Slides used for my general orientation lecture on Japanese Education for JICA trainees.

1. Japan’s Education
System
Brent A. Jones
Konan University

2. Prof. Koji Nakamura

3. Overview
Background
Structure/Learning Population
Keys to Success
Stormy Waters

4. Japan’s Modern
Educational System
One-Hundred Years of Japanese Education

5. Early Influences
Confucianism
Buddhism

6. Feudal Period
Fief Schools (hanko )
military arts, morals, literature
Temple Schools (terako y a)
practical skills for daily life

12. Late Edo / Early Meiji
Confucian Scholars
Military Specialists
Buddhist Temples

16. Niijima Jo
Joseph Hardy Neesima

17. Iwakura Mission
Iwakura Mission

18. Tsuda Umeko

19. Tsuda Umeko

20. Department of Education - 1871
4 days after abolition of fiefs
Policy of educational unification

21. Education System Order - 1872
Aim to unify the diversity of curriculums
Reflected elements of various western models
Single most important document in modern
Japanese educational history

22. Ito Hirobumi

24. Mori Arinori

25. Ministry of Education

26. Tanaka Fujimaro
Together pushed for a
system based on that in
the U.S.
David Murray

27. 1879 Education Order
Response to shortcomings of 1872 Order
Political compromise
Policy of decentralization

28. Imperial Rescript on Education
Emperor Meiji’s Inspection Tour
Critique of Civilization and Enlightenment
Movement
Highlighted antagonism between traditional and
progressive modes of thought

29. 1880 Education Order
Emphasis on national control

30. 1885 Education Order
Motivated by economics (support for local areas)
Allowed for simplified elementary school

31. Competing factions
National Learning (wagaku)
Chinese Learning (kangaku)
Western Learning (yo gaku)

36. Group harmony and respect for teachers
Excellent discipline at home and school

39. American Occupation
6-3-3-4 System
Aim was to return education to normal state
Educational Policy for the Construction of a New
Japan

40. Fundamental Law of Education
Based on several reports, documents
Equal rights to education
Compulsory education free

48. Reading Math Science
Shanghai 556 (1) 600 (1) 575 (1)
Finland 536 (3) 541 (6) 554 (2)
HK-China 533 (4) 555 (3) 549 (3)
Singapore 526 (5) 562 (2) 542 (4)
Japan 520 (8) 529 (9) 539 (5)
Korea 539 (2) 546 (4) 538 (6)

52. Stormy Waters
Bullying
School Refusal
Suicide
Monster Parents
Classroom Chaos
Disenfranchised

53. Bullying
72,778 cases (2009)
75,295 (2010)
physical or verbal abuse, damage to a student’s
belongings, taunting messages

54. School Refusal
126,764 (2006) 1.17%
Elementary school (1 in 302)
Junior high (1 in 35)

55. Suicide
between 500 - 600 cases a year (under 19 years
old)

56. Monster Parents
“My child has lost a wallet somewhere in school. Buy him a new one.” --
Parents from Kanagawa.
“Make sure you check out the weather forecast every day, and let me
know first if there is any need to have my kid bring an umbrella.” --
Parents from Kanagawa.
“Let my son sleep during a class, because he’s been very busy going to
a cram school lately.” -- Parents from Kanagawa.
“No one in my family is good at waking up early in the morning, so give
us a phone call every morning so we won’t oversleep.” -- Parents from
Fukui.
“Since my daughter has been taking a private lesson to become a
professional pianist, don’t let her play outside during a break, so she
won’t hurt her fingers.” -- Parents from Tokyo.

57. Classroom Chaos