About Japan Education

Although the arrival of modernization in Japan was comparatively late due to its closed-door policy from 1638 to 1854, Japan was able to quickly catch up to the Western powers because of the socio-cultural conditions that encouraged the development of education, including its secular character, linguistic uniformity, cultural maturity, and national unity. Significant changes were made in education with the change in political power after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and the defeat of the war in 1945. However, despite the drastic changes in education, Japanese cultural values have remained a stabilizing and tenacious force in helping the country adapt and grow.


Development of Education in Pre-WWII Japan

The modern education system of Japan can be said to be a mix of various educational models of Western countries that the government took and adapted to develop into its own. However, at the core foundation of Japanese education are the teachings and ideas of Confucianism. As Confucianism spread throughout Japan during the Heian period (794-1185), the imperial capital of Kyoto flourished as a center for higher learning through the establishment of Zen Buddhist monasteries. Children were taught to respect differences in class, rank, age, and sex based on the Confucian ideals of filial piety, loyalty to the state, submission to authority, and maintenance of social order. These ideals were embodied in the educational reforms that guided Japanese education until the end of WWII.

Despite the strong influence of Confucianism, education in Japan remained strongly secular. Many samurai attended fief schools to memorize Confucian classics and study Chinese literature and history. Some samurai also attended private academies (juku) alongside commoners to specialize in foreign subjects such as Western medicine, military science, gunnery, and Dutch studies (rangaku). Meanwhile, education for commoners was practically oriented, and concentrated on teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic through calligraphy and use of the abacus (Library of Congress, 1994). In addition, private classes open to all, regardless of class were held in instructors’ homes (terakoya), and in this way, an apprenticeship system developed among merchants.

These schools laid the foundation for education to become widespread during the Meiji period (1868-1912). People became aware that equal educational opportunity could be used to form national unity. Nonetheless, the lack of uniformity only led to discrepancy, and discrimination became a problem as academic achievement came to determine social status and employment. Under the pressure to modernize like the Western powers, the Meiji government set up the Ministery of Education in 1871 and in the following year, the Educational Ordinance was established, outlining a comprehensive national school system for the first time (JICA-RI, 2004). The three levels of schooling and school content were modeled after American schools, while the the centralized system of administration independent of the Church was modeled after the French school system. The Educational Ordinance was largely influenced by Yukichi Fukuzawa, spokesman of Japan’s Enlightenment who believed that the Confucian civilization lacked two things possessed by Western civilization “science in the material sphere and a sense of ‘independence’ in the spiritual sphere” (Anderson, 1975).

However, his plan was too ambitious and far removed for social customs of that time. By 1887, only one out of the eight universities was established and the official enrollment rate lingered below 50% because children were an important part of the labor force and those who failed often dropped out (JICA-RI, 2004). As a result, the Meiji government abolished the Education Ordinance and enacted the Education Order, introducing democratic education based on the American model. Boards of Education elected by the local people were put in charge of schools and their curriculum. In addition, the duration of school was greatly shortened from 8 years to at least 16 months (JICA-RI, 2004). However, enrollment rates only worsened and after one year, the Education Order was revised so that central control was again strengthened.

During this time, the political climate was complex and some schools were even burnt down by people upset by their taxes being used for school buildings, foreign instructors, and study abroad. Such opposers of Westernization demanded the revival of traditional ideologies of Confucian ethics, and in 1880, the Education Order was revised to include moral education for a minimum of one hour per week in elementary school education (Passin, 1965). After the Ito cabinet was formed in 1885, the constitution was modeled after Prussia instead of Britain and France which the Freedom and Popular Rights Movement saw as ideal democracies. The Imperial Rescript on Education of 1890 developed by Arinori Mori, the newly appointed Minister of Education also represented a revival of traditional ideologies of Confucian ethics and Shinto statism (Shimahara, 1979). By sending the Rescript to each school with a photograph of the Imperial Highnesses, education Minister Mori aimed to harmonize the twin objectives of modernization and spiritual unity through national morality.

Once primary level education became egalitarian under the Education School Order, elementary school enrollment increased from 40-50% in the 1870s to more than 90% by 1900 (Library of Congress, 1994). Nonetheless, women had relatively few opportunities to enter higher education since national universities were highly selective and elitist. However, the rise in demand for human resources during the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War and WWI led to the Professional College Order in 1903. This allowed graduates of middle schools and girls’ high schools to receive specialized training in subjects such as medicine, law, engineering, and commerce (JICA-RI, 2004). Teaching was also considered a ‘sacred profession’ and girls who desired to become teachers could attend a one-year training course at a Normal School. Specialized colleges, as well as universities founded by Christian missionary schools greatly expanded educational opportunites for women.

During the Taisho era (1912-1936), educational methodology was influenced by the global Progressive Education Movement, and child-centered and activity-oriented education of reformers such as Dewey and Montessori was implemented in some elementary schools. However, the economic recession following WWI spurred ultra-nationalist sentiment against the international democratic trends. In 1925, military officers were assigned to middle and high schools to provide military training, and student uniforms gave the schools the semblance of military academies (Anderson, 1975). Academic content was controlled by nationally approved textbooks and it was said that, “by the beginning of WWII, the only foreigners mentioned were Beethoven, Galileo, and Edward Jenner; but by the middle of the war, even Beethoven and Galileo were dropped” (Passin, 1965).

During WWII, students were drafted to produce food or military supplies, teachers were drafted into the armed forces, and young children were evacuated to rural areas to escape the aerial bomb attacks. With defeat of the war in 1945, Japanese education underwent drastic transformation similar to the one experienced in the early Meiji period. Under the control of the Allied Forces, the United States Education Mission introduced a number of education reforms to democratize Japanese education such as: the 6-3-3-4 track system (six years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, three years of high school, and four years of university), as well as adoption of co-education, extension of compulsory education to nine years, establishment of locally elected school boards, abolition of Normal Schools, the establishment of teacher unions, and the introduction of Roman characters. Furthermore, textbooks in morals, Japanese history, and geography were suspended because of the belief that these subjects encouraged militarism. However, U.S. occupation policy gradually changed its emphasis on democratization and freedom to anti-communism during the Korean War, and in general, the later half of the 20th century was characterized by turbulence in higher education in Japan (JICA-RI, 2004).

Despite the numerous educational changes that have occured in Japan since the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and especially since WWII, the education system continues to reflect long-standing cultural and philosophical Japanese values rooted in Confucianism. In traditional Japan, “study was an absolute duty of man. It was a religious mandate, a means of attaining virtue and repaying the Emperor and parents. It was a social duty, a means of promoting a harmonious and stable society. It was an individual’s duty to his superior, a means of preparing for service in the feudal government or schools. It was a way to gain self-respect and self-fulfillment” (Anderson, 1975). The fact that learning is still highly esteemed in Japan today, and moral and character development are still an integral part of education (Library of Congress, 1994), shows the tenacity of Japanese culture regardless of changing internal and external environments.