understand the concepts behind the numbers in mathematics, and integrating more “experiential learning” across the curriculum. That being said, changes in teaching methods have tended to be gradual, and, as a general idea, emphasize gradually attempting and integrating new teaching techniques into more traditional teaching methods. Particularly in the math curriculum, a balance has been maintained between teaching concepts while maintaining strengths in teaching basic numeracy skills. The combination has resulted, for example, in Japanese students by the second grade solving far more complex mathematical problems in terms of both basic numerical skills and in terms of quantitative reasoning than the majority of their peers in the United States. Many of the changes and debates outlined in this summary and changes being implemented in 2012 are the direct outgrowth of the results of previous TIMMS and PISA reports, so the results of the current most recent PISA report are likely to impact future education reform in Japan.

Dr. Robert Fish is Director of Education at Japan Society of New York, where he edits an extensive online resource for teachers, About Japan: A Teachers Resource . Dr. Fish holds a doctorate in Japanese history, with a specialty in the history of Japanese education.

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Japanese Education Reform Towards Twenty-First Century Education

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This chapter describes an education reform towards twenty-first century education in Japan. The Ad Hoc Council on Education which was established in 1984 by Prime Minister was the starting point of the reform. Japanese society was also undertaking a transition from twentieth century industry to twenty-first century industry. Education reform was a part of it. That was the reason this education reform involved national wide debate including industry people, union people, mass media people, politicians as well as education people. This education reform covers all aspects of education, that is contents, teachers, facilities, school management system, education administration system and fundamental laws. At first this chapter focuses on reform of national standard curriculum from 1990 until 2020. The basic stance of this reform was that the teaching style must take the transition from cramming to help students acquiring the ability to learn and think on their own. And then other reforms such as introduction of national academic ability test, reform of teacher training system, reform of university entrance examination and reform of school management system are also described. This chapter describes the continuous efforts and challenges during this education reform.

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Background and Context of Education System in Japan

4.1 overview.

Japan is currently undertaking reforms in school education toward twenty-first century education. These comprehensive reforms include a wide range of changes, such as reform of national curriculum standards, a new school evaluation system, introduction of a national academic performance test, teacher training, reforms in university entrance examinations and admission policies, and improved coordination between schools and society.

These reforms aiming to better prepare students for the twenty-first century began in the 1980s. The starting point was a report by the Ad Hoc Council on Education set up by the Prime Minister in 1984. The report stressed that respect for the individual should be the fundamental principle upon which education reforms are built. It urged Japan to shift its focus from standardized, conventional rote learning towards learning that would help children develop the flexible and independent mindsets needed to think, judge, and take responsibility for their actions. After the report, Japanese education began to steer towards twenty-first century education with comprehensive policies to ensure the success of new approaches to teaching and learning.

However, the process of transforming into a twenty-first century education system has not been without challenges. For example, when Japanese students scored low on the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) in 2003 and 2006, the public blamed the curriculum reform as the main reason for the decline and claimed public education should focus on helping children acquire academic knowledge. Nevertheless, Japan didn’t alter the direction of its educational reform. Instead, in response to mounting public criticism, the National Assessment of Academic Ability was introduced in 2007. The purpose was to assess children’s academic performance as a basis for further reforms. Since 2009, efforts such as employing more teachers, including assigning more teachers to schools with academic and behavioral problems, and introducing morning reading sessions at schools were implemented nationwide and have begun to demonstrate success. In 2012, Japanese children achieved the highest total PISA score among all the member states of the OECD.

On the other hand, although students’ academic performance had improved, issues such as low motivation to learn and self-esteem remained. Further, the government had to consider making further changes to social and employment structures to prepare for anticipated technological advancements (such as artificial intelligence [AI]) and discussions of the OECD Education 2030.

With these conditions in mind, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) thoroughly reviewed the abilities and skills which children should aim to acquire and subsequently revised the National Curriculum Standards. The new standards will be implemented from 2020 to 2022 and include active learning (i.e., independent and interactive in-depth learning) in all school courses. The standards also include new subjects such as scientific exploration, general exploration, public comprehensive history, and comprehensive geography. The government has also improved university entrance examinations by reforming the selection process to evaluate applicants’ broader competencies beyond academic ability and the mere quantity of their knowledge.

Furthermore, MEXT implemented reforms in teacher training programs in line with changes in the National Curriculum Standards: launching the induction training system; introducing the teacher’s license renewal system; and improving training programs for working teachers to enhance their skills and abilities.

As for coordination between schools and society, the government established the School Management Council System (Community Schools) to incorporate local communities’ needs into school management. Additionally, a reform of the teaching certificate system aimed to employ people who were in non-teaching careers as full or part-time teachers.

The reform toward twenty-first century education is closely connected to the transition underway in the larger Japanese society. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, when Japan became a modern nation-state, Japan focused on industrialization as a mean of national development to “catch up” with Western developed countries. A similar process has also occurred with the Japanese education system before and after World War II. In the 1980s, when Japan’s GDP was the second highest in the world, Japan had to begin setting its own goals for prosperity without imitating the model of Western countries.

Recently the world has also undergone a great transformation due to globalization and the development of information and communications technology (ICT), including AI. To adapt to these major social changes and establish a twenty-first century education system, Japan has continued to prioritize education reforms.

4.2 Structure of the Chapter

All countries are now facing similar challenges to their societal and educational institutions due to the information revolution, globalization, and environmental changes. In response to these changes, Japan has been making comprehensive education reforms since the 1980s to bring its education system to the twenty-first century. This chapter starts by explaining the background of the educational reform in Japanese society and education.

Second, the chapter describes the National Curriculum Standards. Reform of the Curriculum was the starting point of the education reform in Japan. The National Curriculum Standards stipulate objectives, content, time allocation and course of study for each subject for each school level: primary, junior, and senior high schools. The revision of the National Curriculum Standards also required the revision of textbooks, as well as changes to teacher training, teaching facilities, and numbers of teachers. Based on these reforms, revision of the National Curriculum Standards was implemented to each local government and school.

Third, this chapter describes the National Assessment of Academic Ability for students which has been conducted by MEXT since 2007. The aim of the assessment is to measure students’ academic achievement and identify any weaknesses with national and local educational policies, including the National Curriculum Standards.

Fourth, this chapter discusses the reform of University Entrance Examination. In Japan, the university entrance exam is still focused on assessing the amount of academic knowledge students acquired in school education. All efforts to reform primary and secondary education are in danger of failure unless the university entrance exam is successfully reformed.

Finally, the chapter describes the reform of the educational administrative system, including the relationship between national and local government and the partnership between schools and local communities.

This chapter is mainly based on the papers of the Central Council for Education and its sub-committees in MEXT, as well as reports of the Education Rebuilding Council and other education councils established in Cabinet Office.

Generally speaking, Education Councils established in Cabinet Office make recommendations on educational reform, then the Central Council for Education (CCE) established in MEXT makes more concrete recommendation taking into account of them. MEXT carries out educational policies based on the CCE’s recommendations.

