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Ijime (school bullying)

THE ‘CRISIS’ OF CONTEMPORARY

JAPANESE EDUCATION

“THE ‘REVIVAL’ OF EDUCATION IS A TOP PRIORITY” - PRIME MINISTER SHINZO ABE

People say Japan’s education system is in a crisis with problems ranging from drop-outs, bullying, violence, to the extreme of teenage suicides. Yet Japan is recognized as one of the best education systems in the world. So is

Japan’s education system really in crisis? Is the solution really ‘revival’ of education?

Japan has long been considered one of the top education systems in the world. In 2009, Japan ranked eighth among the 74 countries assessed by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in reading, mathematics, and science (Pearson Foundation, 2013). In the OECD 2010 report, Japan’s education system is praised for its first-rate teaching force, superb family support for Japanese students at home, the way resources are

focused on instruction, and the strong incentives provided for students to take tough courses and study hard in school. Many scholars have also praised Japanese schools for their child-centerdness as w e l l a s w h o l e p e r s o n orientation supporting the balanced development of the m i n d , b o d y, a n d s o u l (Tsuneyoshi, 2004). Yet just recently, in December 2012, an Osaka high school basketball player committed suicide after being

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physically abused by his coach (Hoffman, 2013). In 2 0 1 0 , a l m o s t 1 2 0 , 0 0 0 elementary and junior high school students were absent from school, primarily due to ijime (Hoffman, 2012). School violence, bullying, teenage suicides, eating disorders, j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n c y, h i k i k o m o r i ( c o m p l e t e withdrawal from society), and NEET (Not in education, employment, or training) are all common phenomenona of Japanese society today. And none of this is new. Similar to t h e i n c i d e n t d e s c r i b e d above, in May 1985, a 16 year-old high school boy from Gifu Prefecture was beaten to

death by his teacher on a school trip (Hoffman, 2013). In r e a l i t y, a m u l t i t u d e o f problems lie beneath the polite and considerate surface of Japanese life.

The growth of ijime is particularly upsetting for a society that prizes order and harmony because it represents group behavior gone out of control. In February 2013, a set of education reform proposals were submitted to Pr ime Minister Abe, cal l ing for schools to enforce suspension of bullies to protect victims, enhance moral education, and set up third-party panels to respond to reports of bullying. (“More suspension”, 2013). Yet

Furītā vs. NEETFurītā (young employed

part-time in series of short-term noncorporate jobs)NEET (not in education, employment, or training)

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it can be said that it is control, or the excessiveness of it that has caused such major problems. As the U.S. Department of State (1987) mentions, the rigidity and u n i f o r m i t y o f J a p a n ’s education system prevents sound character formation, i n c re a s e s p re s s u re o n children, and creates stress on the family, school, and community. With only two of its institutions appearing in the top 100 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013 (World University Rankings, 2013) and Japan’s ranking on the PISA declining over the years (Benesse Corporation, 2008),

Japan’s quality of education seems to be falling behind. According to the Daily Yomiuri, “the situation has been made worse by years of a more relaxed yutori e d u c a t i o n p o l i c y t h a t contributed to such a drop in performance that two out of every three universities are now forced to provide supplementary lessons and other measures to first-year students who lack basic academic skills” (as cited in Burgess et al., 2010). The dramatic drop in scholastic performance has prompted a heated crisis debate in Japan over the 2002 yutor i education reforms to the national

Hikikomori (acute social withdrawal)

Hikikomori often start out as school refusals or students who refuse to attend school due to emotional distress, known as futōkō.

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PISA reading test scores caused shock in 2003 as they dropped from 522 to 498

curriculum. At that time, schools were accused of being ‘pressure cookers’, and ochikobore, or children who could not keep up with classes were sensationalized as a major problem in the media. As concerns rose that children were spending too much of their time studying for university entrance exams, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) adopted the 5-day school week, reduced the curriculum content by 30%, and expanded elect ives. Emphasis was placed on ikiru chikara, translated as ‘zest for living’, which includes self-discovery, self-learning, and hands-on experience (Tsuneyoshi, 2004). However, current data suggests that Japanese students study less than their foreign peers and yet score among the top in the world. Tsuneyoshi (2004) suggests that the debate is much more than a criticism of

Ministry policies based on evidence of decreasing student achievement. She argues that it is a ‘prospective crisis’ fueled by the fear that the strengths of Japanese education may be endangered by foreign countries, along with anxieties over the state of Japan,

especially the youth and their moral, behavior, and academic motivation. In

my opinion, this fear of what will happen if present policy directions continue, is similar to the fear of internationalization, which scholars

relate to the unique ‘secluded nation’ mental i ty known in Japanese as

shimaguni konjō (Burgess et al., 2010). Burgess et al. (2010) describe the rhetorical push and pull factors of Japan’s higher education reform as a way to revitalize a society facing an ‘identity crisis’ under the ‘pressure’ of globalization. The duality of the concepts of kokusaika (internationalization)

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2009 scores:

520 Reading529 Mathematics539 Science

Ikiru Chikara (zest for living)

