Japan's Contemporary Educational Hierarchy
and its Social Implications
 

Anuj Shah
12/3/01
Japanese Civilization

     Amongst the most fundamental social institutions is that of education, for it shapes and affects each band of the vast social spectrum.  In order for a group of people to be politically, economically, and academically strong, the foundation set by preliminary and secondary education must also be firm so that it may yield a bright group of future leaders.  Japan's educational institutions have for years drawn the attention of the Western world, as they bear individuals capable of outscoring their counterparts on international tests.  Additionally, Japan's noticeably powerful economic institutions and corporations are vivid reminders of an intelligible society for which only an intriguing educational system can be responsible.  This system shall be examined in detail with a focus upon the regimented hierarchy of the school system, which seems to ultimately give way to the social harmony so often associated with Japan.  Key areas of interest are the history of the education system and elementary, middle, and high schools; however, university life shall also be expatiated upon.

    The foremost name often associated with the modern education system of Japan is the Mombusho, or Ministry of Education, established during the Meiji period in 1871 (Haiducek, 18).  At the head of the modern system was Mori Arinori (1847-1889) who studied in the West and worked as a diplomat in Washington, D.C as part of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.  It was during his stay in the United States when Arinori studied the American system of education.  As a result of these studies, he moved to establish a group of schools in Japan that implemented American teachers and English as the primary language.  Arinori's impact on modern Japanese education can also be seen in his focus on women's education and his belief that religion should be separated from education.  The novel system of western-influenced education implemented under Arinori lead to the introduction of the stereotypical Japanese militaristic school of education in which physical drills were used to instill obedience, harmony, and physical fitness in children (Haiducek, 19-20).  An immediate social impact of this militaristic style of education is the emergence of the submission of kohai (junior level students) to senpai (senior level students).  These kohai-senpai relationships often extend beyond the walls of a school and into the real world, helping to instill social awareness, responsibility, and harmony as both the respect for elders and the Confucian responsibility to younger generations continue (Sugimoto, 123).  Additionally, this relatively modern system of education was implemented expeditiously, evidenced by the fact that the same number of primary schools exist today as existed in 1880, with 98% of the eligible Japanese population enrolled (White, 55).  Based on these numbers, one may be lead to believe that Japan's education system has remained stagnant for the last century.  However, several changes and distinct phases of education can be seen.  The first phase can be characterized as the “Pre-World War II” phase, which involved a focus on educating John Dewey's concept of the “whole child.”  This system often yielded a wide array of lessons with experimentation in the style of education so children would receive broader and more applicable schooling.  The next phase of education can be labeled the “World War II-preparation” stage, during which nationalistic policy crept into the schools and foreign studies were ceased as younger generations were prepared for a long period of war.  The final stage of Japanese education is best-titled the “Post-Occupation” phase, during which the adopted system consisted of six years of mandatory elementary school, followed by three years of mandatory junior high school, proceeded by three years of optional high school.  This system, which exists today, is largely based on the Japanese belief that education is to have the social implication of loyalty to an institution (White, 61-65).

    While these motions toward implementing an advanced system of education are impressive, it is important to note that Japan, as a nation, did not always spend great amounts of time on schooling.  Indeed, education was formerly a scarce resource because it provided unnecessary credentials in light of the fact that land was the greatest asset a person could have (White, 13).  Even without a formal system of education, however, data points to the Japanese as having always been an intelligible group of people as an average of 43% of men and 15% of women were literate (White, 50).  Alternatively, in contemporary Japan the emphasis on educational merit seems to run rampant, with employers drawing workers from certain universities and thus, regimented education has come about as an important way of gaining access to high-paying jobs (Sugimoto, 111).  The social ramifications of the intense focus on education are immediately apparent in the relationship between mother and child.  For example, the mother, known as the kyoiku mama, or education-mother, is intensely involved in her child's education, often forcing him to complete his studies or even assisting with the completion of his schoolwork (White, 13).

