This book looks at schooling in Japan and considers the links between education and society.This book offers a balanced introduction to and examination of contemporary Japanese education. The postwar system of schooling has led to some unfavourable developments such as excessively competitive exams, stifling uniformity and an undervaluing of non-Japanese ethnicity. This book examines the main developments of modern schooling in Japan and includes analysis of the most recent reforms, presenting a new picture of the role of schooling for individuals and the wider society. Essential reading for students and educators alike.This book offers a balanced introduction to and examination of contemporary Japanese education. The postwar system of schooling has led to some unfavourable developments such as excessively competitive exams, stifling uniformity and an undervaluing of non-Japanese ethnicity. This book examines the main developments of modern schooling in Japan and includes analysis of the most recent reforms, presenting a new picture of the role of schooling for individuals and the wider society. Essential reading for students and educators alike.This book offers a balanced introduction to and examination of contemporary Japanese education. The postwar system of schooling has led to some unfavorable developments such as excessively competitive exams, stifling uniformity and an undervaluing of non-Japanese ethnicity. This book examines the main developments of modern schooling in Japan and includes analysis of the most recent reforms, presenting a new picture of the role of schooling for individuals and the wider society. Essential reading for students and educators alike.Introduction; 1. Analytical frameworks: schooling and the society; 2. Development of modern schooling; 3. Students' experiences of schooling I: social groups; 4. Students' experiences of schooling II: minorities; 5. Teachers' experiences of schooling; 6. Problems and reforms in the 1980s and 1990s; ClÓ6