Japan drops in OECD scholastic ranking; China leads in all categories

@Ganbare Japan!

Greatest % of university graduates than any nation on earth. Leader in robotics, AI.

I'm not bashing Japan. But don't start giving Japan non factual credit for things they don't deserve. As a University lecturer in Japan, let me say that it is easy to have a high percentage of graduates when they are not able to fail classes for any reason other than absences.

China has a secretive communist government and data is not transparent. so, difficult to say if the statement is true. Their GDP is determined by the state run businesses.

I take it all those who downvoted me will enrol their child in an American public school. Crickets...didn't think so

Non stop winner of Nobel prizes.

oh please Japan wins very few compared to its population and money they spend on research. Still dominated by Europeans, UK and America, dont see that changing anytime soon

Japanese education is slipping and skipping fast. It’s not because of the curriculum. It’s because of a generation who don’t give a poop. Due to the labor shortage they all know they will get a job. University is like a kindergarten for teenagers where 40-50% of their grade is made up on attendance. The private high school I work in had the national tests in October. There were four 90 minutes tests of English, science, math and history. I proctored each test with different classes. By the twenty minute mark in each test around 50% of the students were asleep. By the 50 minute mark nearly all of them were asleep. This is in a reputable private high school on Tokyo. The current generation of young Japanese just do not care about anything besides their games and manga. Nearly every one of them is addicted to their phones. I have no doubt this downward spiral will continue.

Well, this certainly gets on the nerves of some people....lol

China did better than Japan in something? Ouch.

But remember though, denial prevents you from learning.

Some people on this site can't handle the truth; Japan is slipping and it's glory days with the feeling of "The Japan That Can Say No" are long gone.

Wrong. Second richest in the free world. Greatest % of university graduates than any nation on earth. Leader in robotics, AI. Non stop winner of Nobel prizes. The list goes on.

Wrong.

Japan is ranked 25-28th when measured in GDP per capita [1]. The the GDP is large, but so is the population. Also, everyone knows that the economy has been stagnant for 30 years, particularly salaries (which cannot compete with the west).

More university graduates, but the degrees hold any value outside of Japan? Very little. Everyone knows it is 2-4 years of play/reflection.

Leader in robotics, AI? Not according to the number of research publications/citations. In fact, research output from Japan is nowhere near the USA or Western Europe, due in part to low spending on university research.

Nobel prizes? No, Japan is ranked 7th (tied with Switzerland), lagging Russia. #1 is the US. [2]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_byGDP(PPP)_per_capita

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates_by_country

Its absurd to believe Communist China could have finished above Japan is such tests. Laughable. It was only testing the mega rich few cities of China, Japans result is nationwide. Therefore, biased to say "China Number 1". I am angry the media is not picking up this issue.

Japan is behind times in many things.

Wrong. Second richest in the free world. Greatest % of university graduates than any nation on earth. Leader in robotics, AI. Non stop winner of Nobel prizes. The list goes on.

Like do you think Japan is just luck? Like that saying about if you put a monkey in a room with a typewriter and infinite time he'll eventually pound the keys and accidentally output Shakespeare, did Japan just get to where they are at through pure and utter luck, and never having a real-life problem to solve? Or that they just got easy problems or something?

Is there anybody here who has lived in Japan for more than a year and seriously believes Japanese people are good at "solving real-life problems"? I don't know what those tests measure, but it isn't "real-life problem solving skills" for sure. These tests are useless.

You realize this is one of the top economies in the world, right?

Your statement seems seriously disjointed from reality.

I have big doubts these tests were done randomly in China...

Is there anybody here who has lived in Japan for more than a year and seriously believes Japanese people are good at "solving real-life problems"? I don't know what those tests measure, but it isn't "real-life problem solving skills" for sure. These tests are useless.

Japan is behind times in many things.

Too right.

Japan is behind times in many things.

@Ah_so

While "China" comes out top, I would not read too much into this, or the other countries that hog the top spots. China just uses students from few affluent cities. City states such as Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong also fall into this category.

Isn’t that what all countries do? They pick their best and send them to these competitions?

Also, why wouldn’t China be doing well in education? Education reform has always been a big push by Xi. Especially since they invested billions into the Disney corporation for their education services on language and reading.

t’s quite insane that toilet seats have far more technology than classrooms.

LOL. So true. They are still using chalk.

china, lol.

"Among OECD countries, Japanese students particularly lag behind in access to digital devices in classrooms

Japanese students lag far, far behind in access to digital devices in classrooms. It’s quite insane that toilet seats have far more technology than classrooms.

Are we sure that they didn't obtain a copy of the exams? China has stolen technology, business marketing, and even copyright materials as their own? hmmm...

The Chinese students that participated in the assessment tests were from the prosperous coastal cities. They hardly represented the entire nation of China.

Or the failed american school experiment.

Look out! Here comes more classes for high school students. They’ll make it seven classes a day instead of six and bring back mandatory Saturday schooling for public high schools.

Japan held its own in maths and science - the big drop was in reading comprehension. The test requirements do require students to interpret longer and nuanced texts, and this is less aligned to the Japanese system of education, but which is becoming more important.

Saying that, Japan is still one of the top countries, even if it is below the USA.

While "China" comes out top, I would not read too much into this, or the other countries that hog the top spots. China just uses students from few affluent cities. City states such as Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong also fall into this category.

I hope this does not lead to a push for yet more school hours.