4.3 Background of the Reforms

4.3.1 ad hoc council on education.

In the 1980s, the Ad Hoc Council on Education stated that Japan’s education system needed to be transformed from the twentieth to the twenty-first century. The Ad Hoc Council on Education was established as an advisory panel to the Prime Minister to support education reforms that were not only beneficial to educators, but also to society as a whole and the people of Japan. The Ad Hoc Council on Education was created in response to a deteriorating education system. The problems included children’s problematic behaviors such as bullying, school violence, and truancy; psychological and physical pressure placed on students due to the excessively competitive entrance examinations; and schools’ inaction in the face of problematic teachers.

Two sets of issues were identified as causes of this deteriorating state of education: issues with the whole Japanese society and the Japanese school education in particular.

4.3.2 Issues in Japanese Society

Japan undertook industrialization in the 1860s during the Meiji period and achieved dramatic economic growth after World War II. By 1968, Japan’s GNP ranked second highest in the world. These achievements came with the economic mechanisms of mass production, mass distribution, and mass consumption. The results were people were lifted out of poverty and became wealthier; had an improved standard of living; lived in peace; had a higher standards of welfare, education and culture; had enhanced public safety; and a higher average life expectancy. In the 1970s, however, developed nations, including Japan, suffered the side effects of wealth, including environmental, resource and energy problems; the disintegration of large family units and local communities due to urbanization; and the growth of the number of nuclear families. Japan’s natural ecosystems and living environments suffered damage, people’s physical and emotional health declined, and stress and frustration levels increased. Furthermore, as people’s values became increasingly diverse and relative, traditional values lost their influence. This weakened the unifying power in society and made it difficult for people to form close interpersonal relationships and connect with nature. These pathological and sociocultural phenomena had an enormous impact on children’s lives.

In the twentieth century, Japan successfully adopted the science and technology industries that were the fruit of Western developed nations’ research and development efforts. After becoming the nation with the world’s second largest economy, Japan found itself needing to explore new scientific and technological creations. This marked Japan’s transition from following the model of Western countries’ industrialization to setting its own goals without a model.

On the other hand, the growing tide of internationalization required Japan to work with foreign countries to deal with global issues shared across national borders, including international economic issues and environmental problems. This meant that Japan could no longer focus only on its own interests in international settings, as it had from the Meiji period until the post-war economic growth period. The country now needed to actively contribute to international peace and prosperity and help solve various problems across the globe.

Moreover, advances in information technology resulted in a transition from conventional hardware to software, which involved further development of information technology, AI and integrated systems. This change indicated an individual’s ability to process information, make choices, and share information would rise to a higher level of importance. This technological progress fundamentally changed the systems to produce, distribute and consume knowledge, information and technologies in both education and research. This change led to the need to nurture intellectual, productive, creative and emotionally-healthy individuals, rather than those with standardized skills and intelligence.

As these facts indicate, Japan’s education reforms launched in the 1990s also involved efforts to keep up with the maturation of society, internationalization, and advances in science and technology, which were all phenomena shared across developed countries in the 1970s and 1980s. The reforms also aimed to transition the country from the age of pursuit of the Western model to the future-oriented, creative society geared for international services. The education reforms were also expected to adjust to the rapid changes that the whole society was undergoing. Hence, it was essential to clearly define the actor of the reforms and their specific responsibilities to ensure coordination between society and the education system.

4.3.3 Issues with Japan’s Education System

The following two problems were identified as the major contributing factors to Japan’s deteriorating education system: (a) Excessively competitive university and high school entrance examinations and “cramming-style” education that focused on rote learning; (b) The inflexible, standardized educational approaches and the non-transparent culture of the education system which leads schools and the board of education to conceal ‘bad news’ from the outside world. For example, a school will generally not disclose the existence of bullying.

After Japan adopted the modern school education system in 1872, school education thrived rapidly due to people’s enthusiasm for education and growing national income. In the 1980s, the high school enrollment rate reached ninety-four percent and the college enrollment rate reached thirty-seven percent. The improvement in equality of educational opportunity for public and higher education served as the driving force of Japan’s economic growth. To achieve society’s goal of catching up with Western developed countries, school education focused on teaching science, technology, and other knowledge from the Western countries. This led to standardized learning approaches centered on the “cramming-style” rote learning.

The excessive competition in entrance examinations further drove the education system to focus on rote learning. Before World War II, government agencies and major corporations favored employees who were alumni of specific universities and determined their employees’ salaries and benefits according to their educational backgrounds. This school record-oriented employment favoring alumni of specific elite universities remained after the war. Major corporations had “designated school systems” in which they gave preference to job applicants from prestigious universities. While the college enrollment rate was rising, competition for admission to these prestigious universities became increasingly intense because of the preferential treatment given to job applicants from those universities. University entrance examinations in Japan tend to focus on scores that applicants have obtained in academic achievement tests in order to maintain objectivity and fairness in the selection process. Hence, applicants needed to achieve high scores in entrance examinations to be accepted at prestigious universities. This fact prompted high school education to adopt rote learning as an approach to score high in university entrance examinations. The competition for admission to prestigious universities led to competition among junior high school students aspiring to enroll at prestigious senior high schools. Competition in entrance examinations took hold of students in their early teens. This fierce competition took away the joy of learning and the time to have fun with friends and families from children, which had serious adverse effects on children’s physical and psychological development. The negative aspects of industrialization in the modern world also had a negative impact on children’s psychology. The excessive competition in university and high school entrance examinations overly distressed students, including much younger children, physically and psychologically. These factors were believed to have caused emotional disturbances which led to problem behaviors, including bullying.

The Ad Hoc Council on Education emphasized the importance of helping children develop their creativity and ability to think and express themselves. The Council stated that these were the qualities and abilities needed to handle rapid changes in society with flexibility and a positive attitude. It proposed that schools should teach students to apply the knowledge and information they acquired to their own thinking processes, creative efforts, and self-expression because Japan would need more creative talent with individuality in the twenty-first century.

The Council developed the following proposal to prepare students for the twenty-first century:

Set clear goals for school education and change teaching content in order to help children develop their qualities and abilities as the foundations of their lifelong learning, which will lead to twenty-first century education

Adopt diverse assessment approaches that value children’s individuality

Implement reforms in the university and high school entrance examinations so that applicants’ abilities are evaluated on multiple dimensions

Establish a framework for responsibility in school education and coordination with society

The conventional approach of teaching content and methods was not the only issue the Ad Hoc Council on Education’s report raised as the problem in Japanese education. The report severely criticized the secretive nature of Japanese schools in their preference for concealing problematic information such as that pertaining to bulling, use of physical punishment by teachers, sexual harassment by teachers and the line, which hindered early detection of the deteriorating education system and damaged public trust in schools and teachers. To provide a solid twenty-first century education, it was vital to establish responsible and trustworthy educational administrative systems and school management systems.

