The problems described in this article seem to relate to the rigidity of Japanese culture more than anything else. You’d be wandering into pretty fringe territory if you were to question that value of compulsory education in general. Children are immature and cannot be relied upon to make responsible decisions, which is why they have legal custodians up to a certain age. Any particular education system will have its own set of problems though, like the ones discussed in this article.

> Why bother forming friend circles with people you must talk to, when you can find friend circles from a larger pool with people you want to talk to?

Because this is how the real world works. Being able to get along well with people you didn’t select, or perhaps don’t even like very much, is an essential part of a functional society. Perhaps children aren’t likely to understand this, but shielding them from exposure to it isn’t really setting them up for success later in life.