Institut für Japanologie Online-Section-Meeting „Education“ (VSJF)

The section meeting «Education» at the annual conference of the German Association for Social Science Research on Japan (VSJF) is a network for (young) researchers and students interested in education in Japan, but also for people outside the academic context. Our aim is to provide an opportunity to engage with the topic of education and its political and social implications in the Japanese context and to promote exchange between people from different backgrounds. We see ourselves as a forum for young scholars and students to present their research (from finished papers to work-in-progress) and benefit from feedback from senior scholars and the interested public.

For further information please refer to https://vsjf.net/die-vsjf/fachgruppen/fachgruppe-bildung-und-erziehung/ or contact me at vincent.lesch@zo.uni-heidelberg.de /education@vsjf.net

Opening remarks

Vincent B. LESCH, Heidelberg University
From Policy to Practice: Challenges in Implementing Environmental Education in Japan
Miwa TATSUNO, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
Since the 1960s, Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Japan have evolved from pollution control to integrating environmental, social, and economic dimensions (IGES, 2024). ESD is now embedded in national education policy, and Japan’s 2024 revision of its Basic Environmental Education Policy reaffirms its commitment to sustainability (MEXT, 2024). Despite progress, implementation remains uneven. This study examines the gap between policy and practice, identifying five main challenges: resource deficits that limit school- and municipal-level implementation; institutional rigidity rooted in hierarchical governance and lifetime employment; socioeconomic inequities reducing access to experiential learning; misalignment between sustainability competencies and evaluation systems; and fragmented trends such as “New Capitalism” and “Ethical Job Hunting” that lack policy integration.
To address these barriers, the paper proposes four strategies: strategic investment in educators and curricula; stronger policy integration linking education and labor markets; equity measures to support inclusive participation; and cross-sector collaboration among government, private, and civil society actors. Japan’s case underscores the need to overcome economic and institutional barriers to realize the transformative potential of EE and ESD. Reframing these not only as educational tools but as drivers of economic resilience and innovation could position Japan at the forefront of the global sustainability transition.

Rethinking Human Rights Education in Japan: Interdependence, Democracy, and (Un)Equal Futures
JD PARKER, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and Kyoto University

Across the globe, democracy and equality face growing pressures from economic inequality, resurgent nationalism, and planetary crises. Human rights education (HRE) is often seen as a means to sustain democracy but typically rests on liberal ideals of individual autonomy (Takeda, 2012; Meyer, 2020). While this has advanced protections for marginalized groups, it neglects the social and ecological interdependence crucial for addressing current global challenges (Komatsu et al., 2019).
Japan offers a distinct perspective. Since the early 2000s, it has formally integrated HRE into its national curriculum (Hirano, 2020). Rooted in cultural notions of relational selfhood, Japanese approaches contrast with Western individualism (Kasulis, 2002; Takayama, 2020). Ethnographic research in an Osaka municipal school shows how the Ikiru Kyōiku (“Education for Living”) program teaches human rights as practices of interdependence—fostering omoiyari (empathy), sōdan (dialogue), and tsunagari (connections) that support mutual care (Parker, 2025).This case illustrates how localized pedagogies can reshape democracy and equality globally. It emphasizes education’s role in cultivating relational capacities, highlights Japan’s philosophical traditions as resources for rethinking political theory, and shows how collective orientations may be vital for responding to planetary crises. Japan’s approach thus invites a reimagining of democracy grounded in interdependence and community well-being.

From Language Students to Specified Skilled Workers: Specified Skilled Study Abroad scheme and implications
Anh Phuong LE, Waseda University

This chapter explores the collaborative efforts between overseas sending agencies and language schools in Japan to facilitate a seamless transition for international students from language learning to employment under Japan’s Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visa program, known as Specified Skilled Study Abroad. The new scheme aims to prepare students for integration into Japan’s labor market by promising a clear and short pathway from language education to skilled labor. Through interviews with staff from sending agencies from Vietnam—one of the biggest sending countries of language students and manual skilled workers to Japan and students who are engaging in this scheme, this study investigates the mechanisms and strategies employed to align language training with the
Annual Conference 2025: Section Meeting “Education” demands of the SSW framework. By analyzing the roles of these agencies and Japanese language schools, the research examines how they collaborate to shape the migratory experiences of international students. This chapter also outlines the evolving education-migration policies, which indicates the Japanese government’s effort in widening the pathway to labor market for international students.
 

