Interesting Facts about Japanese School System
Did you know that, according to the newest study, children from Japan lead the world in numeracy and literacy skills? So, what makes the approach of Japanese school system so unique and different from the rest of the world, and more importantly, what can we learn from it?
How fast can you multiply 21 times 13? One minute, probably. And, what about 123 times 321? More than one, for sure. Well, Japanese children do it in no time, with a help of several lines. Any kid can do that, even a five year old. They don’t learn numbers by heart. Instead, they draw and play.
You wonder how can it be?
This is because teaching in this country is about the quality of lessons, not quantity.

Check out this short video, and see it for yourself.
Here’s an example of a regular math class in Japan:
The class starts with the customary aisatsu (greetings) to the teacher and is followed by his question if students know how to solve a problem he had previously put up on the board. That day his class is supposed to learn how to solve equations with multiple fractions and he instructs his fifth-graders how to approach these math problems.
The first student to finish shots a hand up. The teacher walks over, glances at the problem and circles it to signal it was correct. The student then gets up and away from his seat. Another hand shots up. But, this time the first student takes the role of the teacher, or the corrector.

Math is also a type of a language, so why wouldn’t we approach it as if we were learning English, Japanese or social studies?
The Japanese say that if you teach what you learn, you will remember about 90 percent. If teachers stand at the board and just lecture, through mere listening, the students will retain far less — say, 40 percent — so it’s far more effective to have them discussing problems and teaching each other. Also, it’s important to have very little downtime or rest time and to constantly keep them motivated.

Let’s go into Language.
Children all around the world usually learn between 26-33 letters (not taking into account certain Asian languages which have a rather pictographic approach). Do you know how many characters Japanese children need to know in order to read and write? More than 26, that’s for sure.
Japanese parents know how difficult it can be to help their children learn all the characters and use them in spoken and written communication. However, because of high quality approach to teaching, by the time they leave primary school, Japanese children will have already known 1,006 kanji characters. At the age of 15, when they end their compulsory education, they will know additional 1,130.
In addition to kanji, Japanese have two sets of phonetic scripts, hiragana and katakana. Each set has 46 characters which behave as syllables (usually including a consonant and a vowel, like “ka”). Combined with specific dots used for marking changes of the original sounds, these characters are enough to express all the sounds of modern Japanese. Hiragana is used together with kanji to write ordinary Japanese words. Katakana is used to write words introduced from other languages, names of foreign people and places, sounds, and animal cries. Sounds complicated? Not for a Japanese person.

What makes Japanese school system so unique?
Japanese state education system is a national pride in this country, with a traditional approach that has helped Japanese pupils easily outperform their counterparts all around the world. PISA tests further prove this.
Japanese school system consists of:
- 6 years of elementary school,
- 3 years of junior high school,
- 3 years of senior high school and
- 4 years of University.
*The gimukyoiku (compulsory education) period is 9 years: 6 in shougakkou (elementary school) and 3 in chuugakkou (junior high school).
Due to the fact that their educational system is so good, Japan has one of the world’s best-educated populations (with 100% enrollment in compulsory grades and zero illiteracy). Even though high school (koukou) is not compulsory, high school enrollment is still pretty high: over 96% nationwide and nearly 100% in the cities.

How Do Japanese Schools Operate?
Most schools operate on a three-term system with new school years starting every April. Except for the lower grades of elementary school, an average school day on weekdays lasts for 6 hours, making it one of the longest school days in the world. Even after the school ends, children still have drills and other homework to keep them busy. Vacations are 6 weeks long during summer break and about 2 weeks long during both in winter and spring breaks. There is often homework during these vacations.
Every class has its own classroom where students take all the courses, except for practical trainings and laboratory work. During elementary education, in most cases, one teacher teaches all of the subjects in each class. The number of students in one class is usually under 40. However, in the past, because of the rapid population growth, this number was lot higher, exceeding 50 students per class.

What Do Children Learn in Japanese Schools?
The subjects they study include Japanese, mathematics, science, social studies, music, crafts, physical education, and home economics (to learn simple cooking and sewing skills). An increasing number of elementary schools have started teaching English as well. Information technology has been used to further enhance education, and most schools have internet access.
Students also learn traditional Japanese arts like shodo (calligraphy) and haiku. Shodo involves dipping a brush in ink and using it to write kanji (characters that are used in several East Asian countries and have their own meanings) and kana (phonetic characters derived from kanji) in an artistic style.
Haiku, on the other hand, is a form of poetry developed in Japan about 400 years ago that has 17 syllables verse form, consisting of three metrical units of five, seven, and five syllables. It uses simple expressions to convey deep emotions to readers.

