History
 The school system in Japan has its roots far back in
time, and at least dates back to around the 500s when
Chinese teachings, Buddhism and the Chinese written language
were introduced in Japan. Chinese characters followed
Confucianism and Buddhism. In the Nara period (710 - 794) in
the 700s, the first public school was established according
to designs from the Tang Kingdom in China. Chinese and
Korean teachers were invited to teach religion, law,
history, Chinese literature, music, math and medicine. The
school was highly elite.
During the Heian period (782 - 1184), the aristocracy
established several private schools that were equated with
the public. Towards the end of the 1100s, the knight class
(the samurai) took over the political leadership and became
a leader in the field of education. In the troubled time
leading up to the Tokugawa period (1603 - 1868) around the
year 1600, Buddhist temples in Kyoto and Kamakura were
centers of learning. There are no specific figures on the
percentage of the Japanese population that could read and
write during this period, but it is agreed that it was not
until the Tokugawa period that education became available to
larger sections of the population.
In the 16th century, the Jesuits made their entrance led
by Francisco Xavier. They were very active schoolchildren,
but were banned in the 1600s when Japan closed its borders
to the outside world. At Jesuit schools astronomy,
geography, medicine and art were taught.
During the Tokugawa period in the 18th century, the
Terakoyas schools, private institutions that taught
children, including ordinary people and not just the elite,
arose to read and write. Terakoya means "temple school", and
the schools were linked to the Buddhist temples. The
teaching was given by monks and warriors, and took place
either in the Buddhist temples or in private homes. Boys and
girls were taught separately from about the age of 7.
Although no specific figures are available, it is estimated
that around 50% of men and 20% of women could read and count
towards the end of the Tokugawa period in the 19th century.
After the Tokugawa period, the Meiji Restoration followed
in 1868, during which Japan worked to recapture the West and
undergo industrialization of the country. In 1871, the
Iwakura delegation (which included, among others, many of
Japan's foremost political leaders and oligarchs) embarked
on a two-year journey to the West to acquire new knowledge
on, among other things. education, culture, technology and
militarism. The youngest detective in the Iwakura delegation
was Umeko Tsuda, who at the age of 6 was with the delegation
around the US and Europe. She decided to stay in the United
States, and did not return to Japan until adulthood, where
she founded the school now known as Tsuda University for
Women. One of the goals of the Iwakura delegation was to
bring the knowledge they acquired back to Japan so that the
country could be modernized quickly.
It was during the Meiji restoration in 1872 that 4 years
of compulsory schooling were introduced, and it was also
after the Meiji period that the precursor to the school
system in Japan as we know it today was introduced. Arinori
Mori is considered the founder of this school system and
became Japan's first Minister of Education in the 1880s.
Another important person to mention in this context is
Fukusawa Yuchi - who was sent with a of the first
delegations after the country was opened from isolation in
the mid-1800s. Fukusawa was a major driver when it came to
modernizing Japan. He published a number of texts in the
1870s entitled Gakumon no Susume - A Call for Learning. In
these texts, Fukuzawa focuses on the fact that good
education was important for both individuals and society as
a whole.
Up to the Second World War, the school system was
increasingly characterized by nationalism and militarism,
and naturally the school books were also colored by the
ideology that was central to the country. When Japan
surrendered during World War II, on the other hand, there
was a complete turnaround in the value system of the school
system, and text in the textbooks marked by militarism and
nationalism was colored and stretched. Even today, there is
controversy about the content of school books, as the school
system has once again become centralized and school books
must be approved by the state in order to be used in
teaching. Criticism has been raised about Japan moving in
the wrong direction in this textbook issue, and once again
glorifying history, and not giving concrete and critical
enough descriptions of what Japan did during World War II.
Building the modern Japanese school system
The Japanese educational and upbringing system as we know
it today consists of primary school (shogakkou), secondary
school (chugakkou), secondary school (koukou) and higher
education (daigaku, senmon gakkou). In addition there are
kindergartens (yochi and hoiku-sho) as well as afternoon
schools (juku).
Kindergarten
There are two types of kindergartens/preschools in
Japan. The Yochi is for children from the age of 3 and lasts
for about 5 hours a day. Over half of Japanese children
attend such a daycare. In addition to the Yochi, there is a
type of nursery for smaller children and infants, called
hoikusho. These kindergartens are open from early morning
until late afternoon, and about 30% of children in Japan
attend this type of kindergarten. This type of kindergarten
is especially suitable for children with working mothers.
