[Sangetsu]

In Japan people are taught to conform. Children wear uniforms to school, salarymen wear conservative suits to work, people are not outspoken, and people do what the culture expects of them, without question.

Education is competitive, children must pass an exam to get into junior high school. Once in junior high school you must study like crazy to get into a good high school. Not all Japanese high schools are equal, and good high schools pick and choose from the best junior high school students. If you can't get into a good high school, your odds of getting into a good university are greatly reduced.

In order to maintain conformity, critical thinking is not taught. Facts are simply facts, students are not asked "what went wrong?", or "what would you have done? Could it have been done better?". Debate clubs do not exist, because in Japan people don't debate. The teacher is always right, just as the boss is always right, so students never ask critical questions.

University in Japan is simply a joke. Economics is the most popular university subject in Japanese universities. Economics is far from an interesting subject, and in Japan the course is designed to prepare you for a life of sitting at a desk. University subjects are narrowly taught, questions are not encouraged, and the student's workload is quite light. Students see university as a kind of holiday to enjoy before becoming a part of Japan's economic machinery.

Japanese university students are not encouraged to obtain higher-level degrees. There are quite few Japanese with post-graduate degrees, the reason being that Japanese companies seem to prefer less-educated recruits for their companies whom they can "groom" to fit in. Those who do get post-graduate degrees can't expect to get much more in pay than someone with a bachelors degree, so why bother?

Women have almost no opportunity to advance in corporate Japan. It made news late last year when a woman was promoted to the position of branch manager at the Japan National Bank. Never mind that for decades there have been female bank CEOs in America or Europe. Once again, it is the seniority-based system at work, which kills original thought and competitiveness, and limits the future prospects of men and women alike.

In Japan employer discrimination is normal. When you submit your resume, you are required to provide a photo. Companies prefer to hire young, good-looking people, preferably men. There is no real "Equal Opportunity Act" like that which exists in America, so prospective employees have no recourse if they are discriminated against. If a graduate doesn't get a job shortly after graduation, he may be seen as "damaged goods", which will make getting a good position with a good company very difficult.

And even those who get through the process and find a job have a life of long hours and little reward. The starting salary of a new worker is painfully low, and increases only according to age and seniority. The level of pay makes it difficult to support a family, so many Japanese are having less children. The highest average salary for a male worker in Japan is 4.5 million yen per year. With that money you have to pay rent or a mortgage, buy food, clothes, and a few toys, you must feed your wife and children, and hopefully save enough to put your children through university.

The above system came about after changes to the American-designed Japanese constitution. Immediately after the war, the large Japanese companies were disbanded, and the large landowners were disinherited. For the first time in history, Japanese farmers were able to own the land they worked on.

In business, it became very much like the "sink or swim" system which existed in America. Unfortunately, this system did not work well in Japan, where personal initiative was not integral with the culture. The economy of Japan was floundering, and the amount of American aid required to keep Japan running was growing. Washington decided to allow the Japanese companies to reform under their previous leadership, and this system remains to this day.

At first it was wildly successful. But it couldn't have been otherwise, with the country reduced to rubble, with no work and little food, the only way to go was up. Getting the country and economy rebuilt was an incredible effort, but it was done, and done quickly.

But in the end, perhaps the economy grew too quickly. The bubble burst sometime back, and though expectations have remained high, the ability of the people to live up to these expectations has diminished.

The very things which fueled the rebuilding of Japan are now causing it harm. These large companies which America allowed to reform are who actually rule Japan. The central government is not run by elected politicians, but by unelected bureaucrats who are appointed through a shadowy process which is manipulated by big business.

These "mandarins" profit by the current system of education, government, and conformity, and as they don't answer to the government or the people, things are not likely to change soon.