The reasons for attending cram schools in Japan are beginning to change—Parents seeking not just scores, but also their children's confidence and learning ability

When you hear "attending cram school," many in Japan might first think of exams.

I want to improve my math scores. I want to overcome my weakness in English. I want to prepare for high school entrance exams. I want to pass a prestigious junior high school.

For a long time, cram schools in Japan have been associated with such clear objectives.

However, now their role is beginning to change gradually.

Michael Black, founder of the Australian educational company Success Tutoring, pointed out in an essay published on August 26, 2026, that the purposes for which parents use tutors and cram schools are expanding beyond the traditional goals of "improving grades" and "catching up."

What parents are seeking is not just academic ability.

The ability to confidently ask questions. The ability to explain one's thoughts to others. The ability to try again even after failing. The ability to think about problems independently. And the ability to communicate directly with people.

In other words, cram schools are beginning to shift from being "places for the next exam" to "places to acquire skills for living beyond that."

This change is not only happening in Australia.

Rather, isn't this question important precisely because cram schools have become deeply rooted in Japanese society?

In Japan, "school + cram school" has long been the norm

In Japan, school education outside of school is so ingrained in daily life that it can be called a "cram school culture."

In regions with intense exam competition, it is not uncommon for children to start attending cram schools from the lower grades of elementary school. When entering junior high school, more families start looking for cram schools with high school entrance exams in mind.

In the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's "Survey on Children's Learning Expenses," the cost of learning outside of school is significant. In the 2023 survey, "supplementary learning expenses," which include cram schools, tutors, and materials, account for a particularly large proportion of extracurricular activity expenses in public junior high schools.

Education in Japan is not practically complete with just school.

Schools provide basic education, while cram schools, correspondence courses, tutors, and online materials have long supplemented it.

However, the important question here is, "What is the purpose of supplementing?"

Traditionally, it was relatively straightforward.

Because they can't keep up with school studies.

Because they want to improve test scores.

Because they want to pass their desired school.

However, nowadays, the anxieties parents face are not limited to just these.

Parents say, "I know the answer, but I don't know how to teach it"

One of the issues pointed out in the original article is the difficulty parents face in supporting their children's learning at home.

This applies quite a bit to Japanese households as well.

A child brings home math homework. The parent sees the problem and knows the answer.

However,

"How are you learning this at school?"

"Isn't that way of writing the formula wrong?"

"Back in my day, we didn't solve it like this."

Such conversations lead to frustration for both the parent and child.

The curriculum guidelines have changed, and in classes, it's not just about getting the right answer, but also explaining "why you thought that way" and comparing multiple methods that have become important.

Being able to study oneself and being able to teach a child are separate issues for parents.

Moreover, in dual-income households, there is simply not enough time.

Returning from work, preparing dinner, doing housework, and preparing for the next day while taking the time to watch over a child's studies every day is not easy.

That's why they use cram schools.

This is not a simple matter of "leaving education to others."

It's also a choice to entrust the learning part to experts to avoid turning the parent-child relationship into one that fights over homework every night.

It's not that their grades are bad, but they believe "I can't do it"

One particularly noteworthy point in the original article is the observation that more children are visiting cram schools due to confidence issues rather than ability issues.

They have the ability to solve problems.

They can understand if they listen to explanations.

But they can't raise their hand in class.

They're embarrassed if they make a mistake.

They can't say "I don't understand" to the teacher.

There are quite a few such children in Japan as well.

And the issue of "not being able to say I don't understand" is not just a personality problem.

The class progresses without them understanding.

They understand even less.

They fail the test.

They think, "After all, I'm not good at studying."

They're even more afraid to ask questions.

Once caught in this cycle, a small gap in understanding can turn into a major aversion.

This is where individual or small group instruction can be effective.

A teacher can observe a child's expressions and provide feedback such as,

"You understand up to this point."

"Let's go over just this part again."

"Your current way of thinking is correct."

With such feedback, the child can understand that it's not "I don't understand anything," but "I only didn't understand this part."

This is a very significant difference.

Confidence in learning is not about making them think "I can do anything."

It's about letting them experience that "even if I don't understand, I can gradually understand if I think about it."

