New Horizons in Education

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to understand the effects the US Educational Mission’s reforms have had on Japan’s educational and social development since World War II. Our goal in this study was to understand the legacy of these effects, not to prove them correct.

While the focus of the analysis is on the cultural effects of the US Mission to Japan, our investigation also seeks to understand the contemporary effects of externally imposed reform efforts. In the current global market we are concerned about the loss of national identity to countries that must follow the reform efforts imposed by agencies such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Our investigation attempts to understand the consequences of reforms that do not recognize the culture of a country. From this investigation we find the main lesson to be learned is that reform efforts cannot stand alone but must be done together with the existing culture of a country. This is the legacy of the US Mission and the lesson for international agencies that impose reform efforts.

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