The purpose of this commentary is to: illustrate the challenges that Japanese advertising education faces; find the possible causes for the difficulties faced; and consider potential solutions to overcome the challenges and prepare students for a fast-paced global workforce.

Aka (2019) conducted an year-long large-scale study demonstrating that Japanese high school students who undertook extensive reading performed better than a control group who undertook grammatical instruction. Those showing the greatest gains were those of lower and intermediate proficiency. The students' achievement was measured in terms of…

In this essay, a high school senior reflects on her educational experience as a journey beginning with her difficult decision to stay at Francis W. Parker School for high school and ending with her current search for a college where she can continue to explore the nature of education. Her narrative focuses on her experience in an elective course…

This article examines the Japanese response in terms of innovation capacity and entrepreneurship enhancement under the ever-changing economic environment. Particular focus would go to the interactions among government, industry and universities in the national innovation system at a macro level, and entrepreneurship education at the institutional…

Masaki Oda is a Professor of Applied Linguistics at Tamagawa University in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in Sociopolitical Aspects of Language Use. Prof. Oda got his PhD program from Georgetown University, where he also taught Japanese for several years. He returned to Japan in 1990 and began teaching EFL and training EFL teachers at Tamagawa…

The purpose of this dialogue was to begin grappling with notions of neutrality and academic development in three non-western contexts: (1) Jamaica; (2) Ethiopia; and (3) Japan. The authors were asked to describe the political geography of academic development in their countries and to explore questions of neutrality. This dialogue therefore tries…

The Japanese government provided various political opportunities for non-governmental groups and individuals in Japan to "jointly propose" policy on education and sustainable development at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, 2002. These opportunities resulted in the emergence of the Japanese education for…

This article, written as a memo to the author's friend in response to an earlier conversation, compares the American education system with that of Japan. First, the author examines cultural differences between Japan and America as a lens through which to look at these two countries. Then, Japanese and American schooling are compared in terms of…

This paper explores the notions of globalization as embodied in Japanese educational reforms during the 1980s and 1990s. Modern institutional discourses of educational reform in Japan have shifted over time and all of these reform movements have been constructed by particular social and historical trajectories. Generally speaking, it has been…

Research about identity has undergone a discursive turn in recent years, with a shift from conceptualising identity as an essentialistic, pre-existing construct that drives social interaction, to a more fluid and hybrid construct that is constituted through discourse. As a result, a number of recent studies investigating the construction of…

Presents the need for a new mindset and for worker creativity and flexibility in the contemporary workplace; describes benefits of and barriers to creative education in schools, colleges, and workplaces. Suggests ways to unleash and empower the creativity of the work force. (SK)

A two-year study of creativity in Japanese companies concluded that human resource development policy and education/training can influence corporate creativity through promotion of information movement and selective acquisition of diverse stimuli. (Reactions to Stern's study by Torrance and Johnson are included.) (SK)

Reindustrialization problems in the United States (U.S.) include unemployment, low productivity, inflation, and inadequate economic growth. To determine how to improve economic performance, a careful, rational evaluation must be made of such factors as tax policy, spirit of risk, managerial effectiveness, rates of innovation, research and…

This paper seeks to answer the following questions: What is educational planning? In what way can educational development contribute to the socioeconomic development of society? How can a plan be effectively implemented? What are the major characteristics of educational development in Japan as compared to that in other countries? The discussion of…

The Japanese capacity for long-range planning, efficient product design, and the development of loyal and productive workers should be pursued by American recreationists in their attempt to influence urban recreation in the coming decade. Methods to achieve this include: (1) adopting corporate strategies, (2) using volunteers in leadership roles,…