The Japanese Education System
Japan has one of the highest standards of education and one of the highest literacy rates in the world. About
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
- 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