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and gurōbaruka (globalization) has led to contradictory goals in a policy that combines a nationalistic ‘closing in’ with a cosmopolitan ‘opening up’. For some, kokusaika portrays the sense of transcending cultural barriers; while for others, it represents a desire to protect Japanese identity, national unity, and economic power. As demonstrated in the use of the p h r a s e ‘ c o p i n g w i t h internationalization’ (kokusaika e no taiō) in the education reports of the 1980’s, kokusaika reinforces Japan’s ‘closed’ national identity by pushing b a c k a g a i n s t p e rc e i v e d threats. On the other hand, gurōbaruka acknowledges the necessity of embracing global trends, currents, and standards because it is an external process over which Japan has little or no influence or control. C o n s e q u e n t l y, t h e Japanese education system is often criticized for not being able to teach students how to place themselves in a global context, for neglecting the teaching of communicative skills in foreign languages, and for being too rigid to be able to welcome foreign students and Japanese students returning from abroad (Roesgaard, 1994) . In addi t ion, more students in Japan are less motivated than ever. In a survey conducted in 2012 by the Japan Youth Research Institute, only

9% of Japanese high school students were found to have hope for success in their careers and 54% expressed a negative view of pursuing professional success, a sign that the country's economic woes may be curbing the ambition of its youth (“More than half”, 2013). Since employers in Japan have no interest in grades; what matters is the name of the university that the student graduates from. Since universities are extremely reluctant to fail students with poor grades, there is no need for students to study once they have entered the university of their choice. Students often miss class for job-hunting, and this in turn removes the incentive for teachers to produce high-quality lessons. As Burgess et a l . ( 2 0 1 0 ) suggest, if Japan is to revive its e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m , t h e q u a l i t y o f education and the motivation of its students will first have to be significantly improved. As one can see, contradictory p e r s p e c t ive s and goals have led to different

agendas, and there is little chance of establishing a consensus because most reforms are implemented by M E X T w i t h o u t p rev i o u s d i s c u s s i o n w i t h t h e opposition. Finally, there is a wider issue of whether or not Japanese society as a whole is will ing to openly accept foreigners, and their opinions and suggestions on such topics. Japan has been trying to eliminate such problems for the last thirty years, but with t h e 2 0 1 3 re s t a r t o f t h e E d u c a t i o n R e b u i l i d i n g Council, it will be interesting t o w a t c h h o w t h e n e w administration implements new reforms in the coming years.

“The biggest problem in Japanese education is the idea that you can eliminate bullying by reforming the system”

- Ayako Sono

By Stephanie ToriumiMA in International Education Management ’13Monterey Institute of International Studies

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REFERENCES

Benesse Corporation. (2008). Trends in Japanese education - 2008. Child Research Net. Retrieved from http://www.childresearch.net/data/school/2008_01.html

Burgess, C., Gibson, I., Klaphake, J., Selzer, M. (2010). The ‘Global 30’ Project and Japanese higher education reform: an example of a ‘closing in’ or an ‘opening up’? Globalisation, Societies, and Education. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14767724.2010.537931

Hoffman, M. (2013, March 3). Solution to bullying lies in ‘resetting’ culprits. The Japan Times: News. Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/03/national/solution-to-bullying-lies-in-resetting-culprits/#.UVky7avF1Gt

OECD. (2010). Japan: A story of sustained excellence. Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for the United States. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/japan/46581091.pdf

Pearson Foundation. (2013). Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Japan. Retrieved from http://pearsonfoundation.org/oecd/japan.html

Roesgaard, M. (1994). Internationalization in Japanese education. CBS Open Journals. Retrieved from http://ej.lib.cbs.dk/index.php/cjas/article/download/2231/222

Tsuneyoshi, R. (2004, May). The New Japanese Educational Reforms and the Achievement “Crisis” Debate. Educational Policy. 18(2), 364-394. Retrieved from http://epx.sagepub.com/content/18/2/364.full.pdf+html

U.S. Department of Education. (1987). A report from the U.S. Study of Education in Japan. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

World University Rankings (2013). [Graph chart]. Times Higher Education. Retrieved from http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking

(2013, Jan. 25). Abe brings back education reform panel from 2006. The Japan Times: News. Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/01/25/national/abe-brings-back-education-reform-panel-from-2006/#.UVkz-avF1Gt

(2013, Feb. 27). More suspensions of bullies sought. The Japan Times: News. Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/02/27/national/more-suspensions-of-bullies-sought/#.UVkyzqvF1Gs

(2013, March 1). School bullying cases hit record in 2012. Jiji Press. Retrieved from http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/101241.php

(2013, March 28). More than half of Japanese students see career success as unnecessary. The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved from http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201303280081

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PHOTOS

D-Project 2. (2002-2008). Illustration Corner: School life [Play, trouble]. Retrieved April 9, 2013, from: http://www.d-project.jp/museum/free_illust/schoollife/main.html

Hayakawa, N. (columnist). (2012). A return to basics for Japanese education [chart], Retrieved April 9, 2013, from http://www.nippon.com/en/genre/culture/l00011/

Jones, M. (columnist). (2006). Shutting themselves in [photograph], Retrieved April 9, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/15/magazine/15japanese.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Kingsie, F. (blogger). NEET. Retrieved April 9, 2013, from: http://informationnewsblog.com/neet/

Nakai, K. (columnist). (2012). The debate over Japan’s academic decline [chart, photograph], Retrieved April 9, 2013, from http://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a00601/

Sugimori, S. (columnist). (2012). Anatomy of Japanese bullying [chart, photograph], Retrieved April 9, 2013, from http://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00054/