Education in Japan

General characteristics.

When Japan opened herself to the world in 1868, one of the government's high priority was catching up with Western standards in science and education. The Japanese education system was reformed mainly according to the German and French model which experts regarded as most suitable and ‘advan’tageous.

After the second world war, the Americans reformed the Japanese education system after their own which consists of six years of elementary school, each three years of junior and senior high school and four years of university or two years of junior college.

Compulsory education includes elementary school and junior high school. Over 90% of all students also graduate from high school and over 40% from university or junior college. At universities the percentage of male students is higher than that of female students while the opposite is the case at junior colleges. The number of graduate university students is relatively low.

The Japanese school year starts in April and consists of three terms, separated by short holidays in spring and winter, and a one month long summer break.

A characteristic of the Japanese school system are entrance exams, and with them a high competitiveness among students. Most high schools, universities, as well as a few private junior high schools and elementary schools require applicants to write entrance exams. In order to pass entrance exams to the best institutions, many students attend special preparation schools (juku -塾【じゅく】 (n) coaching school, lessons) besides regular classes, or for one to two years between high school and university (yobiko -予備校 【よびこう】prep school (ronin year -浪人【ろうにん】ronin, lordless samurai, out of work, waiting for another chance to enter a university)).

The most prestigious universities are the national University of Tokyo and University of Kyoto, followed by the best private universities.

A Well-Educated Society

Education in Japan is based upon what is referred to as the 6. 3. 3. 4 system-namely six year of primary education, three years of junior high school and three years of senior high school, followed by four years of university. Children receive compulsory education until the end of junior high school. The percentage of students continuing on to senior high school is as much as 96 per cent. In fact, there is a feeling that having graduated from senior high school is a foregone (предрешённый вывод, заранее известное решение) conclusion. With 43 per cent of high school graduates going on to university, Japan occupies a very high place in the world as a well-educated society.

To aim for a top-ranking university one must aim for a top-ranking senior high school. To enter one of these, one aims for a first-class junior high school and primary school, in turn-the competition on entrance examinations for such schools is becoming increasingly fierce (жестокий), to such an extent that there are even children of kindergarten age attending preparatory schools.

It is not just the children themselves who are keen to take entrance examinations for well-known primary schools. Rather than studying for entrance examinations, children would prefer to be enjoying themselves. However, the parents of the children perhaps feel that having the children enter good primary schools is a sure guarantee of a future place in a well-known university. The reason for this is that a majority of well-known primary schools are private schools connected to distinguished universities. The situation is so serious, in fact, that there are even parents who prepare themselves for 'parental interviews’, which take place at the time of primary school entrance examinations.

These circumstances are a direct result of Japan being a society which places great importance upon academic background-as absurd as anyone may think, the situation being inextricably (неразрывно) tied up with the competitive world of entrance examinations is the existing state of affairs.

The 'Nesting' of Children

The number of children who, school over, make their way directly to tutoring school, then, once they reach home, retreat to their rooms to watch television and play video games, is on the increase. This phenomenon is referred to as the 'nesting' of Japanese children.

Psychologists say that children have 'develop-mental tasks-behavior’ to be learned appropriate to their age. And two of the 'tasks' put forward: children of primary school age learning how to get on with friends, and learning about the different behavioral patterns of boys and girls.

Children of various age groups used to play together in open spaces. There would always be one child who was the leader and the children would create their own kind of society. However, these days, it is difficult to find the leader in a group of playing children.

The Authorized Textbook System

Primary schools, and junior and senior high schools in Japan use textbooks which are authorized by the Ministry of Education. The teaching content of such textbooks is closely scrutinized (тщательно исследовать) by the Ministry. This Ministry inspection involves a number of stages-manuscript inspection, acceptance with revisions and finally, acceptance. A 'School Textbook Hearing' was held concerning the writing of textbooks for Japanese history, with the result that the authorization system was partially revised (исправленный). Nevertheless, the presence of Ministerial authorization is still strongly felt.