Key words: hegemony, educational policy, critical pedagogy, standardized testing
In the high stakes game of the Japanese educational system, the study of English figures prominently in determining which tracks for advancement students are placed in (Rapely, 2010; Masutani, 2019). It has been noted that Japanese students harbor a dislike for the enforced study of English (Reesor, 2003; Rapley, 2010; Japan Today, 2015). This may be reflected in the fact that despite considerable investments of time and money, the practical results of English education in Japan regarding fluency are arguably rather poor, as Japan's English skill level has fallen "below the world average" and was placed "in the 'low' category, which is the second-to-bottom group, alongside Russia, Vietnam and Iran" (Japanese ranked 53rd, 2019). Having a direct bearing on the students' aversion towards English are the policies which inform the English educational environment in Japan. This presentation explores issues of educational policy and hegemony in Japanese English education from a sociohistorical and critical pedagogic perspective. The central question related to this study is: What historical and political developments have shaped the character of Japan's English educational system, i.e. regarding the fact that an extensive program of English-language instruction in Japan was considered an absolute necessity by US officials, in order that these English-language teaching programs would "open for the infiltration of sound American ideas by ostensibly assisting in improving English-language teaching techniques" (Matsuda, pp. 117-118). The purpose of United States Information Service (USIS) operations in Japan was to stem the tide of communism (Matsuda, p. 115) in order to successfully incorporate Japan into the US' "grand hegemonic project to re-create a liberal, capitalist world order…after 1945 Washington sought to make a subsystem in East Asia, the strategic center of which was Japan" (pp. 15-17). Having explored this, the speaker will discuss what efforts can be made to localize English education in Japan in order to better serve its students.
Japan Today. (2015, March 18). 58.4% of high school seniors say they don't like studying English. Retrieved from https://japantoday.com/category/national/58-4-of-high-school- seniors-say-they-dont-like-studying-english
Japanese ranked 53rd in English skills in annual worldwide survey. (2019, November 9).
-Retrieved from https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/11/09/national/japanese-ranked- 53rd-english-skills-annual-worldwide-survey/
Matsuda, T. (2007). Soft power and its perils: U.S. cultural policy in early postwar Japan and permanent dependency. Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center Press.
Masutani, F. (2019, September 16). Concerns linger over new English tests for varsity entrance system. The Asahi Shinbun. Retrieved from http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201909160041.html.
Rapley, D. (2010). Learning to speak English: Japanese junior high school student views. The Language Teacher, 34(6), pp. 33-40.
Reesor, M. (2003). Japanese attitudes to English: Towards an explanation of poor performance. NUCB Journal of Language, Culture, and Communication, 5(2), 57-65.
