Japan Education

Education in Japan is centralized under the ministry of education. Its school system operates under the Fundamental Law of Education of 1947 and subsequent legislation and enables all students to compete for admission to institutions of higher education. One of the continuing problems facing Japanese educators is the teaching of the complex Japanese language, which uses several scripts.

Elementary and Secondary Schools
Education is free and compulsory for nine years—that is, six of elementary school and three of junior high school. Beyond the junior high school level, education is optional, and a small tuition fee is charged, even in public senior high schools and public institutions of higher learning. In the late 1980s Japan had about 24,850 primary schools annually attended by some 9.6 million students and about 16,780 secondary schools with about 11.3 million students. Elementary school teachers numbered about 445,000, and there were some 570,000 secondary school teachers. Technical, commercial, and vocational schools are also maintained, as are schools for the physically disabled.

Universities and Colleges
Japan has about 60 national (formerly called imperial) universities and many private universities. Among the biggest national universities are Chiba University (1949); Hiroshima University (1949); Hokkaido University (1876) at Sapporo; Kobe University (1949); Kyoto University (1897); Kyushu University (1911) at Fukuoka; Nagoya University (1939); Okayama University (1949); Osaka University (1931); Tohoku University (1907) at Sendai; the University of Tokyo (1877); and the University of Tsukuba (1973). Major private institutions include Hosei University (1880), Nihon University (1889), and Waseda University (1882), in Tokyo; Dushisha University (1875) in Kyoto; Fukuoka University (1934); and Kansai University (1886) in Osaka. In the late 1980s, institutions of higher education in Japan had a combined yearly enrollment of nearly 2.6 million students.

Culture
Japanese culture derives from the early contacts of the islands with the early civilizations of China and Korea. Classic influences of ancient China are found in Japanese literature, art, and music. Religion, especially Buddhism, has played an important role in the cultural life of Japan. Western influences, which began in earnest during the 19th century, exist side by side and often intermingle with the traditions and stylized forms of Japanese culture. See JAPANESE ART AND ARCHITECTURE; JAPANESE DRAMA; JAPANESE LANGUAGE; JAPANESE LITERATURE; JAPANESE MUSIC.

Libraries
Tokyo outranks all other Japanese cities in the number of its important libraries. Among the most important are the National Diet Library, an international book exchange and information center of Japan. It has seven departments, and its combined collection exceeds 9.4 million volumes. The Cabinet Library in Tokyo contains about 549,000 volumes. Among the important university collections in Tokyo are those at the University of Tokyo Library with more than 6 million volumes, Meiji University Library with about 1.1 million volumes, and Nihon University Library with some 4.2 million volumes. Major collections are also housed in the libraries of the provinces. The Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library contains more than 838,000 volumes, and Kobe City Library has more than 240,000 volumes. Important university libraries are located throughout the country.

Museums
The museums of Japan, with the exception of several modern galleries in the large cities, represent treasure halls and are usually found in temples and shrines. Among the most famous of these is the Myohoin Temple in Kyoto. Tokyo contains several important museums and art galleries. The largest art museum in Japan is the Tokyo National Museum. Major specialized collections in Tokyo are in the Calligraphy Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, the Meiji Shrine Treasure Museum, and the Japanese Folk Art Museum. Important museum collections are found in virtually every major city.