Educational Inequality in Japan

By Anonymous / Fall 2019

Over the past three decades, we have seen a gradual increase in income inequality within Japan. The degree of inequality has risen since Japan’s economy entered a recession due to the appreciation of yen after 1986 and the decline of export profitability. However, one of the prime factors that in enabling the wealth gap is inequality of education. Neoliberalism and its focus on individualism and narrow economic interests has integrated into Japan’s educational system. Today many private institutions outperform public institutions academically. Low-income families in Japan suffer many difficulties in trying to provide an education that can compete with the resources that wealthy families have access to. Students are expected to enter a privatized cram school in order to properly prepare themselves for the entrance exams of the top universities in Japan. Such trends has caused the rise of a problem concerning inequality. The current problem that Japan is facing as a society is that the working class is disadvantaged by the reduced access to educational resources compared to well-off families.

Examining Japan’s education system gives us a view of the preeminence of neoliberalism. Students for preparing for high school and university entrance exams are the largest subjects who are influenced by neoliberalism in education. When I say neoliberalism, I really mean the privatization of education. In Japan a large group of the student population attend privatized cram schools known as j​uku​. A survey done by Japan’s Ministry of Education in 2017 shows that 61.2% of middle school students and 29.3% of high school students attended j​uku (​Kimura). Costs can reach up to around 1 million yen per year. The privatization of college-preparatory education disadvantages the economically unfortunate and has resulted in an increase of social and economic inequality in Japan. The poverty rate has especially increased with citizens within the age range of 20 to 40. Like many Americans, Japanese millennials struggle saving enough money to buy a home while paying back student loans. Recent surveys show that 45% of Japan’s students take out loans in order to attend university (Armstrong). In addition, more millennial graduates are entering the labor market through non-standard employment. This furthers the inequality gap because non-standard employees do not enjoy the same amount of income and job security that regular employees do. As a consequence of rising inequality, the Japanese population has experienced a deterioration of mental and physical health. Between 2016 and 2017, Japan has seen the highest suicide rate within children and teengaers since 1986 (Wakatsuki). The desire for profit is also the leading factor for the mistreatment of foreign students and workers in Japan. Private institutions such as the Tokyo University of Social Welfare have been reported of placing students in jobs that force them to work over 60 hours a week.

In order to battle neoliberalism and its consequences we must take a look at the obstacles that prevent Japan from addressing the situation. Neoliberal policies has caused more wealth to be transferred to the Japanese elite. This has caused Japan’s poverty rate to increase to 16.3%. Along with the increasing poverty rate, a major issue is the lack of political awareness within the younger population of Japan. In “The World House” Martin Luther King stated, “Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions.” (King). This holds especially true to Japan considering its high level of voter apathy. Youth voter turnout is at 31% while young adults in their 20s have a voter turnout of 35% (Takechi). Furthermore, with the youth vote learning toward the ruling neoliberal party, it will be difficult to change the status-quo. Supporters of the neoliberal party often believe that left-wing politicians are often “idealist” and not “realistic”. The approval rating of the current ruling party is the highest among Japan’s youth. Unfortunately privatization of public services is not often seen as a bad thing in Japan. This is mainly because privatization of Japan Railway, the country’s largest train system has improved its efficiency at the cost of removing a large number of its workers. Another obstacle is the obsession with ranking. Children are thought from a young age to study hard to pass entrance exams so they can get into a high ranking high-school and university. This type of culture has intensified academic elitism and extends over to other aspects of life such as employment and private relationships. The name of the school matters more than the accomplishments you have done throughout your undergrad education. Constant comparison has reached a point where Japanese society finds itself socially separating people into k​achigumi (​victory group) and ​makegumi​(failure group). Ultimately, this has led to the rise of individualism in Japan at the expense of the common good.

Now that we have identified the obstacles that prevent Japan from addressing neoliberalism, what can be done to overcome the situation? Adoption of principles that prioritize humanity over individual and corporate gains is the key. Thankfully, Japan is already taking steps to solve its issues. Over the past two years, Japan has started introducing several work reform laws to better the working conditions of temporary workers. In addition the Work Style Reform Law, which was passed in June 2018, has restricted the amount of overtime hours that an employee can work per month. Despite the law change, many teachers in Japan are still constantly overworked. According to Japan’s Ministry of Education, 57.7 percent of junior high teachers have work more than 80 hours of overtime a month (Ikuko). Many teachers are expected to supervise after-school club activities but are not compensated for doing so. I have personally seen this first hand when I lived in Tokyo. The majority of the high school teachers I know worked more than 11 hours a day. Teachers in Japan are often paid an extra 4% on top of their salary to “cover” the constant overtime but that is clearly not enough compensation for the long hours they are forced to work. Japan needs to make sure reforms in labor laws fully apply to teachers and staff who support the public education system. Japan should allocate more resources towards public education in order to allow students of low-income families a fairer chance at high-school and university admissions. Around 30% of content within math and science text books were removed (Takehiko). These type of changes ultimately hurt working class families since it increases student dependency on​juku. P​arents of these students are forced to make more sacrifices if they want their children to have a fair opportunity to do well on entrance examinations. Lastly, the Ministry of Education must promote equity as a core value promoted within its educational institution. Education needs to focus on decreasing the impact of socioeconomic background in order to promote egalitarian social change. Meaningful progress will only begin when equity is made a core principle and is practiced throughout Japan’s educational system

