The Southeast Asian Ministers ofEducation Organization (SEAMEO)
International Conference, TokyoCampus, University of Tsukuba,
Japan. February 11, 2018

National Curriculum Reform in Japan from 1998 to2018: A Critical Discourse Analysis and thePossibility of Sustainable Development
Associate Professor Hiroshi Sato, PhD,
University of Tsukuba, Japan

Introduction• The purpose of this study is to examine the validity ofJapan's curriculum reform from 1998 to 2018, focusing
on the concept of Yutori education, and to think about
the possibility of the sustainable development ofcurriculum policy in the future.

• In this report, I first explain the criticism of Yutori

education in Japan.

• Next, I point out that the criticisms about the Yutori

education and the Yutori generation were incorrect.
Then, I examine how the criticism about the Yutori
education affected the revisions of the national
curriculum guidelines in 2008 and 2017.
All Rights Reserved by Dr Hiroshi Sato (2018)2

• Critical discourse analysis, which focuses on languageand discourse created with a specific intention, is used inthis study. It is problematic that such language anddiscourse form a specific image that influences people's
thinking, labels some people, and has a negative
influence on policy formation.

• cf.) A definition of Critical discourse analysis (CDA) varies

depending on a researcher. For instance, Cri ical
discourse analysis (CDA) is an interdisciplinary approachto textual study that aims to explicate abuses of power
promoted by those texts, by analyzing linguistic/semiotic
details in light of the larger social and political contexts
in which those texts circulate(Huckin e al
All Rights Reserved by Dr Hiroshi Sato (2018)3

A Brief History of National Curriculum Guidelines• 1947 School Discretion• 1958 Standard

Legal Power, Basic Education, Science and Math

• 1968 Modernization of Curriculum• 1977 Essential and Balanced Curriculum• 1989 New Way of Learning for Changing Society and Living

Criticizingas a• 1998 Self-Learning, zest for living and General Studies

Yutori• 2008 Balance between Knowledge and Problem-Solving“That’sdiscourse”

Environment Studies• 2017 Subjective learning, Interactive and Deep learning
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1. Meaning of Yutori• Yutori is aord commonl sed as in he e pression a comfor able(Yutori lifes le and i generall has a posi i e meaning I can besaid to be a word reflecting an ability to afford something. For example,
hen I am b s I co ld sa There is no ime or space Yutori• Yutori is a keyword referring to youth theory and education theory inJapan, and it is commonly used in terms such as Yutori education(relaxed or stress-free education) and Yutori generation. These words
have been coined through a combination of Yutori + education andYutori + generation, but in Japan, they are established as well-known
phrases; they often have a negative meaning.

• It is noncommon o hear s ch s a emen s as he Yutori education
failedhe Yutori genera ion has lo academic abili
and heYutori genera ion is selfish But are these true?
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2. Definition and criticism of Yutori
education• Before answering this question, it is important to clarify

the definition of Yutori education. Although there arevarious opinions on the scope of Yutori education, it can besaid that it is referring to the education based on thenational curriculum guidelines for revision in 1998.

• The full implementation of the guidelines was in 2002. The

guidelines emphasize learning through problem solving
and experiential learning. In addition, in accordance withthe 5-day weekly school system implemented in 2000,
class hours were reduced and the curricular content was
carefully selected.
All Rights Reserved by Dr Hiroshi Sato (2018)6• Some critics who responded negatively to this feature begancriticizing the national curriculum revised in 1998 by calling it
Yutori education, starting around 2000. The MEXT, in order toaddress the criticism of the Yutori education, increased thecontents of education and class hours at the guidelines revised in2008. The revised national curriculum guidelines for 2008 werepositioned as "reactionary" toward the revised guidelines from1998.

• What age group does the Yutori generation refer to? According tonewspaper articles, this generation is delineated based onwhether a student took university entrance examinations using
the revised educational guidelines of 1998. Current first andsecond year undergraduates took an entrance examination for
university based on the revised educational guidelines for 2008
for all subjects.
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3. Is criticism of the Yutori education
correct?
• First, let me consider academic achievement. At TIMSS (Trends inInternational Mathematics and Science Study) of the IEA (The International
Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement), Japanese
academic achievement levels have been high, including during the time when
the students from the Yutori generation participated.

• At the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) by OECD,

Japan students made up the top class in the 2012 survey. Students who took
the PISA in 2012 were from the generation learning using the 1998 revised
national curriculum guidelines, the so-called Yutori education.

• In other words, there was no drop in academic ability due to the Yutorieducation.

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4. Is criticism of the Yutori generation
correct?

• The Yutori generation has been widely criticized.

