As of 2023, around 65% of Japanese aged 25 to 34 have attained some form of tertiary education, with a significant number holding degrees in science and engineering, fields crucial to Japan’s technology-driven economy.

Buddhist and Confucian teachings, along with sciences, calligraphy, divination, and Japanese and Chinese literature, were taught at the courts of Asuka (538-710), Nara (710-794), and Heian (794-1185).

Their warrior-turned-bureaucrat Samurai elite had to be educated not only in military strategy and the martial arts but also in literature, agriculture and accounting.

Merchants also sought education for business purposes, leading to the establishment of terakoya, which taught basic reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Despite limited contact with foreign countries (sakoku), books from China and Europe were imported, and Rangaku (“Dutch studies”) became popular, especially in the field of natural sciences.

After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the methods and structures of Western learning were adopted as a means to make Japan a strong, modern nation.

[22] Foreign scholars, the so-called o-yatoi gaikokujin, were invited to teach at this newly founded university and military academies.

[25] After Japan’s defeat in the Second World War, the Allied occupation introduced educational reforms, officially to promote democracy and pacifism.

The reforms aimed to decentralise education, reduce state control, weaken the class structure and encourage teacher initiative.

[29] During the 1960s and 1970s, Japan experienced rapid economic growth and became the second largest economy in the world, which impacted its education system.

These included curriculum revisions, the introduction of more creative and critical thinking subjects, and a greater emphasis on moral and character education.

This policy caused major concerns that academic skills for Japanese students may have declined from the mid-1990s,[30] and after gradual changes, it was abolished completely by 2011.

At the primary and secondary level, the school year consists of two or three terms, which are separated by short holidays in spring and winter, and a six-week-long summer break.

The year structure is summarized below: (学士 Gakushi) (修士 Shūshi) (博士 Hakushi) The lower secondary school covers grades seven through nine, with children typically aged twelve through fifteen.

[38] The junior school curriculum covers Japanese language, social studies, mathematics, science, music, fine arts, health, and physical education.

In 1990 the most popular courses, enrolling almost 40 percent of all undergraduate students, were in the social sciences, including business, law, and accounting.

Some students work part-time or take out loans through the government-supported Japan Scholarship Association, local governments, non-profit corporations, and other institutions.

Along with the Basic Act on Education, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was passed in 200 and was ratified in 2014 as part of welfare.

[54] These two acts promised that the national and local governments would provide special needs education programs with adequate accommodation according to their level of disability.

[58] The education department of the Japanese government slowly started to focus on giving equal rights to children with disabilities, and the first major reform began as an introduction of a "Resource Room System", which served as a supplemental special need program for students with disabilities attending traditional school settings.

[62] This is largely motivated by the extreme weight that is placed upon formal examinations as a prerequisite to attend university, something that is seen as integral to their future career and social status to gain a competitive edge, Japanese families are willing to expend money and have their child put in time and effort into a supplementary education.

[63] Forms of shadow education include mogi shiken, which are practice exams given by private companies that determine the child's chances of getting into a university.

Juku are private after-school classes that aim to develop abilities for students to excel in formal school curricula or to prepare for university examinations.

[68] A survey by the Education Ministry showed that students at public schools were involved in a record number of violent incidents in 2007: 52,756 cases, an increase of some 8,000 on the previous year.

[69] The Japanese educational system has also been criticized for failure to foster independent thinkers with cultural and artistic sensibility.

Japanese students who attend schools overseas often face difficulty adapting and competing in that environment due to a lack of international viewpoints.

As Japanese students grow, their time to assert what they have learned in class to real life is cut dramatically, starting with the elevation from elementary to lower secondary school.

[72] This number has increased drastically over the past couple decades,[72] as well as the view of Juku within the Japanese academic system.

[74] With these extra school sessions ranging between 1 and 6 days a week on top of normal classes,[75] there is a fear that students will be unable to incorporate what they have learned into their lives, and thus could foreseeably lose the retained knowledge once the Entrance Exams are over.

According to data from OECD's PISA 2015, after-school study time was the 4th lowest among 55 surveyed countries, behind Germany, Finland, and Switzerland.