The Policy Analysis to Solve Academic Decline in Japan– Course of Study and National Assessment of Academic Ability
Author: Yi-Lin Lee (Center for Institutional Affairs, National Taichung University of Education), Szu-Wei Yang (Department of Education, National Taichung University of Education)
Vol.&No.：Vol. 70, No. 2
Date：June 2025
Pages：123-150
DOI：https://doi.org/10.6209/JORIES.202506_70(2).0004
Abstract：
Since the late 1980s, influenced by neoliberalism, Japan implemented the “Third Education Reform” to address issues in standardized and rote-based teaching. With open education becoming popular in Western countries, Japan introduced “relaxed education” in the 1990s to alleviate long-standing pressures in education by substantially revising its curriculum guidelines, known as “Course of Study” in Japanese. However, this reform led to a significant drop in Japan’s ranking in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), shattering the “Japanese educational miracle” of the 1980s and prompting widespread societal concern. This sparked the “Great Debate on Academic Decline” in Japan from around 1995 to 2010, marked by extensive literature and arguments between proponents and critics of relaxed education (Nakai, 2001, 2003). In response to public criticism, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) carried out multiple revisions of the curriculum guidelines, refining the definition and approach to “academic ability” to ensure that students retained sufficient academic competency to prevent a decline in national strength.
The concept of “academic ability” (or “basic academic ability”) has been widely debated among Japanese scholars and government officials since World War II, with various research findings but no unified conclusion. Professor Kaneko divides academic ability into two main perspectives: a “subject-based academic ability,” focusing on traditional literacy and numeracy achieved through subject knowledge, and a “practical academic ability,” influenced by John Dewey’s progressivism, emphasizing learning as a means to develop life skills. These two perspectives have remained in tension and are reflected in various educational discourses, influencing education policies to this day.
Japan’s education leaned toward a subject-based perspective before World War II. However, post-war reflections and American influence led to a temporary shift to practical academic ability, but by the 1960s, the focus swung back to subject-based competencies due to exam-oriented debates, making subject-based academic ability mainstream once again.
In the 1980s, Japan’s economic peak and the global wave of open education rekindled interest in practical academic ability, initiating the advocacy for relaxed education.
“Relaxed Education” in the 1970s and 1980s emerged in response to both internal criticisms of rigidity and uniformity in Japanese education and external pressures from intensified global competition and economic changes. Japan’s education system thus faced a quality bottleneck, with a knowledge-heavy approach that struggled to meet the demands of a knowledge-based post-industrial economy. Mounting social issues, such as intense competition, school violence, absenteeism, student suicides, and juvenile crime, underscored the need for reform. Consequently, the idea of relaxed, personalized school education became a shared goal in Japan. In the 1980 curriculum, content was selectively reduced, lowering both lesson content and volume. Subsequent reports by the Temporary Education Council from 1985-1987 advocated for personalized, relaxed, lifelong learning, shifting Japanese education from rigidity and uniformity toward diversity and globalization.
In the 1990s, Japan’s government recognized the importance of relaxed education, and in July 1996, the Central Council for Education released a report on education’s future direction for the 21st century, emphasizing the cultivation of children’s “zest for life” within the relaxed education framework. Consequently, the 1998 curriculum (implemented in 2002) underwent major revisions, including a 30% reduction in content across subjects, lower teaching difficulty, a five-day school week, fewer class hours, and the introduction of “comprehensive learning periods” for interdisciplinary studies to promote enjoyable learning experiences.
Relaxed Education faced ongoing skepticism domestically, especially when Japan’s PISA rankings dropped significantly. Despite the similarities between PISA’s focus on practical problem-solving abilities and Japan’s emphasis on “zest for life” under relaxed education, the public associated the drop in rankings with academic decline and relaxed education (Nakai, 2003; Tan, 2017). This sparked renewed criticism of relaxed education in 1999 and the ensuing debate on academic decline (Akio et al., 2002). The discussions, focused on “new academic ability concepts” and “definite academic ability,” reflect an evolution in the ideals of Japan’s education reforms toward personalization, relaxation, diversity, and internationalization since the 1980s (Xu, 2008).
To clarify the content of academic ability and address academic decline scientifically, Japan initiated the “National Academic Ability and Learning Status Survey” annually from 2007. This survey aimed to evaluate student learning outcomes and use the results to refine curriculum, teaching methods, assessments, and teacher quality. Consequently, Japan saw an improvement in PISA and TIMSS scores, suggesting that its policies effectively addressed academic decline.
Since the 1990s, the rise of a knowledge-based society led Western nations to adopt competency-based models with a broader view of academic ability. The OECD’s PISA assessment emphasized competencies needed for citizenship, leading to a “PISA-type academic ability.” Influenced by this trend, Japan’s 2017 curriculum incorporated the “attributes and abilities” concept to articulate “zest for life” goals, gradually implementing them. On April 17, 2019, the Minister of Education submitted a consultation request to the Central Council for Education regarding “The Ideal Form of Elementary and Secondary Education in the New Era.” This document highlights that Japan’s students scored highest in mathematics and science literacy among OECD middle schools in PISA 2015. Additionally, disparities between lower-ranking prefectures and national average scores in the national academic test have narrowed, signaling that academic improvement is progressing. The document affirms that Japan has addressed academic decline and articulates a comprehensive policy for developing “zest for life” in the 2020 curriculum, preparing for Society 5.0, the anticipated “super-smart society.”
Thus, this study aims to evaluate Japan’s policy responses to academic decline, examining curriculum revisions and national academic testing policies that integrate feedback into curriculum, teaching methods, assessments, and teacher development. The study concludes with three findings: (1) Japan’s national academic tests have effectively shaped a cycle linking policy, curriculum, and assessment to enhance academic ability; (2) Japan’s performance in international assessments like PISA and TIMSS has improved since the 2003-2006 PISA SHOCK; (3) Japan’s national academic testing program requires continued evaluation. After analyzing domestic policy challenges, five recommendations are proposed for Taiwan: (1) examine the alignment between national curriculum competencies and international assessments; (2) ensure evidence-based curriculum revisions, informed by surveys and assessment results; (3) expand basic education assessments to align core competencies between curriculum and national academic assessments; (4) integrate existing assessments for comprehensive or sample-based evaluations of student outcomes as references for curriculum revisions; and (5) establish a PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) linkage mechanism for core competencies in curriculum, policy, and assessment.
Keywords：
academic decline, Japan, national assessment of academic ability, revisions of course of study