I just read an interesting three-part post about the Japanese public education system. 

• http://schoolcrossing.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-do-you-know-about-japanese.html
• http://schoolcrossing.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-do-you-know-about-japanese_26.html
• http://schoolcrossing.blogspot.com/2008/06/what-do-you-know-about-japanese.html

I’m not a huge fan of the American public education system, but I don’t believe it’s the huge failure many people claim. Given a choice between sending my daughter to a random US school or a random Japanese school, I would choose a US school without hesitation.