The report also stated that the government should review the rigid authorization, standard and guidance system by the national and local government and promote deregulation. The goal of these efforts was to eliminate excessive standardization, unnecessary focus on details and the exclusive nature of schools; all of which characterized educational administration in general. These reforms would encourage creative approaches in the classroom and dynamic teaching that would value children’s individuality. The Council also proposed that schools as education providers and municipal boards of education should act more autonomously, independently and responsibly and take initiative in order to ensure their freedom, autonomy and self-reliance. Hence, a basic outline of education should be compiled from the National Curriculum Standards and other requirements specified by the national government, and more options should be offered to schools and the boards of education. This would encourage schools and boards to act at their own discretion in developing various systems and trying new approaches.

In Japan’s educational administrative system, the local board of education has authority and responsibility over school education. The Council’s report criticized the boards of education for lacking the necessary sense of responsibility, mission, autonomy, initiative, and vision for twenty-first century education. The report identified the reason for the inaction was a lack of awareness that the boards should act on their own initiative and responsibility. This was attributed to the deep-rooted mindset of educators that school education was granted by the national government, even in the post-war period when local governments became the major actors of education. The report also stated that educational institutions and school educators tended to regard each other as family. This meant they favored the exclusive nature of schools that kept problems hidden and unresolved under the guise of “educational considerations”. They also waited for upper echelons to make decisions and give them instructions so they would do nothing different than others. They valued the stability and continuity of education. For these reasons, the institutions and educators were not likely to change.

As specific measures to revitalize the boards of education, the Council proposed to improve the selection and training of members; establish a framework for responsibility for complaint handling procedures; take proper action to handle incompetent and problematic teachers; and coordinate with the governor and mayor’s offices. It also proposed establishing a framework of responsibility for school management and ensuring principals fully exercise their leadership.

The Council stated that the decentralization of the educational administrative system and school management system, along with the establishment of a framework of responsibility, was key to Japan’s efforts toward twenty-first century education.

4.3.4 Recent Issues in Japan

The Ad Hoc Council on Education in the 1980s identified problems in Japan’s education at the time and proposed a direction for educational reform. However, modern Japanese society is considerably different from that of 30 years ago. Nevertheless, the Council for the Implementation of Education Rebuilding, which was established in 2013, identified the same problems as the Ad Hoc Council 30 years prior and proposed the government continue the educational reforms toward twenty-first century education. The agenda of the 2013 Council included reforms in curricula, educational administrative systems, university entrance examinations, and partnerships between schools and local communities.

The following sections examine to what extent the reforms for twenty-first century education have been implemented since the 1980s, their outcomes, and what reforms are currently in progress. This includes reforms in curricula, university entrance examinations, educational administration, school management, and the reform of the National Assessment of Academic Ability.

4.4 Curriculum Reforms

Japan has National Curriculum Standards that specify requirements for curricula. MEXT revises them almost every 10 years. The National Curriculum Standards establish the legal framework of duties and responsibilities to maintain a level of education prescribed for elementary, junior high and senior high school education. It covers general requirements for curricula, objectives, teaching content for each subject, key points of teaching, time allocation and course structure on a subject by subject basis. Examining the revisions to the National Curriculum Standards helps demonstrate how twenty-first century education is implemented in the framework of a school curriculum.

4.4.1 Reforms in the 1990s

MEXT revised the Courses of Study to incorporate the proposals by the Ad Hoc Council on Education in order to prepare Japan’s school education for the twenty-first century. The revised National Curriculum Standard was implemented from 1992 to 1994. Footnote 1 The National Curriculum Standards in the 1990s emphasized the importance of “viewing children’s academic performance from a new perspective.” This meant educational guidance should motivate children to learn independently and help them develop the qualities and abilities to think, judge and express themselves. In other words, the revised Standard were designed to help children voluntarily identify problems and take initiative in thinking, judging and expressing themselves. Therefore, teachers were encouraged to adopt teaching approaches which focused on children’s individuality, hands-on learning and problem-based learning. National and municipal projects were launched to provide workshops for teachers, prepare documents which explain the pedagogy of the new approach, and offer models of teaching at model schools designated for pedagogical research. All of these efforts were to promote school education based on the “new perspective on academic ability.” Another initiative was the introduction of the new subject, “life environment studies”, to first and second graders in elementary schools. However, while some schools effectively implemented the new approach, many schools had difficulty making the transition from a teaching style focused on the acquisition of knowledge to the application of knowledge. MEXT revised the National Standard Curriculums to address this challenge in the 2000s.

4.4.2 Reforms in the 2000s

The National Curriculum Standards developed in the 2000s Footnote 2 took further steps to achieve the purposes of the curriculum reforms in the 1990s. It stated that children in the twenty-first century need to acquire “a zest for life”. In order to foster this zest for life, “Period of Integrated Study” was introduced to cultivate competencies to think, make judgement, express and act by oneself through cross-curricular and project-based learning. Additionally, teaching content allotted to each subject were reduced to make time for students to think and study by themselves. The National Curriculum Standards in the 2000s represented a shift from a teaching style focused on helping students cram for exams to helping students acquire the ability to learn and think independently. The Curriculum Standards stated that school education would focus on helping children develop “a zest for life” built upon “the qualities and abilities to find issues, learn and think on their own, use their initiative in making decisions and taking action and find better solutions”, “a sense of true humanity that encompasses self-discipline, the ability to cooperate with others, empathy and emotional health to let external events touch their hearts” and “the health and stamina to stay resilient throughout the life.”

The National Curriculum Standards listed several examples of themes for the newly introduced “Period of Integrated Study,” such as international understanding, information and the environment. Schools were allowed to freely decide what to do during the class hour according to their students’ interests, and thus the Standards did not dictate a particular content or pedagogy for this period. Schools were encouraged to engage students in integrated studies by actively introducing learning activities for: problem-solving in cooperation with others; using written or visual materials to express their views and opinions; outdoor activities in natural settings; volunteer activities; arts and crafts; observation and experiment; and hands-on learning such as research tours.

These curriculum reforms did not develop smoothly. The reforms in the 2000s introduced a five-day school week, which resulted in a reduction in the overall number of instructional hours. Since schools also had to adopt new hours for integrated study, hours for other subjects including mathematics, science and Japanese were reduced by 15%. In addition, teaching content decreased by 30% in order to give students a time to study by themselves.

The dramatic reduction in the content of curricula resulted in a decline in children’s academic performance. The public severely criticized the reduced instructional hours as “ Yutori (relaxed) Education” that would weaken the basis of Japan’s strength. “The Period of Integrated Study” was also criticized as a part of “ Yutori Education” that led to the decline in academic performance. Moreover, in the PISA 2003 and 2006, the ranking of Japanese students’ scores for reading performance dropped to 14th and 15th place from the 8th in 2000, and the scores for mathematics dropped to 6th and 4th place from 1st in 2000. The media reported the results as “the PISA shock,” and the public strongly demanded the “ Yutori Education” be abolished. The criticism was connected to Japan’s sluggish economy during the period called “the lost two decades” that came after the collapse of the “bubble economy” in the 1990s. In 2010, China’s GDP ranked 2nd and Japan’s GDP fell to 3rd place. With the rise of other emerging economies, the Japanese public was deeply concerned that Japan might be losing its global competitiveness. The criticism of “ Yutori Education” led to the revision of the Courses of Study in the 2010s and the introduction of the National Assessment of Academic Ability. Yet, this period did not set back the general direction towards twenty-first century education.