Here are some interesting facts about Japanese schools:
- Nearly all junior high schools require their students to wear a school uniform (seifuku).
- In public elementary and junior high schools school lunch (kyuushoku) is provided on a standardized menu, and is eaten in the classroom. That way, pupils and teachers get to forge better relationships while eating together.
- Students don’t skip classes in Japan, nor do they arrive late for school
- Students in Japan have a strong sense of belonging in school, they don’t feel like outsiders, nor do they feel left out.
- Students in Japan actually feel happy in school (85 percent of them).
- Around 91 percent of Japanese students reported that they never, or only in some classes, ignored what the teacher lectured.
- Their teachers never, or only in some lessons, have to wait a long time before the students settle down.
- Students spend on average 235 minutes per week in regular math classes (average in other countries is 218), but they spend less time in language and science classes – 205 and 165 per week respectively (in other countries the average is 215 and 200 minutes per week respectively).
- A high percentage of Japanese students attend after-school workshops where they can learn more things than in their regular school classes, and some do these workshops at home or at another venue.
- Pre-primary education is of the utmost importance for Japan. Research shows that students who attended preschool education tend to perform better at the age of 15 than those who did not. Therefore, it’s not surprising that 99 percent of Japanese children attend some kind of pre-primary education.
- Japanese students almost never repeat their grades in primary, lower secondary or secondary school

