op analytical thinking and logical reasoning is clearly evident, but this type of teaching is sorely lacking in Japanese schools. Reformers of the Japanese educational system rightly contend that this shortcoming possesses the ability to severely limit Japan's progress in the 21st century: "Critics in Japan believe that it is the superior performance of America's high fliers that makes their country so dynamic and creative" ("The Struggle, 1997, p. 46).
The culprit in the rigidity of Japan's education system is its entrance exams. By the age of 12, Japanese junior high school students have already begun to work feverishly toward a rite of passage known as "examination hell." At age 14, these students must pass an entrance examination to senior high school. Nothing in the American secondary school system is comparable to the pressures involved: "Japanese folklore has it that those who sleep more than four hours a night cannot hope to succeed in the intense competition for academic success that lies ahead" (Lynn, 1988, p. 23). Entry into a prestigi
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