Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Keiko Nagaoka
National education budget
Budget
¥5.4 trillion (4.1% of GDP)[2][3]
Per student
¥2.2 million[1]
General details
Primary languages
Japanese
System type
National, prefectural, local
Literacy
Total
94.97%[4]
Male
95.97%[4]
Female
95.97%[4]
Primary
10.9 million[5]
Secondary
3.98 million[5]
Post secondary
3.97 million[5]
Attainment
Secondary diploma
95.97%[7]
Post-secondary diploma
61.95%[6]
Education in Japan is managed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan. Education is compulsory at the elementary and lower secondary levels.[8] Throughout all levels, the academic year starts in April and ends in March, with two long holidays: summer and winter.
Japanese students consistently rank highly among OECD students in terms of quality and performance in reading, mathematics, and sciences. Japan is one of the top-performing OECD countries in reading literacy, mathematics and sciences on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests with the average student scoring 520, compared with the OECD average of 488, placing it eighth in the world in the 2018 ranking.[9][10][11] The contemporary Japanese population is highly educated, steeped in a traditional cultural ethos influenced by Confucian values. Education is valued in Japanese culture and society for improving socioeconomic standing and securing employment in the nation's technologically driven economy. Japan's educated and skilled individuals have contributed to the country's economic transformation after the Second World War. Graduates in sciences and engineering in Japan benefit from their knowledge and skills in the country's technology-oriented economy.[12] Japan's education system has been crucial to its post-1945 economic recovery and growth.[13]
Spending on education as a proportion of GDP is 4.1 percent, which is below the OECD average of 5 percent.[2] Although expenditure per student is comparatively high in Japan, total expenditure relative to GDP remains small.[12] In 2020, the country ranked third for the percentage of 25-to-64-year-olds that have attained tertiary education with 52.7 percent.[6] In 2023, approximately 65% of Japanese aged 25 to 34 have achieved some form of tertiary educational qualification, with bachelor's degrees are held by 34.2% of the Japanese populace aged 25 to 64, the second most in the OECD after South Korea.[6] Japanese females are more highly educated compared to their male counterparts as 59 percent of Japanese women possess a university degree, compared to 52 percent of Japanese men.[14] As the Japanese economy is largely scientifically and technologically based, its labor market demands people who have achieved some form of higher education, particularly related to science and engineering in order to gain a competitive edge when searching for employment opportunities. According to MEXT, 80.6% of 18-year-olds pursue higher education, with 52.6% attending a university, 4.7% a junior college, 0.9% a college of technology, and 22.4% enrolling in a correspondence school, the Open University of Japan, or a specialized training college.[15]
^"Education spending". OECD.
^ ab"Japan" (PDF). OECD. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
^"Education and science expenditures of the government's general account in Japan from fiscal year 2012 to 2021". Statista Research Department.
^ abc"Literacy and Language Classes in Community Centers". UNESCO. July 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
^ abc"Education In Japan". World Education News and Reviews. 1 May 2005. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
^ abc"Japan". OECD. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
^"High school graduation rates, by OECD country: 2014" (PDF). National Science Foundation. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
^"Foreign Press Club of Japan Fact Book". Fpcj.jp. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
^"Key Features of OECD Programme for International Student Assessment 2018 (PISA 2018)" (PDF). National Institute for Educational Policy Research. p. 2. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
^"PISA – Results in Focus - Japan" (PDF). OECD. 2018. p. 1. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
^ ab"Japan" (PDF). OECD. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
^Yamaguchi, Ana Mami; Tsukahara, Shuichi (March 2016). "Quality assurance and evaluation system in japanese higher education". Avaliação: Revista da Avaliação da Educação Superior (Campinas). 21 (1): 71–87. doi:10.1590/S1414-40772016000100004.
^"Womenomics, Will women help solve Japan's economic problems?" (PDF). Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. 2019. p. 4. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
^"Overview of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology" (PDF). MEXT. p. 29. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
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