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Interesting Facts about Japanese School System

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.

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.

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).

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 training 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.

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.