***SHORT BREAK***

Educational Competition and Status Attainment in Japan Revisited: From School to Work to Happiness?
Steve R. ENTRICH, University of Zurich

Since the 1980s, Japan has undergone dramatic demographic, economic and social change, which has had a lasting impact on young people in particular. The lost decade following the burst of the bubble-economy in the early 1990s was accompanied by rising youth unemployment, an erosion of job security and widening inequalities. Japan became soon known as kakusa shakai or “gap society”. Young people born in the 1980s and 1990s, who have never experienced the booming Japanese economy, started questioning the traditional path towards “happiness”: It seemed as if the arduous path to one of the high ranked universities did no longer guarantee men well-paid, secure jobs in major companies, whereas significant labor market barriers and gendered family expectations continue to restrict women’s opportunities to pursue men-equivalent careers despite having high educational credentials.
In this talk, I will discuss how and why the sweeping educational reforms that were intended to reduce competition and inequality between students may have not had the anticipated results. Worse still, related problems of bullying (ijime), delinquency, truancy, and student suicide resulting from the rigid, uniform school system, its multiple rules and the highly competitive exam culture (and the resulting “exam hell”), as well as the high use of private supplementary lessons (at juku/yobikō) have by no means disappeared.
Drawing on recent national panel data for youth in Japan, this paper theoretically and empirically examines the question: What are the challenges youth face on their way to (un)happiness in present Japan? Results are discussed with regards to social inequalities focusing in particular on the ongoing role of private supplementary tutoring for educational competition and inequality formation for the first time also looking into effects of these pathways for life satisfaction in early adult life.

Social-emotional competencies and social support in access to study abroad: From Japanese adolescents’ perspectives
Naho YOSHIKAWA, University of Zurich

Once viewed as a broadly middle-class meritocracy, Japan has become a ‘gap society’ where learning capital and multidimensional competencies determine social mobility. Kariya’s
Annual Conference 2025: Section Meeting “Education” concept of learning capital emphasizes the rising importance of “individuality,” including aptitude, personality, and extracurricular engagement (Chiavacci & Hommerich, 2017; Kariya, 2009). The shift from exam-based selection (senbetsu) to multidimensional admissions (sentaku) reflects broader educational and labor changes, as lifelong employment declines and individuals must accumulate their own competencies. Shadow education has diversified beyond academics into extracurricular and overseas programs, aligning with government initiatives like Tobitate! (2014) promoting “global human resources” (Yamada & Yamada, 2014). Despite these policies, study-abroad participation has fallen since 2004 (Yokota, Ota, & Niimi, 2018).
Empirical studies show that study abroad enhances language, intercultural, and non-cognitive skills valued by employers (Harder et al., 2015). Yokota et al. (2018) found higher incomes and greater personal development among former participants, linking these outcomes to Japan’s concept of “basic social skills” (METI). However, few studies examine how adolescents mobilize learning capital amid socioeconomic constraints or how social-emotional competencies shape access to study abroad. This qualitative study, part of the Japan Transnational Education and Career Panel Study (JTEPS), addresses this gap through interviews with 30 adolescents, analyzing how social support and non-cognitive traits interact to enable participation in study-abroad programs.

Final discussion and closing remarks

Zoom:

• Meeting-Link: 

  https://eu02web.zoom-x.de/j/62350857676?pwd=4l205WnAziImoliJyz3dnLlTjwf…

• Meeting-ID: 623 5085 7676
• Password: 290238