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Education in Japan
From Virtual Japan
Education in Japan is based, largely, on the American standards of education introduced after World War II. There is 6 years of elementary school, 3 years of Junior High School, 3 years of High School, 2 years for junior college and 4 years for a University education.
Contents |
History
Early education in Japan was based on Chinese education standards dating back as early as the sixth century.
Early Education
During the 6th to the 9th centuries, most education was based directly around Chinese teachings, such as Buddhism, Chinese novelists and writings and various other pieces of Chinese civilization including letter writing.
For the next 600 years, some higher learning institutions popped up, but most learning took place in Zen Buddhist temples and amongst Japanese nobility rather than being available to the main populace. After 1500, Christianity hit Japan and many religious schools began to open that taught English and Christianity to the Japanese.
Edo Period
In the early 1600’s Christianity was banned and the Japanese began to focus on their own schooling and educational systems. Within 200 years, the majority of Japanese could read and write (something they could not do before), schools had opened up across Japan and by the time the Japanese opened their borders back up to foreigners, they found the Japanese to be surprisingly well educated for such an isolated country.
Meiji Period
By 1868, the educational system in Japan was set on a path to try to rival the west’s educational system. Private Universities were created and Christian institutions were allowed to return to Japan. However, most of the education was influenced by the military and religion, and there was still some vast oversight causing it to not quite measure up the Western Standards.
Current Educational Standards
Most of the current educational standards were created when the Americans occupied Japan during World War II. They divided most schools into elementary, junior high, high school and college and they create set standards that help regulate those schools.
One small difference, however, is that most schools (regardless of grade levels) require admissions tests that are often very competitive. Even high schools have strict admissions standards, and these same standards are what keep many students from college, where schools like Tokyo University are very difficult to get into.
Elementary School
Elementary school is attended by nearly 100% of all young children. Also, elementary school is almost entirely public school, making up 99% of all elementary school education. Elementary school is highly valued, more so than in other areas of the West, and home schooling is extremely uncommon.
Junior High School
Junior high school is very similar to elementary school. 96% attend (a small fraction of students enter the workforce) and the majority of schools are still public, though a few more (roughly 5%) are private. Most of the classes are lecture classes with almost 40 students per class on average.
High School
Almost every student that completes Junior High School goes on to High School. Most high schools resemble Western high schools, with generic classes that can lead to a degree in college. However, there are several differences that set Japanese high schools apart.
For starters, private schools account for over half of all high schools (10 times the percentage of junior high schools) and there are also a large number of vocational high schools for business and industry. In addition, almost all high schools start training in more specific areas (like vocations) starting the second year and on, because a far fewer number of Japanese students attend colleges and universities due to the high demand and extremely high admissions standards. High school is designed to make sure that those that graduate have skills they can use to enter the workforce.
Colleges and Universities
There are only 507 Universities in Japan, with over 2/3rds of those universities private. Only about 2-3 million Japanese men and women attend college in Japan (though many go to Universities in different countries). Average tuition is approximately 1.2 million yen.
Bachelor’s degrees are the most common degree type, lasting approximately 4 years. Professional degrees take six years. Tokyo University is the most well known and respected university in all of Japan.