The Japanese school year starts in April and consists of three terms, separated by short holidays in spring and winter, and a one month long summer break.
Given the large amount of time that Japanese students spend in schools, it is little wonder that the education system plays a tremendous role in determining the fabric of Japanese society.
After WWll Japan adopted the American 6-3-3 model, 6 years of primary school, followed by 3 years at junior high school and 3 years at senior high school. Control over curriculum rests largely with the national Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Monbukagakusho) and education is compulsory through to grade nine. High salaries, relatively high prestige, and very low birth rates make teaching jobs quite difficult to obtain in Japan. While more Japanese schools are acquiring specialists such as special education teachers and counselors, western schools have many more elective type subjects and support personnel than is the case in Japan.
As in Australia, the school day starts with classroom management tasks, such as taking attendance and making announcements. Students stay in their homeroom classrooms for most of the school day while the teachers move from room to room, operating out of a central teachers' room. At the end of the academic day, all students participate in ‘o shoji’, the cleaning of the school. Sport or culture-based club activities take place after school every day.