The education system in Japan is highly centralized. Children 6 to 15 years old must attend school. No tuition fee is charged from students, however parents need to provide required materials like school uniform, math kits and calligraphy sets etc. There is no dearth of schools in Japan, schools are easily accessible and elementary schools are generally in the walking distance from kids’ homes. Kindergarten / pre primary education is also available.
Kindergarten education is not compulsory. After successful completion of elementary school students are promoted to Junior High School. The duration of Junior High School is three years. After completion of Junior High School students must choose a high school of choice. Students write high school entrance examination for admission.
Nearly all students after passing junior high school write High School Entrance Examination. Students may chose to study in a public, / private, or nationally funded high schools. Students also have choice to join an academic high school or non-academic high school. About 75% children attend academic high school. Those who do not secure admission into a public or private high school have choice to attend night school. Night classes are offered by some public schools in Japan. Correspondence courses and training schools are another options. Following is given a General School Enrolment Trend as it was in 1996.
School level | National/Public | Private | Percent Male |
Kindergartens | 377,522 | 1,474,661 | 50.8% |
Elementary schools | 8,515,262 | 67,609 | 51.2% |
Junior high schools | 4,449,760 | 231,406 | 51.2% |
High schools | 3,405,120 | 1,457,605 | 50.3% |
Special schools for handicapped students | 86,334 | 885 | 62.3% |
Junior colleges | 38,819 | 481,819 | 82.3% |
Universities | 661,398 | 1,820,407 | 68.7% |
SOURCE: Statistics Bureau
The elementary school education system in Japan is divided into three major categories-
- regular subjects, (b) moral education, and (c) special activities.
Nine regular subjects are taught at elementary level - Japanese, social studies, arithmetic, science, life and environmental studies, music, arts and handicrafts, homemaking, and physical education. Plenty of time is provided for music, arts, and physical recreation. Special activities play a vital role in the overall curriculum and of activities like clubs, school-wide festivals, or competitions, student associations, and other student-run activities. The official school year for elementary students lasts 35 weeks. Japanese children have not to attend school on the second and fourth Saturday of each month.
Junior High School Education starts after finish of 6 years elementary school. Student life in Japanese junior high schools is more regimented than in elementary schools and classes are divided by subjects. The grade divisions are the most salient and give students and teachers a strong sense of belonging to their homeroom class and grade.
Higher School Education in Japan is not compulsory and not subsidized. Though, to make higher school education more affordable, prefectures and municipalities runs publicly supported high schools. Japanese public and private high schools are 3-year institutions. In addition, there are also "night schools," correspondence courses, and nationally funded 5-year high schools, but these constitute a relatively small percentage (less than 5 percent) of overall enrollment. Although there is no restriction on vocational school graduates applying to college, few make the attempt. Vocational courses do not offer the rigorous preparation necessary for the college entrance exam.
Following is given a percentage of students enrolled in Juku by grade level.
| Grade Level | Advancement juku | Enrichment juku | ||
| 1985 | 1993 | 1985 | 1993 |
| Elementary | ||||
| 1 | 6.2% | 12.1 | 60.1% | 70.1 |
| 2 | 10.1 | 14.1 | 69.1 | 79.4 |
| 3 | 12.9 | 17.5 | 76.8 | 81.2 |
| 4 | 15.4 | 23.6 | 78.0 | 82.5 |
| 5 | 21.1 | 31.1 | 73.9 | 77.5 |
| 6 | 29.6 | 41.7 | 65.7 | 70.6 |
| Junior High School | ||||
| 1 | 41.8 | 52.5 | 35.7 | 36.7 |
| 2 | 44.5 | 59.1 | 26.4 | 29.3 |
| 3 | 47.3 | 67.1 | 19.6 | 18.8 |
| High School | ||||
| 1 | 17.3a | 32.2b | ||
| 2 | 28.6a | 43.3b | ||
| 3 | 42.4 a | 40.9b | ||
SOURCE : All figures from Monbusho, 1996, except (a) Kawai Juku, 1994 and (b) Tokai Ginko,1995, p.9
Japan joined UNESCO on July 12, 1951. The UNESCO Office in Beijing, China covers it. In 1989, the Japanese government for a fund called the “Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Preservation of World Cultural Heritage” entrusted UNESCO. Japan holds two UNESCO Chairs and has one UNEVOC center. UNESCO Institute for Statistics has prepared Statistical analysis on Education and Literacy Scenario in Japan.