4.4.3 Reforms in the 2010s

Following the severe criticism of the National Curriculum Standards in the 2000s, MEXT made partial amendments in 2003. The partial amendments were mainly to allow textbooks to include content not stated in the Curriculum Standards Courses, since the content of textbooks had declined by 30% compared to the previous one. The full amendments were made in the 2010s.

The National Curriculum Standards were revised in the 2010s in accordance with reports by the Council for Education Rebuilding established in 2006 on the initiative of the Prime Minister and reports recommended by the Central Council for Education at MEXT based on the Education Rebuilding Council’s reports. The Education Rebuilding Council’s report in 2007 Footnote 3 stated that Japan’s school education faced extremely serious problems and that it was not an exaggeration to say that public education was in dysfunction. These problems included children’s declining academic ability, bullying, truancy, school violence, school education without leadership, and the lack of a sense of responsibility at schools and boards of education. The report also pointed out that since these problems had already been raised 20 years ago, school education was losing trust from children’s guardians and the public.

The Council’s report made the following proposals regarding the curricula: (a) Review Yutori Education to give priority to help children acquire a solid foundation of learning, including basic reading, writing and mathematical ability, especially in compulsory education, and increase the class hours by 10%. (b) Aim to help children learn to apply the knowledge they acquired. The Central Council for Education recommended detailed measures based on this report.

The report stated that it would always be important to help develop the basic foundations of learning for the twenty-first century and foster children’s qualities and abilities to find issues; learn and think on their own; use their initiative to make decisions and act based on the decisions; and find solutions. What was equally important for children was to develop a “a zest for life” which encompassed the ability to cooperate with others, empathy, a sense of true humanity, health and stamina. As for academic ability, the report emphasized the importance of helping children acquire all three elements of academic ability, namely knowledge and skills; the ability to think, judge and express; and motivation to learn. Japan’s education should overcome the conflict between “ yutori” (the twenty-first century education for knowledge application) and “rote learning” (the twentieth century education for memorization of knowledge). The discussion also referred to international education movements, including the key competencies the OECD put forward as qualities people need to develop in a “knowledge-based economy” and the idea of education suggested by the United Nations for sustainable development.

In 2008 and 2009, MEXT revised the National Curriculum Standards Footnote 4 on the basis of the report by the Central Council for Education to specify the following: (a) Aim to further foster “a zest for life” of children. Help them acquire and apply knowledge and skills and develop the ability to think, judge and express themselves independently (the twenty-first century academic proficiency); (b) Increase instructional hours at elementary and junior high school by 10 percent to expand teaching content; (c) Slightly decrease hours for the “Period of Integrated Study,” yet maintain it and develop it as a part of curriculum.

4.4.4 Reforms in the 2020s

The New National Curriculum Standards to be implemented from 2020 to 2022 were announced in 2017. The revisions made for the 2020s were based on the report by the Central Council for Education in December 2016. Footnote 5 The new National Curriculum Standards are the developed version of the curriculum reforms toward twenty-first century education which began in the 1990s. The revised National Curriculum Standards feature teaching methods as well as the goal of education and teaching content.

The Central Council for Education’s report stated that the National Curriculum Standards had always been focused mainly on “what teachers have to teach” and that this convention must be changed to specify “what students will be able to do and how can they learn.” To make the transformation, it is vital to adopt the perspective of “independent and interactive in-depth learning” and active learning. This will help children to develop a deep understanding of what they learned in connection with their life and how society works; acquire qualities and competencies which will be required in their future; and continue to learn throughout their lives. Footnote 6

Based on this recommendation, the new National Curriculum Standards Footnote 7 incorporated the following new features: (a) Descriptions of all subjects it specifies, with (i) Knowledge and skills to acquire, (ii) Skills to develop the ability to think, judge and express oneself, and (iii) Motivation to learn and the sense of humanity which should be fostered; (b) Provisions for the way classroom teaching should be improved from the perspective of independent and interactive in-depth learning and active learning as “learning methods” shared across all subjects.

While curriculum reforms in the 2000s and 2010s have been implemented, Japan improved its ranking in international academic ability assessments. For example, in PISA 2006, Japan ranked 12th, 10th and 6th in reading, mathematics and science, respectively. These rankings improved to 8th, 9th and 5th in 2009; 4th, 4th, and 4th in 2012; and 8th, 5th, and 2nd in 2015. This demonstrates that academic performance by children in Japan as measured by international standards is improving. When examining the overall results among OECD member states, Japan’s total score ranked 1st in 2012 and 2015.

4.4.5 Curriculum Reforms and Assessment

The curriculum reforms towards twenty-first century education began in the 1980s. From the beginning, however, educators as well as the public expressed concern that education focused on knowledge application might lower students’ levels of academic ability. Hence, MEXT needed to prove that the reforms would not lead to a decline in children’s academic ability. Especially after the curriculum reforms in the 2000s, they were severely criticized by the public for leading the “ Yutori Education” and were forced to examine children’s academic ability and measure improvements based on facts.

Another challenge was how to assess students’ ability to apply knowledge, rather than merely acquire knowledge. The OECD PISA survey played a significant role in Japan in regard to this challenge. The PISA survey aims to assess how capable children are in applying knowledge they have acquired to address different real-life issues. Educators in Japan considered the questions in the PISA 2000 survey to be a good model to assess this kind of ability.

Given this background, MEXT introduced the National Assessment of Academic Ability in 2007 to assess the outcomes and problems in the curriculum reforms.

4.5 The National Assessment of Academic Ability and Decentralization

The National Assessment of Academic Ability was launched in 2007. This was partly a response to the criticism to the revised National Curriculum Standards in the 2000s. It was also proposed as part of the structural reforms in the compulsory education system, which were triggered by the argument about the national government’s subsidy for compulsory education.

Japan’s compulsory education consisted of elementary and junior high school, and municipalities are responsible for establishing these schools. Public schools account for ninety-six percent of all elementary and junior high schools in Japan. This means that public schools play a major role in Japan’s compulsory education. The national government subsidizes compulsory education to ensure equal opportunities for compulsory education and maintain a high level of education nationwide. Under this system, the national government covered half the costs of salaries for teachers at elementary and junior high schools across Japan. This maintained high level of salaries for public elementary and junior high school teachers everywhere in the country, enabling schools to employ teachers with solid qualifications regardless of the municipalities’ financial conditions. In the 2000s, however, government-led reforms toward decentralization were in progress. The changes involved structural reforms in the national and local governments’ finances, which aimed to curtail the national government’s subsidies to local governments and transfer financial resources to local governments for the purpose of promoting their autonomy. Since the national government’s subsidy to compulsory education was huge, the subsidy was a primary target of the reform. As a result, the law was revised so that the national government would cover one-third of the costs of salaries for teachers at public elementary and junior high schools.