For more information on Japanese school system, read PISA (Program for International Student Assesment) findings.
Did you know much about Japanese school system? Do you find their approach interesting and what do you think we can learn from them?
I’ve taught in the Japanese school system for many years and I can tell you that much of the information here is just simply wrong- a romantic vision of the other- I presume.
What did you teach, and why was it wrong. It seems something is being done correctly or they would not be getting such high scores on tests.
Almost nothing in this article is correct. I live, teach and work in Japan and am an education researcher – I think this was perhaps written with someone from the government leaning in. Much of it is so far from being true. Idealistic perhaps
Hey Nate
I want to know the reality of Japanese school. If you’re interested in telling me then msg me on raviprakash2162000@gmail.com
So, what is it REALLY like?
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Hello George,
Since you have experience teaching in Japan, would you mind to share your experience too? The Challenges you face and is it any system is ok for you. I would like to know it too. Hope you may reply soon. Thank you for sharing.
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Having lived in Japan 25 years (and my husband for 50 years), everything above is very idealistic. We have a small, international school (not recognized by the government), in which we use a bilingual education, preschool through high school. We have had MORE students than I can count that had not been attending school for up to 2 years straight, elementary and junior high school. When they began attending our school (much more relaxed, non-stressful environment with no bullying), they transformed and progressed well in their studies, attending regularly. Many parents complain about the Japanese education system (stressful), with no time to meet individual student’s needs, and the children often experience much bullying and teasing. Some foreign, some Japanese, but we had two attend who had considered suicide previously (at age 9 and 13).
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This most of this is correct. I have went to Japan and attended school there.
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I believe that this is wrong. I’ve been to Japan for 38 years and all of this is idealistic
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[…] puts a premium on collaboration, personalisation and peer-to-peer learning in its school system. And the biggest economy in the region, China, has recently announced a […]
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The Japan education system is worth to copy from as it sounds child friendly
I am shocked at how bad the Japanese system is, this tells you reality is different from propaganda
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[…] Having said that, we may consider Japan. They ranked 6th in the overall PISA result table. They have homework every day, including school holidays, something that the Estonian students would hate and if it were to be made a general rule, all hell would be set loose. There would be no end to complaining, probably parents’ board will start a process to cancel the project etc etc etc. Yet, the Japanese have long schooldays, they go home and continue with homework and as I said, they work even during holidays. How does it make them feel? Well, let me quote a couple of points from https://novakdjokovicfoundation.org/interesting-facts-about-japanese-school-system/ […]
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[…] From what I’ve been able to find online, this system has changed and is now referred to as 6-3-3-4: 6 years of elementary school, 3 years of junior high school, 3 years of senior high school, and 4 […]
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Thanks for taking the time to share this post, I feel strongly concerning it and love reading additional on this topic.
http://diceview.com/farang-and-thai-bar-girls-in-pattaya/
I m rohma from india….m an educator here..i wannu know more n accurate about japanese pattern of education…can u give more detail of it
Thanx
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This is all correct
This simply seems to good to be true. Sorry, I really want to believe this, but it’s just to much.
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this is a very idealistic view of Japanese education. Having lived and worked here for 8 years and taught hundreds of Japanese students as well as obsevered many a Japanese teacher, I can tell you that almost all of the information is just want Japanese people want people outside of Japan to believe about their education. It is very, very far from the reality here. For example, “very few students repeat a year”. That’s true, but not because students actually pass their tests, just because they believe that everyone of the same age should be in the same class. I’ve had students tell me that even with a grade of 10% in a subject ( maths by the way), they were able to go onto the next year. Education in Japan is a mess And a complete farce from Junior high school on, producing students with almost no skills in anything.
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This article is almost correct. Every country’s education system has both good and bad aspects. I don’t wish to say Japanese system is best. BUT, the contents of this article is correct NEVER from government side. You will understand if you come to Japan and investigate the real system.
“Japanese students almost never repeat their grades in primary, lower secondary or secondary school”
As a teacher in Japan and father of a child in junior high there, I can clearly say that repeating is sometimes necessary, so to push them on is a mistake. Don’t think that just because they didn’t repeat, that they were justified.
re: “Children all around the world usually learn between 26-33 letters (not taking into account certain Asian languages which have a rather pictographic approach).”
So what? There are uppercase and lowercase forms of each, making 52-66 individual letters.
And just making the letters doesn’t say it all. The spelling rules in English, for example, are atrocious!
re: “Do you know how many characters Japanese children need to know in order to read and write? More than 26, that’s for sure.”
Yes, I DO know. You mentioned the 46 each for hiragana and katakana. Those are easily learned in a week or 2. The kanji are much more numerous and complex. Students have to finish high school knowing about 2,000 of them. Stroke order to draw them is also important, and there are rules but not the best, as you can see by watching (as I do) the game shows on TV where they fool adults who don’t know how to draw them properly.
Don’t let those science and math scores fool you, either. Lots of Japanese schools are complaining how poorly the students are doing, and their biggest problem is in doing story problems. In other words, they may have memorized some facts and rules, but they can’t apply them.
re: “A high percentage of Japanese students attend after-school workshops where they can learn more things than in their regular school classes, and some do these workshops at home or at another venue.”
TRUE! But that means they spend many hours away from home to do that, even into the wee hours of the evening or on weekends. The question that should be asked is why. My kid has done it since elementary school. Not only is it expensive, but it means conforming to the cram school schedule so we can chauffeur him to & from the place. The “why” is important, but in my kid’s case, it’s because we live in a relatively small town where the normal education is not up to my kid’s level. In the case of other kids, they NEED the extra training because parents want them to have a chance at passing college entrance exams. It’s a horrible rat race before the kids even get started in jobs.
re: “Around 91 percent of Japanese students reported that they never, or only in some classes, ignored what the teacher lectured.”
