JAPAN - The grandstand of the Meiji Stadium in Tokyo during the pontifical Mass, 12 June 1949.
School attendance is compulsory and free, and sex-segregated education was abolished by the law of 1947, which introduced coeducation.
The school system includes kindergartens for children from three to six years of age, lower elementary school from 6 to 12 years of age, and upper elementary school from 12 to 14 years of age. From lower elementary school it is possible to proceed to the two-year school, the two-year vocational school, the first-level specialist school lasting two years, and the two-year after-school programme. From upper elementary school it is possible to proceed to the second-level specialist school and to the seminary for the training of elementary-school teachers.
From lower elementary school it is also possible to proceed to the Kōtōjogakko, first-level higher schools for girls, and to the Chūgakko, first-level higher schools for boys; from these one may proceed to the Kōtōjogakko, second-level higher schools for girls, from which access to the universities is possible. There are 8 imperial universities at Tokio, Kiōto, Osaka, Sendai, Fukuota, Sapporo, Keijō, and Taihoku; 2 state universities at Tokio and Hiroshima; 11 private universities; 2 public universities with one faculty; and 13 private universities with a single faculty.
Catholic instruction is provided in 235 schools of catechism and prayer, 21 elementary schools, 26 lower secondary schools, 14 upper secondary schools, 12 vocational schools, and 1 teacher-training school. Famous is the Catholic University founded in 1913 by the Jesuits in Tokio under the name Jochi Daigaku.
Catholic missionaries also conduct 1,100 courses for students in foreign languages and commerce.
The education of the Catholic clergy takes place in 11 minor seminaries, 12 novitiates, and 4 major seminaries. There are also 6 schools for catechumens. - Vedi tavv. XXXI-XXXII.