Along with discussion of the reform of the national subsidiary system, the Central Council for Education reviewed the relationship between MEXT and prefectural and municipal governments as well as subsidiary systems. In the report published in 2005, Footnote 8 they stated that the government should carry out the following structural reforms in Japan’s compulsory educational system: (a) The national government would take responsibility for setting goals of the compulsory education and providing infrastructure necessary to achieve the goals; (b) Municipalities and schools would have more autonomy and responsibility as a result of decentralization; and (c) The national government would take responsibility for reviewing the outcomes of school education to ensure the quality of compulsory education. In other words, the national government would be responsible for providing foundational educational inputs (e.g., covering one-third of the costs of salaries for teachers at public elementary and junior high schools, establishing the National Curriculum Standards, etc.), municipalities and schools would implement the process (e.g., classroom teaching), and the national government would review school outcomes in order to ensure the quality of compulsory education.

The National Assessment of Academic Ability was proposed as a tool to implement the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle of the structural reforms of compulsory education. It also served to check the outcome of the curriculum reforms. Since the survey was introduced as part of the reforms in compulsory education, it was conducted as a national test for students in elementary and junior high schools.

MEXT conducted the National Assessment of Academic Ability for students in sixth and ninth grades. These assessments measure students’ achievements in mathematics and Japanese language. Each test consists of Sections A and B. Section A mainly asks questions designed to test students’ ability to acquire knowledge, while Section B tests students’ ability to apply knowledge. In 2015, the survey also began a triennial test in science. A triennial test in English will be started in 2019.

The National Assessment of Academic Ability covers all public elementary and junior high schools across Japan (there should have been a sampling survey from 2010 to 2013 but this was canceled in 2011 due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami). It has played a significant role in enabling the government to examine the progress of reforms in curricula and the compulsory education system. For example, the Central Council for Education, which proposed the revision to the Courses of Study for the 2020s, stated Footnote 9 that the results of the National Survey coupled with international tests including PISA showed a narrowing gap between underachieving prefectures’ scores and the national average. This indicates that academic achievement has improved nationwide under curriculum reforms and other efforts to improve the quality of education. This evidences strongly supports the direction of the curriculum reforms.

The National Survey also assesses educational conditions, teaching methods and students’ motivation for learning. Hence, it is used for analysis to improve many areas in education policy. Furthermore, questions in Section B, which was designed to assess the ability to apply knowledge, helped to improve the quality of classroom lessons to adapt to teach knowledge application.

Since 2019, the National Survey no longer has Sections A and B and gives integrated questions to assess the ability to acquire and apply knowledge. This change is based on the new National Curriculum Standards Footnote 10 which include three interrelated pillars: “skills and knowledge”, “the ability to think, judge and express oneself”, and “the motivation to learn and a sense of humanity”. Using the integrated questions to assess academic ability aims to help schools understand the idea of the National Curriculum Standards and the MEXT’s message about the curriculum reforms.

A survey of academic proficiency that covers senior high school students is set for 2019 as a “basic assessment of academic ability for senior high school students.” Unlike the National Survey for elementary and junior high school students, this survey will not be prepared and conducted by MEXT. The government will adopt tests produced by a private company that meets MEXT’s requirements, and schools will choose an academic ability assessment at their own discretion. This process is expected to enable the implementation of the PDCA cycle of reviewing the outcomes of the education reforms to make improvements in senior high school education.

4.6 Reforms in University Entrance Examinations

The curriculum reforms have been in progress to enable elementary and secondary school education to develop twenty-first century skills. However, it would be difficult to provide a twenty-first century education for senior high school students preparing for university entrance examinations, as the abilities required to pass the exams are those developed by conventional twentieth century education. The college enrollment rate in Japan is over fifty percent, which means university entrance examinations heavily influence senior high school education. Therefore, a wide range of changes have been made to the entrance examination to better assess the ability to apply knowledge. However, as noted by various national councils for reforms in university entrance examinations, these efforts have not worked well enough. Fundamental changes to the university entrance examinations are needed to better align with the reforms for twenty-first century learning at the elementary, junior and senior high school levels.

MEXT plans to introduce further changes in university entrance examinations 2021. These changes are part of reforms in high school and university education which address integrated change in senior high school education, the selection of university applicants and university education. What underlies these changes is the awareness that university examinations still focus too heavily on how much knowledge applicants have acquired and too little on how well they apply solutions. The transition of Japan’s education system to the twenty-first century will make little progress unless university entrance examinations also evolve. Footnote 11

In 1979, Japan introduced the common primary examination administered by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations. The new examination system had a massive impact on senior high school education, particularly on what students were required to learn to pass the exams, because all public universities adopted the new system. In the 1980s, the Ad Hoc Council on Education proposed changes in the common primary examination system. Based on the proposal, the system was replaced by the National Center Test for University Admissions in 1990, and private universities also adopted this new system. Before these systems were introduced, university entrance examinations included so-called “knotty” or “tricky” questions that had nothing to do with the teaching content of senior high school education. This made high school students’ exam preparation excessively difficult. The common primary examination and the National Center Test were introduced to address this overly demanding exam preparation process and to implement a system to select applicants who fulfilled the National Curriculum Standards for senior high school. Public universities, which hold two-stage selective examinations, have adopted the systems as their preliminary exams. Private universities have also adopted the National Center Test as their general entrance examinations. In 2015, 527 public and private universities (90% of all universities in Japan) used the National Center Test. As the number of applicants taking the Test has risen to 560,000 (about 80% of university applicants), the National Center Test has played an important role in the progress of reforms in university entrance examinations.

However, the National Center Test consists of fill-in-the-bubble exams to assess the knowledge and skills applicants have memorized. Hence, it will be reformed to be a “Standardized Test for University Admissions” scheduled to start in January 2021. The new standardized test is designed to evaluate applicants’ “knowledge and skills” and “ability to think, judge and express themselves.” While the National Center Test was a set of fill-in-the-bubble exams, the new test will also include short-answer questions. Moreover, fill-in-the-bubble exams will be designed to assess not only applicants’ memorized knowledge but also their ability to think and make decisions. The new standardized test in 2021 is expected to have a significant impact on senior high school education and promote the progress of twenty-first century education.

4.7 Decentralization of Education and Maintenance of Education Standards

A twenty-first century education should help students become individuals who view society and the world from a broad perspective and contribute to the improvement of society and the international community. Education should foster children’s qualities and abilities to face reality and become involved in society and the world. To implement education that meet this demand, it is vital for schools and boards of education to have autonomy and discipline within the framework of the school system. Autonomy and discipline will help schools and boards of education use their ingenuity to optimize their local school education.

