Japanʼs Education in the Eyes of Singapore

Abstract

This paper is an exploration of how education in Japan has been viewed and positioned in Singapore, a country that implements a multi-track education system and usually occupies one of the top spots in international academic achievement tests. Apart from using data from official sources and preceding studies, information is also gathered from news reports along with ministerial speeches and press releases in the process of analysis and description.

First, it is illustrated how an economically stagnant Japan has ceased to become a popular destination for overseas studies among Singaporean high school leavers, especially those in the top academic tier. This phenomenon was especially noticeable after Singaporeʼs nominal GDP per capita surpassed that of Japan in 2007. The gap in economic strength between the two countries has widened ever since. The image of Japan as a declining economic superpower might have been reinforced when Singaporeʼs late founding father Lee Kuan Yew depicted Japan as a country ʻstrolling into mediocrity,ʼ in his best-selling non-fiction book ʻOne Manʼs View of the Worldʼ in 2013. News articles that portrayed Japanese universities as ʻstress-freeʼ and ʻinward-lookingʼ might have further lowered their image in attracting young foreign talents.

Second, ministerial speeches that used the education of Japan as an ʻinstructive exampleʼ in emphasizing good and failed school practices from which Singapore should or should not learn have been selected and focused on in the argument. The good practice highlighted by Singaporeʼs Ministry of Education and media was Japanʼs long tradition of having students clean and keep their schools shipshape. Conversely, the lessons to be learnt from Japanʼs experiences were the increase of bullying cases in schools, and the implementation of the education initiative of yutori, which means ʻrelaxedʼ in Japanese, as it appeared to fail in calibrating the balance between joy and rigor of learning in schools

Last, based on the results of the PISA student questionnaire, it is shown that Japanese 15-year-olds do not enjoy or see the importance in learning mathematics, and they may not get along well with most of their teachers as compared to their Singaporean counterparts. Further, only in the case of Japan, the achievement gap contributes to disparities in studentsʼ responses to these questions, meaning low performing Japanese students are less likely to appreciate the value of learning mathematics or maintain good relationships with their teachers. And yet, since Japan still ranks relatively high in PISA ranking scores, it can be surmised that the Japanese system demands much effort and perseverance from its students.

In conclusion, the challenges confronting the ʻTop Global Universitiesʼ in Japan, the lack of effective prescription to address the achievement gap issue, and the critical need to rethink the formula of meritocracy to meet the ever-changing dynamics of the 21st century are pointed out. To avoid allowing its education to ʻstroll into mediocrity,ʼ it is crucial for Japan to begin discussion in establishing effective and workable measures to change practices, by using not only the West as a reference model, but also Asia as a comparative mirror.