is a standard issued by the

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...

(MEXT) that specifies materials taught at all of elementary, junior and senior high schools in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, either public or

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. The authority of the ministry to issue the standard is due to . The ministry also publishes the that accompanies the guidelines. Nominally, the commentary is not legally binding. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology prepares guidelines with the basic outlines of each subject taught in Japanese schools. Typically the guideline is revised every 10 years to update content and objective. Since 1886, the purpose of the official authorization system had been in effect to standardization and maintain neutrality on political and religious issues.

Legality

The legal extent of the standard has been unclear. While the standard is not a law per se, court cases in the past have shown that it is legally binding to some extent. For example, in 1990, the High Court in Fukuoka ruled that a prefectural high school lawfully fired its teacher who taught a course in a way that violated curriculum guidelines.

Length of study

Organization of the School System in Japan 201904

The Japanese school system length of study is consisted of six years of elementary school from age 6 until age 12, following that would be three years of junior high school and another three years of high school. At the end of the study, the student should be around the age of 18. Students that pursue higher education typically will be attending school for another one to four years in vocational school, junior college, or university.

Elementary School

During this period of time, the school curriculum covers Japanese, social studies, mathematics, science, music, arts and crafts, and physical education. This stage of learning usually starts at age 6 and continues for 6 more years until the age 12 years old. A large share of time spent in elementary school is learning how to write and read Japanese katakana, hiragana, and kanji. Typically most students learn the English alphabet in the 4th grade. English is currently required in the 5th and 6th grade but is taught through informal activities rather than as a graded subject

Junior High (Middle) School

During junior high school, the student is typically between the ages of 12 to 15 years of age The standard curriculum for junior high school students requires the students to learn subjects such as Japanese language, social studies, mathematics, science, a foreign language, music, fine arts, health and physical education, and extracurricular activities During this stage of school, the curriculum requires students to decide on a foreign language to learn that can consist of english, french, korean, german..etc

High School

During high school, the student is typically between the age of 15 to 18 years of age. The standard curriculum that most during this time study consists of Japanese language, geography and history, civics, mathematics, sciences, health and physical education, arts, foreign language, and home economics. It is not unusual to see students participate in extracurricular activities and integrated study which are required. Vocational programs are for students that takes courses in areas of studies such as business, industrial arts, and agriculture. Students in the program spend less time in the core curriculum subjects compared to regular students. After graduating from high school, students are now able to decide on higher education or to join the workforce and work.

Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activities are normal and required for students in Japan from elementary school up until high school. Most of these activities are under teacher or a responsible adult supervision and guidance. Typically these activities are done either before school hours are after school hours to avoid disrupting normal education flow. Most college bound students typically withdraw from club activities during their senior year in preparation for university entrance examinations Additionally, students participate in

cram school A cram school, informally called crammer and colloquially also referred to as test-prep or exam factory, is a specialized school that trains its students to achieve particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schoo ...

. Approximately 60% of Japanese high school students go for supplemental lessons that specialize in preparing students for examination, these classes extend the student's school day into the evening hours and there is additional homework. The Students of Kendo Club of Da Ji Junior High School 2006-12-1

The Students of Kendo Club of Da Ji Junior High School 2006-12-1

Some activities students tend to join are listed below * Baseball *

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

* Volleyball * Basketball * Track and Field * Swimming * Judo *

Kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

* School Band *

Shodo also called is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language. Written Japanese was originally based on Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japanese syllabaries resulted in intrins ...

Cram School A cram school, informally called crammer and colloquially also referred to as test-prep or exam factory, is a specialized school that trains its students to achieve particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schoo ...

References

* Corresponding Japanese Wikipedia article. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.

External links

* * * Education laws and guidelines in Japan {{japan-edu-stub