Probably true. Now, does that say anything about how many raised their hands with a question? No. They have them, you know. And, what happens when they get to college? They sit passively or sleep in class a lot, get information unidirectionally, and never develop skills to communicate, think critically, or voice their own opinions. Getting INTO college is hard. Getting OUT is easy (for most). But it doesn’t necessarily produce the best.
Hello. We are an Iranian mother and daughter who are very interested in Japan’s education and training system. I am 34 years and my daughter is 3 years old. We would like to ask you, if necessary, to provide a useful program for the development of your child’s talent. Because we are disgusted with laziness, but unfortunately, we do not have a plan to get better. Thanks if you guide us. My email is mkashani24@yahoo.com.
Many thanks
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I’ve been living in Japan for over 31 years now and both my kids were born and raised here. They’re in this school system that is being presented here. Firstly it paints a very rosy, one-sided picture of what the actual reality is and secondly the chances of benefitting from ANY education these days is dwindling rapidly as Japan (like the rest of the world) replaces more and more people with robots and machines. Even major corporations are hiring less, and many of the highly educated end up in menial part-time jobs anyway! The teachers in Japan can be some of the most abusive and dictatorial you’ll ever find anywhere. This is an extreme example, but it exemplifies the ‘conform or else!!’ mindset that is rife here….A high school girl was approximately one second late for school! The teacher in charge of shutting the school gate saw her sprinting toward him but he was determined to slam the gate exactly on time. He did! He slammed in on her head as she ran to make it in; killing her. My son’s high school athletics teacher is cut from the same mold as the gate slammer…more like a Yakuza thug than a teacher. He’s mean, nasty and very dodgy! The money he charges parents to support his department is insane. The general consensus here in Japan is that real education is obtained in Juku, not in the state run indoctrination centers they call schools.
Yep, pure rubbish. After ten years of working in Japan in the educational sector I cannot think of any other system (I’ve worked in 4 separate ones) that does NOTHING to encourage creativity, nor think outside of the box. Discipline and order are the desired norm. Doing what you are TOLD is everything.
Let’s not even broach the subject of English proficiency scores for developed countries lest we also look at the University stats too….
In short, Japanese education is the epitome of conservatism- fearful of any change whatsoever and damn well xenophobic to foreign language education to boot.
We offer books to children to teach them a healthy lifestyle. We do seminars and workshop here also! Just visit our website http://www.academyforhealthsuperheroes.com
As you said quality is more important than quantity and manners which are learned by japenese students are the core process of there development. . . famous qoutation of japan is that “if one can do you too can do. if none can do you must do”
I think that this qoute describes how japan survived 2 Atom blast. peace
I am greatful to have find your page about primary schooling. Thanks for sharing such a good article on the Internet. I did got good knowledge from here. Kingsoak Kingston primary school is the best where my child also goes for study. They are specialist in this services. Thank you.
facts more facts please with a cherry on top
Hey Nate,
If this information is not correct then tell me the truth of Japanese school system. If u r interested then text me.
I appreciate what you said , Hamza farooq.
Everything has its good and bad aspects. Having bad aspects doesn’t mean we keep criticizing it. We should also consider its good points. One more thing is that we can’t know the real deal unless we go and check it by ourselves.
whatever they say, Japanese schools are the most disciplined and well mannered ones….i am an American..but i studied in japan for some years…..then went back to America..I could totally see the difference. All the students were spoiled brats. They were spoon fed for everything. Atleast Japanese kids are independent.
I am Japanese, but I don’t think the Japanese education system is superior.
1. Compulsory education that teaches unnecessary things (where is the use of the Japanese legal system of a thousand years ago?)
2 Education that takes a long time
3The cost of teaching materials is high. (Why do they need to buy karate uniforms?).
4School work such as club activities, committees, etc.
5Class events such as athletic meets, cultural festivals, etc. Familiarity is a distant cousin to bullying.
The bad parts are also very common.
Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
If this article is so wrong, then why is Japan making our students look like imbeciles?
Nate can you please assist me. What is actually happening in education system in Japan.
I really want to know the ground reality of the Japanese Education system. Can u please mail me on sanemohit1991@gmail.com ?
Recomendo: https://skdesu.com/escolas-japonesas-curiosidades-inveja/
Thank you for this useful link.
In japan schools, is there no letter grades, and the emphasis is on social skills, as to respect, and interaction with each other?
As always, I read your article as soon as, it’s very helpful thanks for sharing.
I wish to some day study in Japan and to also teach in an elementary school. Japan has a very good educational system.
Dear Joel
We are glad our article contributes to your dream. We hope your wish will come true! 🙂
The most important advantage of a good after school program is that it widens your child’s area of interests. He or she is introduced to new things, sometimes interesting, sometimes challenging. Mastering a new art form or a new skill increases the child’s self-esteem. It also allows you to introduce your child to new career options. A child attending a music class may decide that she likes it so much that she wants to make a career out of it in the long run.
Dear Alfred,
We couldn’t agree more! 🙂
I would like to have more information about Japanese teaching mathematics in
foundation Phase learners.
1.What are the objectives of the Foundation phase Curriculum?
2.Mathematics knowledge intended for foundation phase learners.
3.How is the mathematics knowledge sequenced? What are your views on the sequencing of mathematics
knowledge?
4.How long does each topic stay in the curriculum?
5. What is foundation phase learner performance in the last 5 years?
How long does each numeracy topic stay in the curriculum in Japan?
What are the objectives of kindergarten curriculum in Japan?
What is the performance of kindergarten in recent 5 years in Japan?
I really want to know the reality of the Japanese Education system. Can u please mail me on nainajain09@gmail.com
hello,
I really want to know the correct Educational system of Japan. Becouse from what read on massages some mention the write up is in correct /true
i want to know in details the reality about the educationnal system of japan
i need information !
msg me on :
itoukanrin@gmail.com
Can you send me more information about the education system in Japan?
Great! It’s amazing information! find the best GATE coaching to clear your exam in 2020.
Rejection and acceptance are part and partial of life. One must learn to deal with both the situation in an effective way. After going through these facts made my day. Every country has its own culture in the educational system. It shows the mental strength of the Japanese students and how courageous they are to accept the rejection lightly.
Great work!
Thank you for sharing information!
Good!
I want to know more about Japanese education system.. please help me
I am also curious with what’s the real score in Japanese educational system..
I’m impressed, I must say. Rarely do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and interesting,
Good, Thank you for sharing such an interesting post with us. For the next generation of children, early childhood education is critical. This is something that all parents should be aware of. Thanks and God Bless!!
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