Growing Up and Going to School in Japan Traditions and Trends

50% of Japanese 14 year olds attend "juku" (cram schools); and over 90% undergo "juken jijoku" ("examination hell") striving to succeed in senior school entrance exams. The result is statistics which are the envy of the world; a 99% level of literacy and the consistent ability of her school students to out-perform the pupils of other nations. Consequently educationalists in Britian and America have increasingly looked to Japan to discover why over 90% of her young people stay in education until the age of 18 and spend more time at their studies than their British and American counterparts.;Cyril Simmons explores the reasons for Japanese educational successes. It is no accident that Confucianism, the philosophy and religion that has influenced the Japanese for centuries, emphasizes respect for learning as well as an ordered and harmonious society. However the Japanese are currently debating far-reaching educational reforms, and ironically, are criticizing the very characteristics of uniformity, conformity and an emphasis on examinations.