EDWIN o. REISCHAUER, us Ambassador in Tokyo between 1961 and 1966, and now Professor of Far Eastern Languages at Harvard University, discusses with JOHN TUSA the historical development of education in Japan over the past century, and its impact on the evolution of a democratic style of government
Japan's success In the world is widely attributed to the quality of education available to all people. The introduction of universal education has turned Japan in less than a hundred years from a purely feudal society into a modern nation state with all the essential attributes of a democratic system of government.