JAPAN
Takahiro Takiguchi illustration

(Illustration by Yukiyo Oda/Stripes Japan)

To give their children an edge over the competition, many parents in Japan send their children to “juku,” or cram schools. The schools have been around for decades. There are more than 50,000 juku in Japan today and about 50-70 percent of students who plan to take entrance exams use them.

Fuyu (winter in Japanese kanji character)

Fuyu (winter) (Image courtesy of Stripes Japan)

Takahiro Takiguchi is a writer based in Yokosuka, Japan. Takiguchi covers travel, food and culture stories for Stars and Stripes Japan. Follow along as Takiguchi takes readers to less crowded destinations around the mainland, you might also catch him out and about recording Speakin’ Japanese lesson videos for Instagram.

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