As I stood at Ground Zero and looked at the beautiful park surrounding me, I was overwhelmed by emotions I cannot describe adequately. When I took a group of students to Hiroshima a few months later, I found I could not go through the museum again. I spent a year teaching in Japanese schools and working with Japanese teachers and students. There are a lot of things to admire about Japanese schools, and a number of things to criticize as well. It's hard to argue with the success of Japanese schools at preparing students to be able to function in their society.
Illiteracy is unheard of in Japan.
The average level of math skills is high. And everyone graduating from high school has taken six years of a foreign language. One of the things I most liked about schools in Japan is the fact that students clean them every day. It's hard to feel free to mess up a school if you know you have to clean it up. The uniforms are also probably a good idea for the most part.