| The objectives of this study were (1) to examine the nature and extent of cultural diversity in Japan; (2) to ascertain the meaning of multicultural education in both the North American and Japanese contexts; and (3) to make judgements concerning the relevance of multicultural education to Japanese education.;It was determined that Japanese society is indeed a culturally diverse one, that the cultural minorities are relatively small in numbers and that the Japanese government has traditionally followed a policy of the cultural assimilation of minorities.;Using conceptual analysis to investigate the meanings of multicultural education, the study found that the concept as developed in North America includes such elements as intercultural education, multiethnic education, minority education, human rights education, anti-racist education, democratic education, political education, education for social justice and peace education. These supporting meanings were found to have both distinctiveness yet also overlapping value associations.;The study reached the conclusion that a qualified concept of multicultural education has relevance to Japanese society, but that the degree of relevance depends upon the extent to which the government follows policies that strengthen or moderate traditional cultural values, recognizes and supports the development of minority cultural communities and encourages openness in its immigration and refugee policies. |