    Currently, children aging from six to fifteen years are required to be in school and the school-year lasts from April 1 to March of the following year, with half-days on Saturday (White, 66).  The aforementioned Mombusho maintains centralized control of the education, which often leads several unique characteristics of nationalized education.  For example, each school follows the gakushu shido yoryo, or national curriculum.  As a result of this standardized curriculum, it is often easy for a child to transfer schools without being forced to adapt to great changes in content (Sugimoto, 121).  A problem that arises because of this standardized curriculum, however, is the difficulty of re-adaptation for kikokushijo, or students who return from studying abroad as these students may be behind in their Japanese language skills or simply studying different subject matter, amongst other, less explicit problems (Goodman, 53).  Additionally, the Mombusho's central control of education has lead to textbook-censorship—every book used by a school must be approved by the state (Sugimoto, 120).  Finally, because of the state belief that children should sort their own disputes, ijime (bullying) has arisen as a prominent form of psychological and physical abuse because some children choose to take advantage of this relative freedom and ridicule those who are different.  Consequently, it is immediately clear that Japan's contemporary system of education is influenced by an intriguing and sometimes-volatile history and foundation.
 While the first formal stage in providing the educational foundation for children comes during the elementary school years, which commence at age six, there are several influences that impact the educational process prior to this stage.  For example, the Japanese concept of amae, or dependence on elders, is often viewed as a pre-requisite for education.  The social impact of amae is present in the aforementioned involvement of the mother in the child's education as the child will often rely on his mother’s assistance when at home (White, 22).  The mother and other elders even take care to provide a healthy learning environment for children-soon-to-be as evidenced by the concept of taikyo, or education in the womb, which primarily consists of taking all necessary steps to ensure the baby’s safe arrival into the world (White, 38).  Some other precursors to elementary school are yochien (nursery schools) and hoikuen (day-care) in which some rudimentary schooling may occur, however, the emphasis is on learning social skills (White, 101).  After the foundation is established, a child will enter elementary school.  The schools are physically simple, possessing basic furnishings, yet they are also enjoyable.  The schools often have gardens for which the students work together to maintain.

    Additionally, children often clean the schools themselves and are not directly disciplined by the teacher (White, 67-68).  A clear social impact of this system of schooling is that children learn responsibility and group-harmony early in their lives.  To expand upon this sense of responsibility, children are offered moral education classes and forced to solve their own disputes (White, 71).  The standard schedules usually involve emphasis on Japanese, arithmetic, science, social studies, and physical education.  However, sogo katsudo (integrated activities) are used to enhance the early learning experience by involving clusters of several subjects taught in the class geared towards a more specific purpose (White, 69).  As a result of these integrated activities and focused studies, a strong foundation is provided and Japanese children outscore their counterparts in other developed countries on international tests (White, 73).  Another likely reason for the children's success on international tests is the implementation of enrichment lessons referred to as okeikogoto (White, 76).  These lessons often expand upon material learned while also offering lessons in other, more leisure-oriented subjects such as swimming and piano.  Within the schools themselves, children incorporate a sense of kohai and senpai on the first day of school because sixth grade-students act as older siblings to the first graders, giving them guidance and advice.  Additionally, there is an early emphasis on deep understanding of the subjects that is reinforced by the teachers' patience and devotion to “mastery learning,” which consists of repeating lessons as needed so that children can understand concepts intuitively. The emphasis on intuitive understanding can also be seen in the way teachers encourage experimentation, especially in science.  Teachers will often ask children to explain certain ideas without ruling out alternatives.  This open-minded approach to education forces children to think for themselves and allows the students to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the material (White, 119-121).

    Children are also divided into han, or working groups, which serve as chore-groups as well as learning groups.  For example, certain han are assigned to cleaning up the classroom and others are assigned to serving lunch, with a rotation implemented.  The leaders of the han are referred to as hancho and are responsible for acting as a teacher's apprentice and reporting the han's status to the class (White 111-115).  Other forms of student leaders are the toban, or the class leaders responsible for mediating problems amongst the students, and the “teaching children” called oshiego (White, 118&129).  One result of using student groups and leaders is that children are taught about social harmony on a micro-scale, as they must maintain peace amongst their core-group of peers.  Additionally, they are also taught about the vertical hierarchy prevalent in Japan by having to answer to a student leader who, in turn, answers to the teacher.  In fact, the class itself is viewed as a new type of family with its own kafu or rules of the house.  This view of the school greatly assists education of social accord (White, 103).  Another impact is that children learn better by receiving individual focus from the oshiego and the oshiego also learns better because, through teaching, he develops his understanding of the material on a deeper level.
 Teachers often govern their classrooms differently; however, two prevailing systems of government are kyoshitu okoku (classroom kingdom) and “vertical equality.” In the kyoshitu okoku system, children are treated as equals and often have difficult tasks hidden from them in order to prevent any overwhelming vertical stratification from forming.  The vertical equality system involves the teacher working directly with each student to make the student more well rounded, while still promoting greater class harmony (White, 115-116).  The social implications are intuitively present as the classroom is treated as a microcosm relative to overall Japanese society and the children thus learn the valued asset of understanding harmony and hierarchy.  Japanese children respond to these systems by being better behaved.  One explanation offered for the greater number of well-behaved children in Japanese schools is that children are taught that a person can be good and happy, while in Western schools obedience is often associated with boredom and stagnation (White, 122).