The outline of Japanese educational system is as follows. MEXT regulates the educational system from childhood education to higher education and responsible for higher education institute. Municipal boards of education are responsible for public elementary and junior high schools, and prefectural boards of education are responsible for public senior high schools. School principals are responsible for curriculum planning and day-to-day educational activities, which provides schools with autonomy and discipline in a wide range of areas.

However, the prefectural boards of education have a strong influence on education at public elementary and junior high schools because prefectural governments cover all costs of salaries for teachers at municipal elementary and junior high schools, and they also have the authority to manage personnel affairs at municipal schools. Moreover, because the subsidies of the national government to compulsory education cover one-third of the personnel costs of teachers at public elementary and junior high schools (prefectural governments paid the remaining two-third), educators tend to adhere to the education standards set by the national government. In other words, educators were excessively conscious of the national policy and preferred to stick to it. In addition to this culture, many educators believed that following the state policy and standards would make it easier for them to ensure accountability to children’s guardians and avoid criticism.

The education reforms launched in the 1980s toward twenty-first century education also made changes to the education system in order to transfer authority and responsibility to schools. The transfer started from the national government to prefectural governments and then to municipalities and schools. However, these reforms also faced difficulties due to the attitudes deeply rooted in the educational world.

Further, allowing schools and local governments to have autonomy generated educational gaps between regions. Several systems were introduced to narrow these inter-regional gaps. The National Assessment of Academic Ability was launched as a system for reviewing the effects of education. Additionally, the School Management Council System (Community Schools) was designed to encourage local communities to participate in school management to ensure the quality of education in their region.

The school evaluation system was proposed by the Central Council for Education Footnote 12 in MEXT and the National Commission on Educational Reform Footnote 13 in the Cabinet Office. Since 2002, it has been a system for schools to ensure the quality of education to a variety of stakeholders. In 2006, provisions were added to the School Education Act to establish it as a legal system. The provisions specify the following: (a) Schools are required to self-evaluate their educational activities and school management and publish the results; and (b) Schools are required to make an effort to conduct a third-party evaluation by children’s guardians, local residents and other people related to schools and to publish the evaluation results. Active publication of the school information was also prescribed.

Schools are required to set their goals for education and launch educational activities aligned to the goals for twenty-first century education specified in the National Curriculum Standards. They also need to self-evaluate the progress of their efforts toward the goals and publish the evaluation results. Schools which adopt a third-party evaluation will have an extra evaluation to conduct, and the results must be published as well. The school evaluation system aims to help schools review their educational activities and management to guide improvements. It is also expected that schools, children’s guardians and local communities share the goals of education so that they will work together to enhance the quality of education.

The School Management Council is a system that provides children’s guardians and local residents an opportunity to become involved in the development of basic policies on school management and teacher personnel affairs. It was established as a legal system in 2004 on the basis of proposals by the Cabinet’s National Commission on Educational Reform Footnote 14 and MEXT’s Central Council for Education. Footnote 15 The system became a legal obligation in 2017. The School Management Council at each school consists of children’s guardians and local residents. The functions of the Council are: (a) To approve basic school management policies developed by the school principal; (b) To state their opinion about school management to the school principal and the board of education; and (c) To state its opinion about the assignment of teachers to the board of education.

The School Management Council is expected to make schools accessible to local communities so that school management incorporates the views and opinions of local communities. This will ensure reforms toward twenty-first century education garner support and help from local communities.

4.8 Education Reform in Japan Now and the Future

Japan has been working hard to transform its education from twentieth century education to twenty-first education in these 40 years. And its reforms have brought fruitful results.

For example, “Education Policy in Japan” of OECD (2018) highly evaluates Japanese education. It states “Compare to other OECD countries Japan’s education system is one of the top performers among both youth and adult population. Japanese students have among the best performance in scientific, mathematics and reading literacy in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). -- These excellent results are linked to an environment conductive to learning in schools and beyond, with a high quality of engagement by teachers and strong support from families for effective delivery of well-rounded (holistic) education.” Footnote 16

On the other hand, the OECD report also pointed out that “this transition may require adaptation of the curriculum, teaching and school practices and of student assessments, such as university entrance examination” Footnote 17 and recommends that to “Prioritize the curriculum reform through a strategy that sustain alignment across interdependent components and communicate its value to stakeholders. This includes adapting existing assessments to reflect the new curriculum and investing in teachers’ training and initial teacher education to reinforce their capacity to adapt their practices to the revised curriculum.” Footnote 18

It also recommends that to “Preserve the provision of well-rounded holistic education by enhancing school organization and school-community partnerships. Review the role and training of school leaders in light of 2030 objectives. Focus on management practices and partnerships with local communities on supporting the introduction of the new curriculum and alleviating teacher’s workload.” Footnote 19

I think these recommendations are to the point. Japanese education reform has been carried out as a part of social transition of Japanese society, from twentieth century-style society to twenty-first century-style society. That is the reason why its discussion has been involving not only education world people but also wide range of society including parents, local community, business and labor community. And to maintain and enhance school-community partnership and discussion among all stakeholders should be the 1st priority for the successful advancement of education reforms.

As for the individual school education, many Japanese schools are referred to as a model of twenty-first century education. For example, Andreas Schleicher features a lesson in Hiroshima Nagisa High School in Japan as a carefully designed creative leaning time. Footnote 20 He also describes Kosen School in Japan as a very successful case to develop cross-curricular capabilities through their unique blend of classroom-base and hands-on project-based learning. Footnote 21 N High School in japan was invited by OCCAM’s Infopoverty World Conference as a new school that uses ICTs to provide high quality education at a low cost and post-graduation opportunities. Footnote 22

On the other hand, the OECD report also pointed out that “The magnitude of the (curriculum) reform should not be minimized” “there are risks that proactive, interactive and authentic leaning may be adapted only as superficial change” Footnote 23 as a challenge of Japanese education reform. I think this is a very important point. Curriculum reform is a starting point. How to implement is a further important and difficult task. Schools and teachers are expected to play the leading part. Twenty-First century education expects students to attain competencies and skills to think, make judgement and act by themselves. Also, each school should be a twenty-first century education school. That is schools should recognize how they can cultivate competencies and skills of their students to lead better life and interact with society and the world. And based on their recognition, think, make judgement and express (implement twenty-first century education) by themselves. Education system should support efforts of each school and teacher to become a main player.

The reports of Ad Hoc Council of Education Reform are as follows.

Monbusho, (1985, June), The First Report on Education Reform, The monthly journal of Monbusho , p. 50–76.

Monbusho, (1986, April), The Second Report on Education Reform, The monthly journal of Monbusho , p. 27–129.

Monbusho, (1987, April), The Third Report on Education Reform, The monthly journal of Monbusho, p. 4–91.

Monbusho, (1987, September), The Forth Report of Education Reform (Final Report), The monthly report of Monbusho, p. 8–49.

