Routledge Critical Studies in Asian Education. London: Routledge, 2021. ix, 224 pp. (Tables, figures.) US$160.00, cloth. ISBN 978-0-415-83252-6.
This book is a comprehensive update of Kaori Okano’s previous, well-accepted book (co-authored with Motonori Tsuchiya), Education in Contemporary Japan: Diversity and Inequality (Cambridge University Press, 1999). It provides an overview of Japanese education from the early pre-modern era to the current reform initiative in 2019. More importantly, the book adds new perspectives of social justice in education to the current scholarship on Japanese education.
In chapter 1, which serves as an introduction, Okano puts forth her thesis by addressing two key elements: (1) distributive justice, or who receives how much schooling and the process of distributing education opportunities and rewards equally and equitably; and (2) the content of education, namely, the extent to which a topic is taught, whether this meets the needs of different social groups, and groups that influence decisions on educational content (173). These two concepts provide the overarching lens through which she pursues her argument.
In chapter 2, Okano shares the history of the development of the Japanese modern education system. It transformed Japanese society from a feudal society to a modern nation-state under a highly centralized operation, and then, in the post-WWII era, from a militarist and nationalist society to a liberal democratic one. Chapter 3 features the most recent reforms in 2019. The reforms accommodated “an increasingly diverse and flexible path of, and approach to, learning” (63), which I believe is a core argument of social justice in education in contemporary Japan.
In the following chapters, Okano focuses on a diversified audience which has not received much attention in the extant scholarship on Japanese education. In chapter 4, she sheds light on “culturally and linguistically diverse populations” (68), including indigenous peoples like Ainu and Okinawa, those of buraku descent, Zainichi Koreans, ethnic Chinese, and new migrants from the 1980s, such as the war-displaced Japanese and their families from northeast China and Indo-Chinese refugees. Okano argues that “Japan has become more culturally and linguistically diverse in the last two decades, with the addition of newcomer migrants to the old-timer ethnic minorities of former colonial subjects” (103). She documents grassroots efforts by local education boards and schools on behalf of both long-existing minority groups and new migrants, efforts that proved to be strong initiatives towards transforming prevalent old practices and understandings in Japanese society.
Chapter 5 examines Japanese education through patterns of inequality in terms of poverty, gender, and regions. One of the important arguments made is that Japan’s “relaxed education” or yutori kyoiku policy since the 1980s (unexpectedly) widened the gap across social groups, since in the 2000s and 2010s children’s learning outside of school became fee-based and often required parental engagement. Considering this gap in society or kakusa shakai, Okano eventually proposes that more measures like compensatory programs should be in place to increase participation in schooling for children from low-income and migrant families (173).
Chapter 6, on the politics of shokuiku (education about eating), is the most distinctive and newest contribution to the scholarship on education in Japan. Education about eating is done through a compulsory school lunch, and it is an old practice. However, Okano points out a new significance of this lunch program since the issue of child poverty has become noticeable in contemporary Japan. Furthermore, she also argues that the Basic Shokuiku Act 2006 promotes a diverse agenda, namely fighting the increasing rate of lifestyle-related diseases and childhood obesity, and addressing the decline in food sufficiency.
Chapter 7 discusses another of Japan’s distinctive education practices: nonformal education, or shakai kyoiku. Okano published an earlier book titled Non-formal Education and Civil Society in Japan (Routledge, 2016), and chapter 7 in this current book again focuses on non-formal education for school-aged children. Japan’s shakai kyoiku has played a significant role in promoting social justice at grassroots levels since the early post-WWII era; and the Japanese people have engaged in issues such as human rights, gender, ethnicity, and poverty through dynamic community-based learning activities. Refocusing on children in this context is new and important.
One noteworthy factor is that all changes in the field of education mentioned in this book occurred during the so-called “lost decade” from the 1990s, due to recession, the subsequent slow economy, and changing employment practices (or the collapse of lifetime employment). This period brought new social values and practices, which did not exist in Japan during the period of economic development. The lost decade allowed the Japanese people to “explore what they desire, individually and collectively, in order to feel a sense of self-fulfilment, well-being, and happiness” (177). This book argues that new social values and practices are being formed through new intiatives in education for a post-growth Japanese society.
Lastly, the entire argument is enriched by Okano’s own unique positionality and perspectives as not only a researcher but also the mother of two children who experienced education in Australia and Japan. As she points out, this positionality has helped her “to understand the process of schooling from yet another perspective” (13), adding first-hand, original insights to the book. The book is very informative, easy to read, and can be assigned to undergraduate courses. This is a welcome addition to Japanese studies scholarship.
Akihiro Ogawa
The University of Melbourne, Parkville