Regarding the Nov. 7 front-page Kyodo article "Tanaka backpedals on new universities snub": Education minister Makiko Tanaka's decision to reverse her original decision is a serious blow to education in Japan.
Tanaka was 100 percent correct in her assessment that the education system in Japan needs to be revised. The system is broken, and there is a lack of accountability, responsibility and transparency that prevents students from receiving the education they deserve.
In addition, the system, as it stands now, discourages educators from pursuing higher goals and demanding more of their students. Japanese universities have the reputation of being difficult to get into and extremely easy to graduate from. If one were to look at recent graduates, they lack the drive and, in some cases, the skills to succeed in today's world.
We are currently producing cookie-cutter "yes men" with little ambition or desire to go above and beyond.
I was hoping that with Tanaka's original decision [not to allow the establishment of three new universities], the needed changes would apply to the entire education system — not just to the higher education sector.
Unfortunately, the lack of responsibility, accountability and transparency is systemwide and well ingrained. It envelops all aspects of the school, teachers, students, administrators, local boards of education and parents.
Tanaka's education ministry has failed our children and put the future of Japan on a sure road to failure as it has let the bureaucracy, status quo and ignorance continue to dictate the future of Japan and our children.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.