Education in Japan

The Japanese school system is considered a very important part of life in Japan. Teachers make good salaries and are well respected by their students who come to them to learn. A Japanese student's education usually begins with either kindergarten or day care. This is followed by primary school for 6 years, secondary school for 6 years, and university for 4 years.

Most schools in Japan are public schools, the relatively few private ones are usually international schools. While public schools are funded by the Japanese government, students or their parents still have to purchase their uniforms, their text books, and in part, their school lunches. There is also a small tuition that must be paid each year after the first 3 years of secondary school.

More emphasis nowadays is being placed on virtues such as creativity, critical thinking, and internationalism than was previously the case in the Japanese public school system curriculum. There is even an officially approved curriculum designed for the pre schools in Japan The number of universities in Japan is more than 500, not counting other higher educational facilities such as colleges, vocational schools, other institutes, etc. Universities in Japan are very competitive, so there is a lot of competition to get into the best ones.