Discusses the background and salient characteristics of Japan's educational reform movement. Until recently, Japan's formal education system was uniform, centrally controlled, and geared to developing character and cultural sensitivity. To counter uniformity, inflexibility, and an overly competitive examination system, schools are moving toward…

Sets forth the essential characteristics of Japan's approach to education, including the content, structure, and objectives of public schools; teaching conditions, teaching methods, and the characteristics of teachers; the role of parents; the role of supplemental private education; and the cultural factos that underlie the system's…