“Kariya and Rappleye aim to reassess educational equality in Japan and to contribute to global debates by their re-evaluation of the significance of the Japanese case. Their book contains fascinating revelations that should prompt careful thought about forms of equality and the mechanisms behind them. It also makes a provocative assessment of educational reforms in contemporary Japan, which raises many questions.”
—The Journal of Japanese Studies
“The book makes a significant academic contribution by presenting the possibility of a new approach to analyzing meritocracy, a key concept in the debate on the realization of societal equality through education, in its reevaluation of the Japanese case.”
—Teachers College Record
“Meritocracy. Equality. These are ideals that democratic societies have championed and continue to champion. How can Japan’s construction of linkages between meritocracy, equality, and education in the second half of the 20th century and beyond be characterized? This volume answers this question by providing a deep historical examination of the successes, ironies, and contradictions of Japan’s particular brand of meritocracy.”
—Mary C. Brinton, Reischauer Institute Professor of Sociology, Harvard University
“This important book reveals that the vaunted egalitarianism of the contemporary Japanese education system is not a reflection of an entrenched cultural tradition in Japan, but an unexpected outcome of a historical contingency of postwar Japanese policymaking that was shaped by a specific understanding of ‘equality’ and the logic of resource allocation of the time. Grounded in sociology of knowledge, the rich empirical analysis of the evolution of the myth of equality makes this book a must-read for those interested in how meritocracy, equality, and education intersected in Japan to produce a model for ‘a global meritocracy.’”
—Kiyoteru Tsutsui, professor of sociology and director of the Japan Program at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University
“Education, Equality, and Meritocracy in a Global Age makes an important contribution to the literature on education in Japan. Its authors, Takehiko Kariya and Jeremy Rappleye, explore the deeper structural elements that undergird current debates about education reform in Japan. Their rigorous analysis of documents not previously examined in the English literature challenges us to rethink our assumptions about concepts such as meritocracy, individualism, and educational opportunity. This book should appeal to Japan specialists, as well as readers interested in global approaches to educational reform and policymaking.”
—Christopher Bjork, Professor of Education on the Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. Chair, Vassar College
“This book is a significant historical work discussing the ways in which the Japanese government set up programs and policies to address educational gaps pre- and postwar, called ‘surface equality,’ in collaboration with prefectures, teachers, and the union. It reprimands those who have settled for mythologies, moving us to acknowledge the tensions between equality and freedom and offering a third way.”
—June A. Gordon, professor, University of California, Santa Cruz
