Education in Japan
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. Throughout all levels, the academic year starts in April and ends in March, with two long holidays: summer and winter.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology | |
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Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology | Keiko Nagaoka |
National education budget | |
Budget | ¥5.4 trillion (4.1% of GDP) |
Per student | ¥2.2 million |
General details | |
Primary languages | Japanese |
System type | National, prefectural, local |
Literacy | |
Total | 94.97% |
Male | 95.97% |
Female | 95.97% |
Primary | 10.9 million |
Secondary | 3.98 million |
Post secondary | 3.97 million |
Attainment | |
Secondary diploma | 95.97% |
Post-secondary diploma | 61.95% |
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. 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. Japan's education system has been crucial to its post-1945 economic recovery and growth.
Spending on education as a proportion of GDP is 4.1 percent, which is below the OECD average of 5 percent. Although expenditure per student is comparatively high in Japan, total expenditure relative to GDP remains small. In 2020, the country ranked third for the percentage of 25-to-64-year-olds that have attained tertiary education with 52.7 percent. 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. 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. 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.