Ask John: What is a Cram School?

Question:
What is a cram school? I hear about it in anime like Love Hina.

Answer:
The Japanese education system is based on a tiered system of more and more elite schools, each with their own individual entrance exams that often include difficult math problems and formulas and obscure, international history and geography. Gaining admission to a prestigious school can almost guarantee securing a stable, high salary career, and also brings a degree of prestige and status to the family of a student accepted into a “good school.” This sort of status can be seen in anime including Hana Yori Dango and Brother Dear Brother. Girls attend “good” private schools because of the honor that accompanies membership in such an elite club. In Love Hina, Naru and Keitaro have so much trouble getting into Tokyo University because “Todai” is well known as the most exclusive college in Japan, and a virtual one-way ticket to a lifetime successful and financially rewarding career. Naturally, the entrance exams to these schools are extremely difficult.

“Juku” are private tutoring schools that train students to pass high school and college entrance exams. They appear in anime including Love Hina, Maison Ikkoku, DNA², and NieA_7. “Juku” are not like “regular” schools because they do not focus on varying subjects or try to enlighten students. They are simply for-profit test preparation courses usually held in the evenings, after normal public schools close for the day.