Opinion

Education and Overzealous Parents

By DAVID ZOPPETTI

As everyone else, I was deeply shocked by the murder of 2-year-old Haruna Wakayama of Bunkyo Ward in Tokyo at the end of November. I was shocked not only because an innocent child was killed but because of the motives that seem to have triggered the tragedy.

As I write these lines still a lot remains uncertain. Mitsuko Yamada, the 35-year old housewife arrested in connection with the murder, reportedly said she kidnapped Haruna-chan and strangled her in a public toilet. She confessed to having had a "long and very emotional conflict" with Haruna's mother. Police believe this might have led her to commit the crime. Many still suspect kindergarten and primary school exams contributed to the conflict.

Still more recognize that feelings of jealousy and resentment between parents in relation to school matters are quite common in this country.

Japan is well-known for the competitiveness of its university entrance exams. But what is commonly referred to as "entrance exam war" is starting ear lier and earlier. Whereas parents 10 or 15 years ago were satisfied to enroll their children in establishments affiliated with prestigious universities at the high-school level, now many are struggling to get 3-year-olds accepted in the proper kindergarten.

To me this is mind-boggling. Yes, we definitely do live in a fierce and highly competitive world. But there is an age for everything in life, and I feel that the approach to education in Japan is on the verge of getting totally out of hand.

Many parents seem to be unable to judge the value of their children in any other way than by comparing them to the "academic" achievements of others. They also often seem more concerned with their "mentsu" (reputation) than with the actual quality of the education provided or the well-being of their offspring.

Many are still lured by the myth that graduating from a prestigious university is the best — if not only — guarantee of a happy and successful life. And they are ready to put themselves (and their children) through any kind of ordeal to ensure that this goal is achieved.

The irony is that usually students work so hard cramming knowledge in their heads in order to enter university, that by the time they get there, they spend four years having fun and hardly studying at all.

In my home country of Switzerland, there are no university entrance exams whatsoever. Anyone who is able to graduate from high school is entitled to enter any university he or she wishes to.

Entering is easy, but graduating is difficult. The result is that basically only people who really want to study attend university. There is none of the excessive competition one finds in Japan, but there still is a high level of education, and the country is basically functioning well.

Whatever the result of the investigation on the Haruna-chan case turns out to be, the circumstances surrounding it should be a reminder that in a real democracy access to education should be a right — not a battle.

Shukan ST: Jan. 7, 2000

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