See also, Monbusho, (1989), Japanese Government Policies in Education, Science and Culture 1989, http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/html/hpae198901/index.html

National Curriculum Standards Database (2014), National Institute for Educational Policy Research

https://www.nier.go.jp/guideline/h01e/index.htm

https://www.nier.go.jp/guideline/h01j/index.htm

https://www.nier.go.jp/guideline/h01h/index.htm

https://www.nier.go.jp/guideline/h10e/index.htm

https://www.nier.go.jp/guideline/h10j/index.htm

https://www.nier.go.jp/guideline/h10h/index.htm

Education Rebuilding Council (2007, January 24), Education Rebuilding by Society as a Whole-First Step toward Rebuilding the Public Education System,- First Report, Cabinet Secretariat. https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/singi/kyouiku/houkoku/eibun0124h.pdf

National Curriculum Standard Database, National Institute for Educational Policy Research,

https://www.nier.go.jp/guideline/h19e/index.htm

https://www.nier.go.jp/guideline/h19j/index.htm

https://www.nier.go.jp/guideline/h20h/index.htm

Central Council for Education (2016, December 21), Improvement of National Curriculum Standards for Kindergardens, Elementary Schools, Lower and Upper Secondary Schools, and Schools for Special Needs Education (Recommendation), MEXT. http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo0/toushin/1380731.htm

Central Council for Education (2016, December 21), ibid., Section 1, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4.

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2017–2018, March),

National Curriculum Standard for ElementarySchool, http://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/education/micro_detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2019/09/26/1413522_001.pdf

National Curriculum Standard for Lower Secondary School, http://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/education/micro_detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2019/09/26/1413522_002.pdf

National Curriculum Standard for Upper Secondary School, http://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/education/micro_detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2019/09/26/1384661_6_1_2.pdf

Central Council for Education (2005, October 26), Creating Compulsory Education in New Era (Recommendation), MEXT. http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo0/toushin/1212703.htm

Central Council for Education (2016, December 21), Part 1 Section 1 of Improvement and Necessary Measures of National Curriculum Standards for Kindergardens, Elementary Schools, Lower and Upper Secondary Schools, and Scools for Special Needs Education, MEXT. http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo0/toushin/1380731.htm

See, Council for Reform on the System of Articulation of High Schools and Universities (2016, March 31), The Final Report by the Council for Reform on the System of Articulation of High Schoolsand Universities, MEXT. http://www.mext.go.jp/component/b_menu/shingi/toushin/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2016/06/02/1369232_01_2.pdf

Central Council for Education (1998, September 1), Local Education Administration in the Future (Recommendation), MEXT. http://www.mext.go.jp/component/b_menu/shingi/toushin/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2013/12/18/1342455_1.pdf

The National Commission on Educational Reform (2000, December 22), Report by the National Commishion on Educational Reform – 17 Proposals for Changing Education, Cabinet Secretariat. https://japan.kantei.go.jp/education/report/pdfs/report.pdf

The National Commission on Educational Reform (2000, December 22), Report by the National Commission on Educational Reform – 17 Proposals for Changing Education, Cabinet Secretariat. https://japan.kantei.go.jp/education/report/pdfs/report.pdf

Central Council for Education (2004, Narch 3), School Management in the Future (Recommendation), MEXT. http://www.mext.go.jp/component/b_menu/shingi/giji/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2014/03/19/1345472_001.pdf

OECD (2018), Education Policy in Japan: Building Bridges Towards 2030 , Reviews of National Policies for Education, OECD Publishing, Paris, p. 15. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264302402-en

OECD (2018), ibid. p. 16.

OECD (2018), ibid. p. 17.

Schleicher, A (2018), World Class: How to build a twenty-first-century school system, Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education, OECD Publishing, Paris. p. 103. https://doi.org/10.1787/4789264300002-en

Schleicher, A (2018), ibid., p. 242.

The Observatory on Digital Communication (OCCAM) (2019, April 12), XIX Infopoverty World Conference Final Declaration, OCCAM. http://www.occam.org/news/xix-iwc-final-declaration/

OECD (2018), Education Policy in Japan: Building Bridges Towards 2030 , Reviews of National Policies for Education, OECD Publishing, Paris, p. 157. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264302402-en

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Yamanaka, S., Suzuki, K.H. (2020). Japanese Education Reform Towards Twenty-First Century Education. In: Reimers, F.M. (eds) Audacious Education Purposes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41882-3_4

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Promotion of Educational Travel to Japan

• ABOUT JAPAN EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL
• arrow_right WHY JAPAN?
• arrow_right Traditional culture
• arrow_right Modern culture
• arrow_right Natural environment
• arrow_right Japanese food
• arrow_right Sports
• arrow_right Made in Japan
• arrow_right Crisis management
• arrow_right Social systems and infrastructure
• arrow_right Peace and friendship
• arrow_right SCHOOL IN JAPAN
• arrow_right JAPANESE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
• arrow_right SCHOOL LIFE IN JAPAN
• arrow_right PLAN YOUR TRIP
• arrow_right SUGGESTED ITINERARIES
• arrow_right SCHOOL EXCHANGES
• arrow_right TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL ONLINE SCHOOL EXCHANGE
• arrow_right IN-PERSON EXCHANGES
• arrow_right ONLINE EXCHANGES
• arrow_right VISITOR'S VOICES

class JAPANESE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

About Japanese Educational System and Japanese Schools.

Curriculum Outline

The Japanese school system primarily consists of six-year elementary schools, three-year junior high schools and three-year high schools, followed by a two-or-three-year junior colleges or a four-year colleges. Compulsory education lasts for 9 years through elementary and junior high school. School exchanges during Japan Educational Travel are mainly implemented in junior high and high schools. For physically or mentally challenged students, there is a system called “Special Needs Education” to support special students to develop their self-reliance and thus enhance their social participation.

School Education Chart

Introduction to Schools in Japan

Event school timetable.

Public schools in Japan have classes five days a week, from Monday to Friday. There are also schools that have classes on Saturday. In junior high and high schools, there are six class periods each day, typically lasting 50 minutes for each. After classes, students clean the classrooms in shifts and then start their club activities. There are a variety of clubs such as cultural and sports ones.

An Example of School Timetable

event Academic Calendar

In principle, the school year begins in April and ends in March of the following year. Most schools adopt a three-semester system, with the first semester from April to August, the second semester from September to December, and the third semester from January to March. There is also a summer break (from the end of July to the end of August), a winter break (from the end of December to the beginning of January), and a spring break (from the end of March to the beginning of April).

An Example of Academic Calendar

event School Organization

Each school has a principal, a vice principal, teachers, a school nurse, and other administration staff. As the chief executive, the principal assumes all responsibilities of the school, including the courses provided and related administrative work. The vice principal supports the principal to manage administrative affairs of the school and to be in charge of student’s educational activities and curriculum as well. Furthermore, in order to ensure school’s smooth operation, teachers take on various responsibilities, such as taking care of educational activities, students’school life, and employment guidance for students after graduation. Many schools also establish their own committees, for example a International Exchange Promotion Committee, and others.

