coll. - Education Policy in Japan : Building Bridges towards 2030

This report assessing Japans policies and practices in the field of education and skills is informed by international experience and best practices from OECD countries. The assessment process involved a country background report, an OECD preliminary visit to help define the key areas for review and, in January 2017, the main OECD review visit to Japan. There were also many exchanges and consultations with experts and stakeholders in Japan and internationally.

The review team is indebted to the Japanese government which supported this review, under the leadership of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). We are also grateful to Tomoka Satomi, Director of International Affairs Division; Naoki Himiya, Director of Policy Planning and Coordination Division of Lifelong Learning Policy Bureau; Yu Kameoka, Liaison Officer to the Minister / Minister's Secretariat; and Kosuke Terasaka, Deputy Director of Policy Planning and Coordination, Division of Lifelong Learning Policy Bureau; for organising the review visits and co-ordinating the review process.

Thanks are also due to the authors of the country background report, prepared by the Benesse Corporation for MEXT. Their contribution was extremely valuable to the review. We further want to convey our appreciation to the participants in the review visits, whose views, experience and knowledge provided a wealth of insights. The courtesy and hospitality extended to us throughout our stay in Japan made our task as enjoyable as it was stimulating and challenging.

This report was prepared as part of OECDs Reviews of National Policies for Education undertaken by the Policy Advice and Implementation Division within the Directorate for Education and Skills. The OECD review team was composed of Beatriz Pont, who led the review, Pierre Goudard, who co-ordinated the report and wrote Chapter 1, and Hiroko Ikesako, who provided analytical support. The external experts on the team were Graham Donaldson (author of Chapter 2), Ben Jensen (author of Chapter 3) and Roger Smyth (author of Chapter 4).

The review team acknowledges support from: Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills; Paulo Santiago, Head of the Policy Advice and Implementation Division; Shane Samuelson, Deputy Head of the Skills beyond Schools Division; Miho Taguma, Senior Analyst within the Early Childhood and Schools; and Thomas Weko, Senior Analyst within the Policy Advice and Implementation Division. In addition, analysts Hannah von Ahlefeld, Esther Carvalhaes, Arno Engel, Ricardo Espinoza, Margarita Kalamova and Claudia Sarrico provided in-depth feedback and advice during the review process. We are also grateful to Shun Shirai, Head of Office for Curriculum Planning of Elementary and Secondary Education Bureau (MEXT), who provided key advice at the beginning of the review (and facilitated it), and Hiroko Asahara, whose analytical support during the final stage of the review process has been most useful. Our thanks also go to Marta Rilling, who provided administrative support and organised the publication process, and to Susan Copeland, who edited the report.