Since the second half of the 1990s, the decline in academic standards in mathematics and science among undergraduate students in Japan has been noted. Despite this, problems in science education have become increasingly severe, and their impact is having a mounting effect on Japan’s economy....

Various arguments have been developed concerning Japan's economic changes following World War II, which have stimulated widespread interest both inside and outside Japan, a reflection of Japan's high growth rate during that period and its expanding role in the world economy.sup1/sup In the...