Related Information

Special Features of Japanese Education

About Features of Japanese Education.

event Regarding the Level of Education

The level of Japanese education is high even by world standards. In OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) aimed at fifteen-year-olds, Japanese students recorded high levels of achievement, particularly in science related areas. Educational activities outside of school also flourish, and programs leading to advanced education are implemented. Enrollment in high schools, the second-half of secondary education, reaches over 90%, and the enrollments in college are also high reaching over 50%. Admission to high schools and colleges is mainly through entrance exams, held from January to March. Source: OECD

location_city Foreign Language Education

English is a compulsory subject in junior high and high schools. There are also elementary schools that introduce English education from intermediate grade classes. In some high schools, apart from English, students are also allowed to take courses in Chinese, Korean, French, German, etc.

location_city Student Clubs

Student clubs are a characteristic part in Japan’s school education. Under teachers’ guidance, students with the same interests in sports, cultural activities, or fields of study voluntarily gather together after classes and on days off. There are also numerous student clubs revolving around Japanese traditional sports and culture, such as judo, kendo(Japanese swordsmanship), sado (Japanese tea ceremony), kado (Japanese flower arrangement), shodo (Japanese calligraphy), etc. Club activities also provide students with the chance to participate in school exchange and friendly matches.

Sports Clubs

• Track and Field
• Kendo (Japanese swordsmanship)

Culture Clubs

• School Band
• School Choir
• Kado (Japanese flower arrangement)
• Sado (Japanese tea ceremony)
• Shodo (Japanese calligraphy)

check 学校交流する場合のポイント

Check_box 1～3月は受験シーズンのため交流は難しい.

海外における教育旅行は、それぞれの国・地域によって特徴が異なると考えられるが、日本で現在受け入れている教育旅行は、日本の修学旅行のように、教師等の引率者と児童生徒で構成される団体旅行として実施されることが多い。

check_box 英語での交流が可能

Check_box 部活動も充実, stories of school exchanges.

Learn About School Life in Japan

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Education System in Japan: All You Need to Know

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Updated on 08 November, 2023

Shivangi Mishra

Sr. content editor.

Did you know Japan's literacy rate is around 99%? Various studies have found that Japanese students lead the world in numeracy and literacy skills. So, what is it about the education system in Japan that students excel in academics and perform consistently at a professional level as well? In this article, we'll touch upon the essential aspects of Japan's education structure, highlighting what makes it unique and well-known worldwide.

Table of Contents

Education system in japan: why it stands out, elementary education (grades 1 to 6).

• Middle or Junior High School (Grades 7 to 9)
• High School (Grades 10 to 12)
• Higher Education System in Japan
• How is Japan's Education System Better than India's

Japan proudly holds the stature of one of the world's most literate and technically advanced nations. Take a look at the following unique facts about the education system in Japan: 

• Japan shares the second spot alongside Korea as the second highest-performing OECD country with 520 points in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). 
• Students in Japan hardly ever repeat their grades in Junior High School or Elementary School. 
• Moral science class is mandatory for students between the age of 6 to 15 years in primary and secondary school in Japan. 
• There is a strong emphasis on group learning in Japan, where students frequently collaborate on projects. 
• In Japanese schools, students are asked to clean classrooms as part of their learning experience. 

A Look into the School Education System in Japan

From its age-specific curriculum to its emphasis on extracurricular initiatives, the education system in Japan is one of the best in the world, promoting well-rounded development . 

The basic education system of the country consists of elementary school (six years), pre-secondary or middle school (three years), senior secondary or high school (three years), and college or university (four years). Compulsory education lasts nine years through elementary and middle school, and most students opt for higher education. 

Elementary education in Japan starts at age 6 and follows pre-primary education at kindergartens and daycare centres. The subjects mainly taught include Japanese, English , Mathematics , Social Studies , Science, Crafts, and Moral Education, complemented by Arts , Music , and Physical Education . 

Middle or Junior High School (Grades 7 to 9) 

The middle school spans three years, comprising grades 7 to 9 and children roughly between the ages of 12 to 15 years. In contrast to elementary levels, the students acquire advanced knowledge of topics in various subjects such as Social Studies, Mathematics, Fine Arts , and Science, among others.

High School (Grades 10 to 12) 

Even though high school or upper-secondary education is not compulsory in Japan, almost all students passed through middle school go for high school education. They usually enter a general academic stream that, after grade 9, divides into vocational courses. 

Vocational courses fall into three categories: technical, agricultural, and commercial. Some academic and vocational high schools have special departments for comprehensive course programs, home economics , social welfare, fishery, arts, nursing , information science , physical education, music, and international relations .

Higher Education System in Japan 

In Japan, higher education is not mandatory for students after high school. But those who wish to pursue higher studies in Japanese universities appear for an entrance test. Pupils would also have to meet other eligibility requirements listed by their interested university.

In general, the higher education system in Japan is divided into five types:

Higher education system in Japan currently has 86 national, 101 public, and 620 private undergraduate-level universities, and 14 public and 295 private junior colleges. Additionally, there are 86 national, 89 public, and 482 private Graduate schools.

How is Japan's Education System Better than India's

The Japanese education system is considered one of the best in the world, renowned for its high-quality educational content, holistic approach, and strong emphasis on ethics and morals. 

Nine years of elementary and lower secondary/middle school education is compulsory in Japan and is provided free of cost by public and national schools in the country. As a result, almost 99.98% of the students receive primary and lower secondary education in Japan. Afterwards, pursuing higher education is a choice, and even then, nearly all Japanese high school students decide to study further. However, Universities in Japan offer admission with notoriously competitive entrance exams. 

In contrast, India has taken several legal and policy measures, such as the Right to Education, to improve access to education in the country. Even then, many children do not get the opportunity to attend primary schools – especially those from underprivileged sections- owing to a lack of awareness and growing population size.

Further, the education systems of both countries cover a wide range of disciplines, including arts and humanities. However, Japan's curriculum strongly emphasizes and makes it compulsory to study Science and Math, among other subjects. 

Summing up, equity in education, a well-rounded approach to teaching, and a focus on discipline and ethics are all hallmarks of the education system in Japan.

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Is education free in Japan?

In Japan, compulsory education that is from primary to lower secondary education by national and public schools is offered free of charge. In higher education, around 77% of institutes are private, and the remaining are public. They charge tuition fees for international students. However, there are scholarships available.

How long are schools in Japan?

Typically, Japanese schools are about six and a half hours from Monday to Friday. However, most children also participate in after-school clubs and attend Juku (cram school) in the evening for tuition.

Is Japan education system good?

The Japanese education system is considered one of the best in the world, renowned for its high-quality educational content, holistic approach, and strong emphasis on ethics and morals. The country has an adult literacy rate of 99%.

She is an experienced writer and journalist who has extensively covered the education sector in India and Abroad. Now helping Indian aspirants realise their foreign education dream by providing them with relevant content and information through upGrad Abroad. Amateur traveller, loves to read Architectural Digest!

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