Dr. Kimura stressed that Japan was a turning point in Education Reform.  Although test performance by Japanese students had been impressive, the creative and moral aspects of education have lagged.  He cited the following concerns:

Dr. Kimura cited studies and surveys that indicated a growing trend toward school aversion, violence, and bullying particularly among middle school students (grades 7, 8, and 9). 

In Japan, education is compulsory through ninth grade (lower secondary schools).  Education is subsidized by the Japanese government for students in kindergarten through ninth grade.  Parents and local school boards fund upper secondary schools.  After ninth grade, students either continue to an upper secondary school, a college of technology (engineering), or enter the workforce.  There is considerable competition for placement into universities and junior colleges.  About 98% of student continue in upper secondary schools and 50% will participate in higher education.  Japan has developed a system for zero illiteracy.

Japan is at the crossroad of education reform with pressure to decentralize.  There was a general consensus among the panelists that a solution may lie somewhere between the Japanese highly centralized approach to education and the American local control approach.