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 Japanese Perspective

Japanese Transition into the Role of the Worker
Angela O’Brien

The following information includes a general overview of the Japanese society, their views on education, the structure of the educational system, and information about Japanese companies in general.
 

 General Information About Japan
 

• Japan is a democratic society with the majority of its population living in urban areas.

• The main income of this region comes from industrial labor.

• The prime virtues of Japan include order & harmony.

• There is a strong emphasis on success and achievement.  These are encouraged for the better of the group one works with and in the school setting.

• The society looks down upon boasting of one’s own accomplishments.

• Labor is essential to personal growth.

     Education is viewed as key to personal and family success.  This affirms the idea that education equals status.  In addition to this, school is the main institution for teaching and enforcing all virtues and social beliefs ².
 Social and academic activities are done in groups the majority of the time.  The groups in the classroom are called hans, which translates as “platoons”.  These small groups operate with no hierarchy ².  The group work is done and mastered for the common good of the group, rather than for individual reward ³. This idea of a group setting in schools prepares children for the workplace because it teaches them how to cooperate with many different people ².

 There are 4 main areas on which the Japanese educational system is built upon:

• Preschool
• Mass compulsory & Elite Systems (1st through 8th grade)
• High school
• College

    Japanese preschools promote initiative in free play.  When children do behave aggressively, the teacher explains what the appropriate behavior is rather than reprimanding or punishing the inappropriate behavior.  These children also participate in short periods of controlled activities as well.  This way of running the preschool program teaches the children the basis for working in an industrial setting at a very young age.  These activities provide an atmosphere for learning appropriate behavior in group settings and promote children to be active in their education.  It also provides these future adolescents with a basis for interacting with others in a positive way, which is a necessity in the working force of Japanese society ². 

 Mass Compulsory & Elite Systems:

    These 2 systems cover grades 1-8.  Both systems have the same basic setup, however there are a few differences:
 

• Mass Compulsory-  Meant for the majority of children in the society.

• Elite-  Intended only for those who have been selected at a young age.  Idea of this track is to hand select those children that have the potential to be the business and government leaders of the future.

       * To clarify, all children, except those who have been chosen for the Elite system, enter the Mass Compulsory system.

        Both systems are predominantly based on hans, or group work.  During these years, children are treated as equals.  Each child has a full and equal opportunity at preparing themselves for the highest level of achievement they are capable of ².
 

 High School:

    High school is not required, nor is it free.  The child and his/her parent(s) choose where the child will attend.  The parent and child have several different choices because there are many high schools, which vary in level of achievement ².  These different choices include:
 

• College preparatory
• General/vocational
• Public
• Private

     In order to be accepted to any of these high schools an entrance exam must be taken and the individual must score well to be accepted.  Unlike American students, Japanese students have the most stressful and difficult time getting accepted to high school rather than graduating because students are ranked at the beginning of school entrance ².

FYI:  Only 5% of children do not attend high school in Japan.  Of those that do attend high school, 95% of them graduate ².
 
 

 College:

    According to the sources of this information, there is no mention of vocational training at the college level.  There seems to be academic colleges only, which vary in terms of status and prestige, as do colleges of the United States.

The Japanese Company

     The Japanese show pride in their company just as American high school and college-aged adolescents take pride in their schools.  All employees wear the company logo on clothing and pins, even sing and recite the company song and pledge.  All companies focus on the importance of the group.  Employees do not introduce themselves to others in terms of their position at the company; they simply state their role as an employee of the company ¹. 

     Not only do Japanese companies consider their employees as being members of one large group, these industries also draw the employees’ families into this group membership as well.    The Japanese support their employee’s families by presenting health care benefits, fair wages, recreational facilities and social groups to engage upon.  Many times larger companies will even provide facilities for the families of employees to live in, making the families pay little to no rent ¹.

• Main institution for socializing adolescents to become a worker is definitely the school.
• The culture’s entire value system is taught in school and modeled by industry.
• School system provides an equal opportunity for all to become educated to their full potential.
• There are several options for young adolescents as they become of high school age, however college strictly prepares one for a career in a professional position.

References

1.  Young, E.L.  (1982).  The society and its environment;  Griffin, J.  (1982).  Education and the arts.  In D.P. Whitaker          (Ed.),  Japan:  a country study  (pp. 53-140).  Washington, D.C.:  United States Government. 

2.  Benjamin, G.R.  (1997).  Japanese Lessons.  New York:  New York University Press. 

3.  Embree, J.F.  (1945).  The Japanese Nation.  New York:  Rinehart and Co., Inc.