Voices on social media say "cram schools became a place to belong"

Looking at reactions on social media regarding cram schools, the evaluations are not one-sided.

 

On Japanese Reddit, in response to posts about the burden of attending cram schools, there are also anecdotes from people who "liked cram schools as a child."

They say that while they didn't fit in at school, they enjoyed cram school because there were people with similar interests and learning motivation.

This is intriguing.

Cram schools have a function not only as "places to study" but also as places to form human relationships separate from school.

School classes are not something you can choose.

You spend most of your day in a group gathered by where you live and your age.

On the other hand, at cram schools, children gather with shared goals like "I want to study," "I want to take exams," or "I want to improve in this subject."

For children who had difficulty finding a place at school, cram schools can become a second community.

On X, there is an episode where a child liked the cram school so much that they refused to transfer even when the parent tried to, saying, "If I have to leave here, I'll quit taking exams," and the cram school also emphasized the importance of creating a fun atmosphere.

This indicates the value of cram schools that cannot be measured by deviation scores or success rates alone.

On the other hand, there is backlash over "sending kids to cram schools too much"

Of course, not all voices view cram schools positively.

In 2026, an article on Japanese social media about "losing children's free time due to attending cram schools three times a week" became a hot topic, with reactions like "Today's kids have it tough" and "Don't they need time to play with friends?"

Conversely, there are opinions like "I enjoyed cram school" and "Cram school suited me better than school," and the perceptions are widely divided.

There is an unavoidable issue when considering cram schools.

What parents think is "for the child's sake" and what the child actually wants do not always align.

Going to cram school several times a week.

Returning home late at night.

Doing homework.

Taking mock exams on weekends.

Continuing this lifestyle for years.

Certainly, academic ability might improve.

However, if the result is that only the feeling that "studying is something forced by adults" remains, can it really be said that education has succeeded?

In Japan, "parental anxiety" is what makes cram schools grow

A characteristic of considering education in Japan is the "fear of falling behind" felt by parents.

Other kids around have started going to cram schools.

They heard classmates are taking junior high school entrance exams.

It's said that starting English early is better.

Programming is also necessary.

High school entrance exams are said to be getting tougher.

Critical thinking is said to be necessary for university entrance exams.

Such information flows daily through social media.

Parents think.

"Is it really okay to do nothing?"

This anxiety creates a very strong demand for the cram school industry.

According to Yano Research Institute, Japan's education-related industry forms a large market, with various private education services such as cram schools, preparatory schools, correspondence education, e-learning, and language education.

Even if the number of children decreases due to declining birthrates, if the education expenses and services for one child diversify, the market does not necessarily shrink at the same rate.

It's not simply said that "the education market will shrink because the number of children decreases."

In the AI era, the value of "learning from people" changes

An even bigger change is generative AI.

Now, if you input an unknown math problem into AI, it will explain how to solve it.

It can also correct English compositions.

It can explain historical events.

It can even create problem sets.

In other words, if it's just about being "an entity that explains knowledge," some of the work of tutors and cram school teachers can now be replaced by AI.

So, will human teachers become unnecessary?

Probably the opposite.

As AI becomes more widespread, the roles required of human teachers will change from being "people who know the answers."

They notice when a child truly doesn't understand.

They notice when a child is speaking less.

They notice when a child has recently lost confidence.

They notice the habit of giving up from the start when faced with difficult problems, even though they can handle simple ones.

They ask, "Why do you think that?"

And they let the child explain.

Such engagement is different from mere information provision.

The value of "human skills" emphasized in the original article may become even more important in Japan with the spread of AI.

"The ability to ask questions" may be especially important for Japanese children

In Japanese education, abilities such as "listening quietly to the teacher," "producing correct answers," and "completing assigned tasks" have long been highly valued.

Of course, those are necessary too.

However, in society, there are more problems without answers.

What is the problem in the first place?

Which information should be trusted?

What do I not understand?

How do my opinions differ from others'?

You have to think about such things.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology itself has also been emphasizing "proactive, interactive, and deep learning" in recent years.

In the National Assessment of Academic Ability and Learning Situation Survey, the relationship with learning that involves thinking independently and tackling problems proactively, including dialogue, is analyzed.

In other words, these are abilities that should not only be sought in cram schools.

They are abilities that should be nurtured