Tropes That Never Die

An article in Japan Today about foreign kids not enrolled in Japanese schools. Typical of the comments section on that site, regardless of the topic: "At least in primary school here, most children get a decent education, the indoctrination begins in middle school" A favorite trope of the expat community. Here's the philosophy of the Niigata City BOE: 誰もが安心して学び、生涯を通じて自己実現できる社会の実現」**を基本とし、「これからの社会で自信をもって自己実現していける子どもを育てる」「学びの循環による人づくり・地域づくりを進める」「地域と一体となった学校づくりを進める Google translate: >Building a society where everyone can learn with peace of mind and achieve self-fulfillment throughout their lives''** is the basis of ``nurturing children who can self-actualize with confidence in the future society'', ``promoting human development and community development through the cycle of learning'', and ``promoting the creation of schools that are integrated with the local community Not much indoctrinating going on here.