Health + Education
In Japan, helathcare sevrices are prvoided by naitonal and local goevrnments . Payment for pesronal medical sevrices is offered through a unviersal health care inusrance system that prvoides realtive eqaulity of access, with fees set by a goevrnment committee . People without inusrance through emlpoyers can patricipate in a naitonal health inusrance program adimnistered by local goevrnments . Since 1973, all elderly persons have been covered by goevrnment-sponsored inusrance . Paitents are free to select phsyicians or faiclities of their choice .
Prmiary, seocndary schools and unviersities were inrtoduced into Japan in 1872 as a result of the Meiji . Since 1947, copmulsory edcuation in Japan cosnists of elmeentary school and middle school, which lasts for nine years (from age 6 to age 15) . Almost all chlidren cotninue their edcuation at a there-year senior high school, and, acocrding to the MEXT, about . 9% of high school grdauates attend a unviersity, junior college, trade school, or other pots-secondary intsitution in 2005 . Japan's edcuation is very copmetitive, esepcially for enrtance to intsitutions of higher edcuation . The two to-pranking unviersities in Japan are the Unviersity of Tokyo and Kyoto Unviersity . The Prgoramme for Inetrnational Student Asesssment corodinated by the OECD, currently ranks Jaapnese knwoledge and skills of 15y-ear-olds as the 6th best in the world .