Primary school
Around the age of 6, Japanese children begin in
elementary school, called shogakkou. Shogakkou extends over
six grades, and there are usually 30 - 40 students per
class. The students are served a hot meal during the day,
and the children are responsible for keeping the classroom
and school clean. There is a lot of teaching in reading and
writing, and after finishing high school it is expected that
students will be able to kyouiku-kanji - a collection of
about 1,000 kanji.
Junior
After shogakkou follows chugakkou, the secondary school.
Chugakkou extends over three grades and is part of the
compulsory schooling in Japan. It is also at this level that
students begin to learn English. Although some elementary
schools (especially private) have a uniform duty, uniform is
even more common at the secondary school level.
Participation in various clubs is important, and the senpai
/ kouhai system is more debt-ridden than before. This means
that you should have respect for those who are above you in
the system, and this is reflected well in eg. sports clubs,
where the younger recruits have to do a lot of work and
services for the older members of the club.
High School
After secondary school, 95% of Japanese schoolchildren go
on to high school, kotogakkou, or koko. These schools are to
an even greater extent than primary and secondary schools
characterized by tough entrance exams, and 30% of upper
secondary schools are private. Students can choose whether
they want to take a general education, but vocational
schools are also available at this level. After completing
higher education, the students will be able to know about
the 2000 joyo kanjis, which include the kanjis used in
newspapers and other media.
Taking Exams
Generally speaking, one can say that the Japanese school
system is characterized by hard entrance exams, especially
when it comes to university admission. Some universities
have admissions directly from prestigious high schools,
which in turn have admissions from prestigious secondary
schools that in turn recruit their students from selected
elementary schools. Japan is often portrayed as a
meritocracy, but the system where students are directly
recruited from selected schools also plays a crucial role.
Juku and yobikou
Because of the hard entrance exams, around 25% of primary
school students go and about 60% of high school students
also attend an afternoon school, called juku. Due to the
time and effort Juku is taking, it has been commented that
the students are unable to stay awake for hours in school
where they actually go. In addition to primary and secondary
school pupils, about 5% of students who attend juku are
students who have not entered the university they want, and
who are studying specifically to succeed in getting good
results at the entrance exams at the universities next year.
This preparation is called yobikou. One way to find out if
you have the opportunity to enter the school you want is a
points system called hensachi. Pupils receive individual
feedback after test exams that are held on how likely they
are to enter the school they want.
University
When the students have finally entered the university, it
is often argued that the name of the university is more
important than the grades one actually gets. It is
conceivable that university time is the only time when
Japanese schoolchildren can actually take it a little
quieter. Most students graduate from the university once
they have successfully entered. See TOPSCHOOLSINTHEUSA for TOEFL, ACT, SAT testing locations and high school codes in Japan.
Despite being portrayed as a picture of everyone in Japan
yearning to enter well-known universities such as Todai,
Keio and Waseda, this probably does not reflect the everyday
lives of the majority of school students. Only about 40% of
students take a four-year higher education (equivalent to a
Norwegian 3-year bachelor's degree). In addition to this,
just under 10% of students go on to something called
tankidaigaku - a "university program" that extends over 2
years instead of 4. Of these, 90% are women. A little over
20% of the students go on to technical colleges, while 30%
of the students do not go on to higher education at all. It
should also be mentioned that higher education in Japan is
not free. The national universities are less expensive than
the private universities, but private universities account
for around 70% of the market in Japan. The private
universities can cost a lot of money. Not everyone has the
opportunity and advice to pay tuition, so students often
need parental support in addition to part-time jobs to have
the opportunity to pay tuition and also have enough money to
live.
Challenges in the school system
In Japan, as in the rest of the world, there are a number
of challenges related to school and education. Bullying and
school violence is not uncommon. More recently, there has
been an increased focus on school refusal, students
isolating themselves in the room, and not least students
dropping out of school.
Since the 1980s, the term yutori-kyouiku - “learning
without stress,” has been talked about, and a number of
school reforms have been implemented. In the 80s the
syllabus was reduced and the hourly rate was also lower. In
the 1990s, the same type of reform was continued, and in
addition it was partly Saturday free. In 2002, such reforms
were continued, and in addition Saturday was introduced for
all students. (Unfortunately, Saturday-free rather led the
Juku to a real boost, so the responsibility for Saturday
education went from the public to the private market.)
Educational reform has received a lot of criticism that the
school has become too slack, and it is required for little
of the students now compared to before. As of 2013, Japan's
second largest city of Osaka has implemented Saturday
teaching at all primary schools in the city.
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