Studies the avenues of success that are available to the Japanese through educational achievement, and the barriers that block these avenues

People achieve their place in society through their education. Nine years of schooling is compulsory, but more than 90% of the children go on to senior high school and half continue to some form of higher education. Children are given a head start in kindergarten and then later to 'cram schools' to help them excel at school. Entrance exams to determine which school a child can enter are important. There are exams for those seeking management jobs. Doors are open to men, but not so much for women, who, after marriage, often must stay home. Retirement is often required at 55, yet the Japanese population is rapidly aging. There are minorities in Japan who are still discriminated against. The Chinese, Koreans and the so-called burakumin, descendants of social outcasts of feudal times, are severely discriminated against.