Issues Faced by Japanese Students Today - An Interview With a Japanese Student

Following the interview with Hikari about Japanese student life, we asked Nozomi about what is important to Japanese students, and what issues Japanese students face.

In junior high, many students were preoccupied with how to look better and how to be accepted by friends. In high school, the main concern is admission to university. There is a pressure on students to do well in their studies by teachers, students, and peers. In a sense, there is peer pressure to study. In addition, students form clicks in both junior high and high school, and students who don't find a group of friends when school begins often find themselves lonely.

In both junior high and high school, bullying is frequent, which leads to suicide and hikikomori (See Issues Faced by Japanese Students for a description of hikikomori). Many students skip school so they will not have to be bullied. Stress is another factor that leads to suicide. Many Japanese parents place exceedingly high expectations on their children, and they study far too hard. In addition, parents are often busy, and there is little family time. Frequent divorces also lead to single-parent families.

See Woon's blog Excerpt from japantoday.com