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JAPAN

TIDBITS FOR THE CLASSROOM

Dr. Theron L. Trimble

2006 Keizai Koho Fellowship Program

As a life long admirer of Japanese culture and student of Japanese history, it was a great opportunity when I had the honor of being selected for the 2006 Keizai Koho Fellowship Program.  Keizai Koho is one of the most well established foundations supporting social studies teachers in learning about other cultures and provides participants with a two week experience in Japan focusing on education, business, and the economy.  The following is an attempt to share a few items of possible interest to social studies teachers and perhaps provide useful anecdotal information for the classroom. 

Demographics

1.2888 is the 2004 fertility rate for Japan, a new low point on a measure that has been declining for years.  Simply translated, this means that the typical family will not reproduce itself, a phenomenon not uncommon for several of the more industrialized countries but particularly severe for Japan. While many are concerned about overpopulation in the world, Japan faces the opposite problem

On the positive side, this may provide relief to large class size in schools and may allow the government to invest in more teaching resources and facility improvement.  Unemployment becomes less of an issue when there are fewer workers, an important issue while the economy transitions from the traditional salary man with life-long tenure in one company to a workforce of permanent, part – time, and transient workers.

On the negative side, the labor force may not be adequate to maintain or help the economy grow and labor shortages commonly create increases in wages, driving up product prices and making Japan’s products more expensive on the world market.   Equally critical is that the smaller labor force may not be adequate to support the social system providing for the large number of retirees.  With a median age of 42.9 according to the CIA World Factbook, and an excellent health care system, Japan’s current population is one of the oldest among major nations and will be getting significantly older as the fertility rate continues to skew the population pyramid.

Immigration into the United States, Great Britain, Italy, and France was a major factor in helping provide a balance to the aging population among native citizenry and could, potentially mitigate the problem facing Japan.  Unfortunately immigrants have not, historically, been welcome in Japan and a major change in policy would have to occur for this to be a solution for the problem.

Economy

24.9 is the Gini index for Japan, the second best of any nation, according to WWW.maps101.com, a Nystrom teaching source.  This economic indicator, with which I was not previously familiar, measures the equality of income distribution in a national economy, with 0 being perfect equality.  In context, the United States has a Gini index of 45, making Japan almost two times better in achieving economic equality for its citizens. 

How did Japan achieve this balance was a question on my mind as I visited businesses and attended presentations from scholars during the Keizai Koho program.  Among the contributing factors, it appears, are the following:

1. Management Compensation – the difference in salaries between management and workers in Japanese companies is far smaller than that of American companies.  One limited statistical study, available from web-japan.org., showed that top management positions in Japan averaged between 2 and three times the salary of the typical worker.  In the United States, management is often paid hundreds of times the salary of the common worker (think Enron).  An interesting side note is that Principals in Japan are paid less than teachers, providing additional perspective on the role of management.
2. Homogeneity – with a homogeneous population, there is less opportunity for ethnic groups to become associated with certain types of employment.  With ethnic and racial biases removed, there may be a greater tendency to provide more equitable (read livable wage) salaries for lower end jobs.  This is strictly conjectured on my part.
3. Social programs – with no major military defense budget, Japan has the luxury of more choices in economic decision making at the national level.  It appears that the government has been able to provide an extensive program of social services, including education, low-cost medical care, pensions, and pre-natal care without the tax burden that has supported such programs in other countries.

These tidbits are a small taste of the wonderful world of information about Japan.  If you want more, please contact the author or the editor and we can make this a continuing feature.  If more information is desired on these items, trimblte@collier.k12.fl.us will provide a means of contact.

Theron Trimble Ed D., is the FCSS Executive Director and a social studies educator from Naples, FL..  He was the 2005 recipient of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Outstanding Service Award, in recognition of his exceptional service to the social studies profession.