Over half of all Japanese junior high students spend 2 to 3 hours per day after school and on weekends in student-organized school clubs, such as broadcasting, Japanese fencing, or brass band. Teachers and parents see club participation as academically motivational because it makes for a more well-rounded school experience. They emphasize the clubs' role of providing opportunities for physical activity and socialization within a school setting. Some adolescents choose to spend after-school time at juku , privately owned academies that provide supplementary classes for students who pay a fee. Juku offers challenging and remedial courses for students who feel that the public schools do not offer enough.
Many adolescents spend after-school time in juku to prepare for entrance exams.
Students enrolled in juku may also choose to take enrichment courses, such as piano lessons that will round out their individual abilities in nonacademic areas. While parents send their children to juku to develop individual ability in various areas, many junior high students claim that they attend juku primarily to socialize. Clubs also provide ample opportunity for social interaction. Clubs and juku channel the social experiences of Japanese adolescents toward educational goals. By contrast, in America, friendships form through commonalities unrelated to school.