The development of secondary education in Japan after World War II

The basic pattern of contemporary secondary education in Japan was laid down in the years immediately after the Second World War. Secondary education is divided into a lower and an upper stage. The main characteristic of the lower stage is the combination of compulsory subjects and elective subjects. This article shows how the attempt to organise upper secondary education along American lines with comprehensive high schools controlled by elected school boards has given way to a structure more in keeping with Japanese needs. However, co-education in upper secondary schools has taken firm root in Japan. The article concludes with a list of major policy issues in Japanese secondary education today.