ABSTRACT
Japan's health-care system is another source of envy, as the Japanese have one of the longest life expectancies in the world. The system is also among the least expensive, certainly in comparison to the United States, and the most accessible. Japan's rise to international prominence is attributable, in part, to an education system that has produced students who perform at the top on basic skills tests, resulting in not a little envy elsewhere in the world. The importance of education in the social order began to develop during the period of modernization in the nineteenth century. The high rate of literacy and educational attainment in general are due in no small measure to the fact that nearly all students have the same native language. The contrast between K–12 education and higher education in Japan is striking. The cost of health care in Japan is considerably less than that in the US and is comparable to that in European countries.
