Here are some interesting facts about Japanese schools

ü  Nearly all junior high schools require their students to wear a school uniform (seifuku).

ü  In public elementary and junior high schools school lunch (kyuushoku) is provided on a standardized menu, and is eaten in the classroom. That way, pupils and teachers get to forge better relationships while eating together.

ü  Students don’t skip classes in Japan, nor do they arrive late for school

ü  Students in Japan have a strong sense of belonging in school, they don’t feel like  outsiders, nor do they feel left out.

ü  Students in Japan actually feel happy in school (85 percent of them).

ü  Around 91 percent of Japanese students reported that they never, or only in some classes, ignored what the teacher lectured.

ü  Their teachers never, or only in some lessons, have to wait a long time before the students settle down.

ü  Students spend on average 235 minutes per week in regular math classes (average in other countries is 218), but they spend less time in language and science classes – 205 and 165 per week respectively (in other countries the average is 215 and 200 minutes per week respectively).

ü  A high percentage of Japanese students attend after-school workshops where they can learn more things than in their regular school classes, and some do these workshops at home or at another venue.

ü  Pre-primary education is of the utmost importance for Japan. Research shows that students who attended preschool education tend to perform better at the age of 15 than those who did not. Therefore, it’s not surprising that 99 percent of Japanese children attend some kind of pre-primary education.

ü  Japanese students almost never repeat their grades in primary, lower secondary or secondary school