     As mentioned, Japanese children score higher on international exams; however, these scores clearly cannot stem only from the understanding of social interactions, which is emphasized in the elementary school years.  Thus it is apparent that, upon entering middle school, education becomes more rigorous and intense with less social orientation.  It is also during the late elementary school years and early middle school years that the focus on planning for the future arises.  Since the Japanese system of education is so rigidly hierarchical, children must focus on attaining admission to strong middle schools so that they can maximize their chances of attending an excellent high school and, in turn, an exceptional university.  As a result of this pressure, many children fall victim to school-refusal and school-phobia (White 136-137).  It is during middle school that serious, conservative uniforms are implemented so as to emphasize a focus on academics rather than leisure and apparel.  The most significant part of middle school is the period known as “examination hell,” during which children work towards gaining high marks and admittance to superior high schools.  These exams are often intense by the second year and force children to enroll in classes outside of school.  These classes, called juku (cram-schools), are a sharp contrast to the okeikogoto as they are strictly focused on preparing students for exams, with no time spent on leisure activities.  These classes are often required because the schools do not teach all of the material that is needed to do well on the exams.  Two types of juku are gakushu juku, which focuses on subjects for remedial students, and shingaku juku, which focuses on cramming for exams.  While some juku may be quite stimulating, an immediate impact is that students' real teachers lose touch with the children because they are unable to monitor students' progress.  However, the teacher does maintain a prominent role in each student's life by being an icon for social-harmony.  Since classes are kept together throughout the day, often with the same teacher, social harmony is still emphasized by the actual teacher, though to less of an extent than in elementary school (White, 140-146).  Additionally, there is no tracking and children are rarely skipped or held back in the Japanese school system.  Due to this, children often form lifelong friendships (White, 171).  During middle school free time dwindles, but in whatever free time there is, children often go shopping or engage in “rebellious” hobbies like reading manga, or comic books.

     The overwhelming pressure in exams during middle school gives way to an even more strenuous high school environment in which the focus is on graduating to an outstanding university that has ties to superior economic institutions. Approximately 97% of students move on to high school, with 95% of students expressing a preference of certain schools and 80% of students preferring public schools (Sugimoto, 107 & Rohlen, 123).  These preferences illustrate the prevailing hierarchy in Japanese education, with students hoping to enter the proper track towards strong universities and workplaces.  However, amidst the focus on exams there is a subtle promotion of amae and respect for elders used to prepare students for the coming years.  For example, teachers continue to call students “kodomo,” which means “children.”  While this may seem somewhat disrespectful, it is hardly even noticed, yet it is still present and promotes the reliance on and submission to superiors (Rohlen, 195).  In fact, until a person reaches 20 years of age in Japanese society, they are referred to as kodomo.  Upon reaching the age of adulthood, large public ceremonies called seijin shiki are held to commemorate the event.
 School days start at 8:30 am and last until 3:00 pm, with juku following most schedules.  In high school there are significantly fewer electives and absolutely no free periods, which results in a maximization of class time (Rohlen, 158).  Most of the day within the high school is spent in a single homeroom called homurumu.  These classes are often large by American standards, with an average population of 45 students (Hendry, 109).  Again, students stay with the same group of peers and are often taught by the same teacher throughout the day, promoting rapport and academic focus.  Students’ sense of responsibility is supported by the chore of cleaning the room everyday (Rohlen, 150).  Other mechanisms implemented that help promote social intelligence include having a separate floor for each grade, which promotes the sense of kohai-senpai relations, as well as the adherence to the vertical social structure.  Clubs, or kurabu, also help instill kohai-senpai relations by mixing underclassmen and upperclassmen.  Unfortunately, much hazing is associated with kurabu.  Walls are also built around the school to enhance the sense of institutional belonging and to promote the group as a priority over the individual (Rohlen, 152-153).  Additionally, in an effort to stray from the stereotypical image of a classroom, teachers often attempt to hold extended homerooms, which consist of appending 50 minutes for discussion of world issues and personal problems.  However, it is difficult to actually get away from the pressures of school and most extended homerooms are uneventful (Rohlen, 178-180).  Some students are so focused that, when the teacher is absent, they engage in jishu, or self-directed study (Rohlen, 158).   Two breaks in the routine of studying in high school are the bunkasai (Culture Festival) and taiku taikai (Sports Day), both of which involve the entire school.  The Culture Festival consists of an open house with musical presentations and skits while Sports Day involves inter-class competition (Rohlen, 162-163).  While these are healthy distractions, the major focus of high schools continues to rest on exams and university admittance.  As a result, the graduation ceremonies are often quiet and somber because of the awareness that many times students do not pass their exams and cannot gain admittance to a university.