• Although it is difficult to explain the characteristics of the young

generation, Furuich (2011) has made the following points basedon he p blic opinion s r e on social conscio sness of heCabine Office Do o al a s an o be sef l for socie as amember of society? This question has been consistently asked in
the survey.

• According to the 2012 survey, 59.4% of young people in their

twenties are hoping to serve society. In the 1983 survey, only 32%
answered that they wanted to serve society in their twenties. Thatmeans that in less than 30 years, the number of young people who
really want to serve society has doubled.
All Rights Reserved by Dr Hiroshi Sato (2018)9• Con emporaro ng people are no j s socieorien ed b also an o con rib e o socie(Furuich 2011: 73-75).
• From here e can see he o ng genera ion s in eresin public contribution.
• This may be the result of a variety of backgroundfactors, but if we focus on school education, it can beconsidered to be the result of the 1998 national
curriculum guidelines that strove to overcome
competitive education and emphasized human nature,living together, problem solving, and experiential
learning.
• In other words, criticism of the Yutori education andthe Yutori generation is not appropriate; instead, it canbe said that it is a factual misunderstanding.
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5. How did the criticism affect the revised
national curriculum guidelines for 2008?
• The negative impact of Yutori criticism in the development ofcurriculum policy still exists. Since the MEXT is concerned about
the reoccurrence of the criticism toward the Yutori education, its
only option is to increase class hours and educational content. In
short, because of the discourse surrounding the Yutori education,
MEXT cannot freely develop curriculum policy.

• After the revision of the curriculum guidelines in 2008, thequantity of homework assignments and learning drills increased.
Since the curriculum that was taught in the upper grades wasmoved to the lower grades, unreasonable learning expectations
that are incompatible with developmental stages were raised.
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11

•A

he same ime ario s problems concerning children s
growth have arisen.

• For e ample according o he MEXT Final repor ons ppor o school ref sing s den s s d and researchcollaborators meeting on school refusal, July 2016), thenumber of schools refusing pupils increased for the firsttime in six years in 2013 (in FY 2014, 0.39% of elementary
school children and 2.76% of junior high school students
do not attend school).

• The current course of study guidelines have madeeducational content too difficult, and students are busy
every day. Should the national curriculum guidelines be
considered as one of the background factors of the highproportion of school refusal?
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6. How did the criticism affect the revised national
curriculum guidelines for 2017?
• The 2017 revision did not reduce study content. It maintained the number ofclass hours, and even increased class hours in elementary schools.

• The 2008 revision had created certain problems, including an increased

number of class hours, a focus on drill work, increased homework, the use ofni s ns i able for he s den s de elopmen al s ages and a cro dedc rric l m• The guidelines that were revised in 2017 did not solve any of these problems.

Thus, the coursework might not all fit into the allotted time. As a matter of fact,some boards of ed ca ion ha e e en proposed a shor er s mmer holida• The main reason behind hese policies ha foc s ono al ol me andincreased con en and class ho rs is ha MEXT has gone on he defensi ethey fear the revival of the criticism of the Yutori education that the 1998
revision might have caused academic decline. However, in fact, that criticism
was mistaken. The 1998 revision did not advocate for children being relaxed,
but rather should have been considered as promoting learning throughproblem solving and living together.
All Rights Reserved by Dr Hiroshi Sato (2018)13Conclusion• From an international perspective, the Japanese curriculum policy

has problems. In order to realize a competency-based curriculum
for a knowledge-based and global society, OECD suggests that
increasing the number of class hours is inappropriate; instead,deep learning is important (Taguma 2015).

• Is the current curriculum of Japan keeping students busy,

competing to exclude them from 21st century learning?
Internationally, is there any possibility that the Japanese education
will become obsolete?

• In order to maintain the possibility of sustainable development in

the curriculum, discourse such as the criticism of Yutori education
should be abolished. Constructive discussion over education is thefirst step in policy formation that will lead to sustainability.
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References• Thomas Huckin, Jennifer Andrus, and Jennifer Clary-Lemon Cri ical

Discourse Analysis and Rhetoric and Composi ion College Compositon andCommunication, National Council of Teachers of English, Vol.64, No.1, 2012

• Noritoshi Furuich, Happy young people in the country of despair, Koudansya,

2011• Minis r of Ed ca ion C lre Spor s Science and Technolog MEXT
repor on s ppor o school ref sing s den s S d and researchcollaborators meeting on school refusal), July 2016

Final

• Miho Taguma, OECD Ed ca ion

The Uni ersi of Tok o s mposi m"Construction of 21st Century Type Educational Model" handout, December 5,2015

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