The Japanese Education System
Japan has one of the highest standards of education and one of the highest literacy rates in the world. About 93% of children enter high school, and nearly all of them graduate. At over 40% in 2000, Japan also has one of the highest university enrolment rates in the developed world, and a huge number of state and private universities to serve the population.
Japan is facing a dramatically changing population structure; with a declining birth rate and increasing life expectancy, the population is aging at a phenomenal rate. One of the consequences of this is that there are no longer enough Japanese students to fill all the universities in Japan, meaning that universities will soon have to start searching abroad for foreign students and/or improve standards to compete in the domestic market for students. This means that it is getting easier and easier for foreign students to study in Japan.
The stages of the education system
The basic education system was modeled on a mixture of the British, French and US systems, with the latter influence perhaps being the largest. School consists of the following basic route:
- Kindergarten
- Elementary School (shogakkou)
- Lower Secondary School (chugakkou)
- Upper Secondary School (koukou; koutougakkou)
- University
There are many other options. A more detailed breakdown would be:
- Kindergarten
- Elementary School (shogakkou)
- Lower Secondary School (chugakkou)
Followed by any of the following, some of which can be followed on a part-time or correspondence basis:
- Upper Secondary School (koukou; koutougakkou)
- Colleges of technology
- Schools for the Blind
- Schools for the Deaf
- Schools for Other Disabled
- Specialized Training College
This is followed by Higher Education, which may be at any of the following (again, correspondence and part-time options are often available):
- Specialized training college (Nursing, Engineering, etc.)
- Junior college
- University
- Graduate school (Master's courses, Doctoral courses)
- Miscellaneous schools
The Education System in Japan (from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology homepage).
Foreigners in Japan can join the education system at any stage. See individual pages about each level for further details (navigate from left menu).
Language Education in Japan
Japan has a fair number of Japanese Language Schools, the greatest concentration being in Tokyo. The quality is greatly variable, although the student body of most is not: almost all foreign students in Japan are Chinese or Korean. Given the difficulty of learning Japanese for those brought up in other language environments, this is hardly surprising. However, an increasing number of foreigners from all over the world are showing interest in learning Japanese and attending Japanese universities. This is having a healthy effect on the Japanese language education system, leading to a slow increase in standards.
If you are interested in studying in a Japanese university, you will have to study in Japanese or English. Programs offered exclusively in English are limited, and most students do learn Japanese before entering university here. See the pages for Japanese Language Schools and Universities for further information.