     The overwhelming exam system is the result of a focus on “educational credentialism” and the need to be able to measure and rank educational merit.  One such method of ranking students is to give exams that will yield a hensachi, or deviation score, which ranks students against each other based with respect to a given University.  These tests were administered in middle schools until 1992 and now many families pay to have their children take exams that will yield a hensachi, so that they may know the child's status with respect to which high schools and universities are within the student’s abilities (Sugimoto, 111-115).  High school students usually apply to several universities and must take one exam per university, leading to the more common form of juken jigoku, or “examination hell” (Rohlen, 77).  Entrance exams to universities are such a large event that some universities, such as the distinguished Tokyo University, publish the names of the accepted students (Rohlen, 81).  Exams usually consist of a compulsory section and an elective section, the latter of which depends on what field the student is entering.  The compulsory section tests math, English, and Japanese, while sciences and social sciences are viewed as electives.  The questions on the exams usually test extremely specific information that is easiest available through rote memorization.  If a student gains admission to a university, he may not transfer schools or departments unless he is willing to retake the entrance exam geared towards his new focus (Rohlen, 94&97).  Due to the difficulty of the exams, cramming often occurs with large numbers of students entering juku and some entering yobiko, which are advanced juku.  Additionally, practice test books and costly mogi sihuki (practice tests), which give feedback on where to apply, are used to prepare for the exams.  On the market side, educationally oriented equipment has become big business with alarm clocks and special exam-timers arising as popular merchandise (Rohlen, 101-104).  Despite intense efforts, only one-third of students pass the exams, with many students going on to become ronin, adapted to refer to students without school or occupation (Rohlen, 110).  However, the academic track is not the only way to achieve moderate economic success.

     While Tokyo University may be the ideal environment for many Japanese students, not all can gain admittance to the school or even any other university, for that matter.  Thus, many students opt for vocational schools or junior colleges.  The population within vocational schools, which focus primarily on practical applications like computer programming and nursing, accounts for 30% of the students in.  Junior colleges are approximately 90% female by population because many women have little motivation to gain high levels of education since they are often restricted as far as employment-advancement as a result of their devotion to marriage and the family (Sugimoto, 110-111).  While these schools tend to be relatively focused, universities actually offer an easier life because the employers that draw from the schools usually offer on-the-job training and show little interest in one’s performance during college.  In fact, almost all students pass through the university system without a problem.  For example, when a professor at Meiji University in 1991 failed many of his students for their lackluster performance, even after they had received job offers it was regarded as a scandal.  The university system consists of public schools as well as private schools.  When the system was first established, the Ministry of Education imposed several principles on the structure for the National Universities.  One such principle was that there was to be only one national university per prefecture and it was to draw students from its own prefecture.  Additionally, teachers were to be chosen from a group of people recommended by schools within the prefecture and schools that lacked funding from the prefecture were to become part of the National University Chain.  While this system appears to hold little weight today, it was important in establishing the competitive university system that exists in Japan today that ultimately leads to a strong hierarchy throughout the educational system (Blewett, 12-15).

     Japanese schools have consequently been shown to not only educate students in the ways of academia, but to also instill strong social values and awareness.  Students are, from a very young age, exposed to the driving mechanisms of the social harmony and vertical hierarchy that greatly characterize Japan.  While it may sound like nihonjinron theory, or the belief that Japanese people are unique, it is believed that there are even several differences between Japanese and American students.  For example, Americans tend to be more individualistic, while the Japanese are more group-oriented and the Japanese are allegedly more serious and respectful than American students (Haiducek, 77).  These claims do not seem outlandish when viewed with respect to Japan's relatively unique style of education.  The emphasis on social interactions may wane with the approach of examinations and university acceptances, but it is always there with the actual educational hierarchy itself serving as a representation of Japan's social structure to students.  Ultimately, the education system prepares Japanese students by mimicking the real world on smaller scales, whether it be through elementary han or individual floors for given grade levels.

Blewett, John E.  Higher Education in Postwar Japan.  Tokyo: Sophia University Press, 1965.

Haiducek, Nicholas.  Japanese Education, Made in the USA.  New York: Praeger Publishers, 1991.

Hendry, Joy.  Understanding Japanese Society.  London: Nissan Institute, 1987.

Goodman, Roger.  Japan’s ‘International Youth,’ The Emergence of a New Class of Schoolchildren.  Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990.

Rohlen, Thomas P.  Japan’s High Schools.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.

Sugimoto, Yoshio.  An Introduction to Japanese Society.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

White, Merry.  The Japanese Educational Challenge, A Commitment to Children.  New York: The Free Press, 1987.
 
 

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