Dear Minister of Education Hakubun Shimomura,
My son started elementary school this month. Had we decided to place him in an international or private Japanese school, I would have been looking at a potential bill for his first school year that exceeded all the money my parents spent on the entire 13 years of my education in the U.K., as well as the four I spent at university.
Although state education in Japan is practically free, one feels almost obligated to place children in what are perceived to be the better schools and cram schools in an attempt at one-upmanship over the hordes of kids who are being pressured at such a young age to compete with their peers for a chance to gain entry into the finest universities.