Integrating the principles we have talked about into their educational system will benefit both middle class families and those from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. Decreasing the reliance of j​uku​for entrance examinations will remove financial burden from parents and will give lower inequality levels over time. Making private schools accountable for their actions will prevent further mistreatment of international students in Japan. However, promoting such principles will definitely not come without opposition from upper-class families and supporters of neoliberalism. Many argue that privatization of education has increased the level of efficiency and grants more choice for the family and student. This is only true for groups with the financial ability to afford private education. I will go as far to say that private schools and j​uku​are inherently unjust because they foster class and social division. Privatization increases personal choice for the wealthy at the expense of those who are less fortunate. The sad truth is that disparities in educational opportunity exist in Japan due to the prominence of these private institutions. The heavy dependence on​juku ​in Japanese education has created a strong link between household income and student performance.

As much as I discussed how private schools and j​uku i​s a core factor of increasing inequality in Japan, would advocating to abolish these private institutions be a productive way to solving the issue? With how top private institutions can act as a direct route to prestigious universities, it may seem like the only answer to increasing equality is removing the advantageous resources that the wealthy have access too. However, I feel that abolishment of private education is unrealistic simply because of the fact that the majority of Japan’s voting population supports neoliberal ideologies. There will be little to no support to an idea that takes choice away from voting citizens. Instead energy should be focused on decreasing the gap in accessible resources between private and public institutions. At the very least, there needs to be a way for low-income students to be able to attend j​uku ​without the heavy financial burden on their families. More funding should be provided to allow publics schools to gather enough resources so that public education can properly compete with the private sector. Furthermore, there needs to be additional funding that aims to provide extra support services for low-income students. It must not be denied that low-income students students need additional resources in order to overcome issues of poverty. The government needs to invest more into public education in order to increase student-achievement among students of working class families.

Why exactly should Japan even bother to face the challenge of educational inequality? This may seem like a ridiculous question to ask since every moral human being should desire equality but I want to clearly explain the consequences that Japan will surely face if nothing is changed. Inequality breeds long term socioeconomic consequences that unnecessarily harms the lives of the people in the community. Specifically, neoliberalism in education damages the sense of self-worth and fulfillment to students and families who could not find success within the system. The concept of k​achigumi (​victory group) and ​makegumi​(failure group) is inherently toxic and is false justification for the inequality we see today. This, in turn, gives rise to self-harm, violence, and decreases life expectancy. As I discussed earlier, the youth suicide rate has increased over the years. The current state of education will only make matters worse when it comes to the mental health of the nation’s student population. Inequality also causes a negative effect on the economy by stagnating its growth. To explain, the less educated an individual is the more likely they will be unemployed for a significant amount of time. Unemployment results in a smaller tax base which means less funding for public services. Japan needs to see that there is an economic incentive to educational equality. However, more importantly, equality in education is needed for the common good of the citizens. In order to avoid the negative outcomes that are attached with inequality in education, Japan needs to acknowledge j​uku ​and other private institutions as causes of inequality. If the nation truly cares about the well-being of its citizens, changes need to be made so that every citizen has equal access to educational resources in order to reduce the impact of socioeconomic barriers.

Works Cited

Ikuko. “Japan's Overworked and Underpaid Teachers.” ​The Japan Times.​

Kimura, Haruo. “Let’s think about Juku” ​

King, Martin Luther, et al. ​Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? ​Beacon Press, 2010.

Armstrong, Shiro, et al. “Student Loans in Japan: Current Problems and Possible Solutions.” Economics of Education Review,​Pergamon, 29 Oct. 2018,

Takechi. “​Teen Voter Turnout Falls 17 Points below National Rate to 31% in Japanese Election.” ​The Mainichi,​ 24 July 2019.

Takehiko, Kariya. “​Education and Inequality in Japan: Takehiko Kariya.” ​UCLA Center X,​ 21 Sept. 2018.

Wakatsuki, Yoko. “Japan's Youth Suicide Rate Highest in 30 Years.” ​CNN​, Cable News Network, 6 Nov. 2018.