Also, in Japan, teachers move from classroom to classroom, which is different from the US where the kids move between teachers' rooms. And Japanese children help serve (and clean up after) a very nutritious school lunch [0], as opposed to the US which is pinching pennies on feeding children to the point where the tomato paste in pizza is given four times the credit it should be to count as a vegetable.

And education is not without its pitfalls in Japan, like the bullying problem and the high rate of suicide in such a high-pressure environment.

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fze5s1SlqB8