The OECD has released the results of its 2025 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and Japan ranked first among the 38 OECD member countries in all three categories: reading comprehension, mathematical literacy, and scientific literacy. This is the first time Japan has topped every category at once since the survey began in 2000. However, compared with the previous 2022 survey, average scores in math and science fell slightly but were statistically flat, while reading comprehension dropped to 503 points, which was judged a “significant decline.” On 5ch, commenters questioned why Japan’s economy remains stagnant despite topping the world academically, pointed out the gap between exam-prep skills and real-world application, and the discussion spread into debates over fiscal policy and the effects of the falling birthrate and aging population.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced on the 8th the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted in 2025 (Reiwa 7). Japan ranked first among the 38 OECD member countries in average scores across all three categories: reading comprehension, mathematical literacy, and scientific literacy. This is the first time Japan has placed first in every category since the survey began in 2000. The survey covered 91 countries and regions, including non-OECD members, and among all participants Japan placed 4th, 5th, and 5th respectively in the three categories.
The survey is conducted roughly every three years (every four years starting in 2025) and measures the academic ability of 15-year-old students who have completed compulsory education. This round was administered by computer from June to August 2025, with 760,000 students from 91 countries and regions worldwide taking part. In Japan, 6,500 first-year high school students sat the test, selected according to OECD guidelines to represent a cross-section of society.
Comparing average scores across the three categories with the previous 2022 survey, mathematical literacy fell 11 points to 525, and scientific literacy fell 9 points to 538. Scores dropped, but the changes were considered statistically flat. Reading comprehension, however, fell 13 points to 503, which was judged not to be due to chance but a “significant decline.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
2AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:45
Guess I'll grab dinner while watching Peace-kun, the world's most famous capybara from Omiya Zoo, on YouTube.
42AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:11
Make it way more Spartan.
Also teach them some respect for us old geezers while they're at it.
46AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:16
Top academic rankings but no economic growth.
That's proof the Ministry of Education's policies are wrong.
There's just no way bureaucrats who were only ever good at test-taking can design an education system properly.
53AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:21
Re: #46
It's less an education problem than the fact that all they've ever done is raise taxes.
Other countries actually raise and lower taxes like the textbooks say.
3AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:46
Total defeat against Singapore, China, and Taiwan.
11AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:52
Re: #3
So does that mean non-OECD countries are the real developed nations?
17AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:53
Re: #3
Guess we're just a frog in a well then (i.e., a big fish in a small pond, oblivious to the wider world).
6AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:48
So then why is Japan declining anyway?
Is there no connection between academic ability and the economy?
134AnonymousSep 9, 2026 20:12
Re: #6
All study, no ability to apply it.
186AnonymousSep 9, 2026 21:54
Re: #6
The falling birthrate and aging population.
Of course the economy shrinks when the number of elderly keeps growing.
200AnonymousSep 9, 2026 23:29
Re: #6
Simply put (people have been saying this for a while), it means today's exam system just doesn't match up with the real world anymore.
15AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:53
High school freshmen, huh. Bet they'll fall off a cliff after college and end up dead last as working adults.
Most people only study seriously up through college entrance exams, which is probably why this is a declining country.
86AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:37
Re: #15
I mean, they're just hacking how to rack up points,
so it's questionable whether exam prep even deserves to be called "learning."
132AnonymousSep 9, 2026 20:11
Re: #15
These days people don't even study seriously for college entrance exams anymore.
31AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:00
Here's the reality of Japan for you
35AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:03
Re: #31
If you're smart, you can solve a lot of things yourself, so you don't need to spend money. If you're not smart, you have to get others to do it for you, and that costs a lot.
148AnonymousSep 9, 2026 20:27
Re: #31
Countries with tastier food tend to have a higher Engel coefficient (share of income spent on food). America's just chips and cola, so of course it's cheap.
76AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:29
Japan's stagnation is because of the Ministry of Finance's austerity policies.
It has nothing to do with individual ability.
81AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:31
Re: #76
Say what you want, but Japan's still the most indebted country in the world.
89AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:39
Re: #81
Can't believe people are still saying this.
90AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:40
Re: #81
Japan holds some of the largest overseas assets in the world, you know.
93AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:41
Re: #90
Then go use it.
Why rely on interest-bearing government bonds instead?
95AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:43
Re: #93
Not all of it belongs to the government, and only yen can actually be spent domestically in Japan anyway.
105AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:49
Re: #95
Basically counting your chickens before they hatch (lit. "counting the pelt of a raccoon dog you haven't caught").
110AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:52
Re: #105
Japan actually does hold enormous overseas assets, so it's not "counting chickens before they hatch."
112AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:53
Re: #105
Japan's current account balance as a share of GDP is the highest in the G7. It's a country that earns big from returns on its overseas assets.
119AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:57
The OECD was saying just recently that Japan's academic ability had dropped,
and now suddenly it's first place—pretty sloppy.
Looking at corporate competitiveness, I really can't buy it.
120AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:58
Re: #119
Isn't the point that Japan's problem isn't the ability of individual workers?
122AnonymousSep 9, 2026 19:59
Re: #119
It's only being maintained in relative terms—the actual test scores dropped significantly.
128AnonymousSep 9, 2026 20:07
First place in every category, that's seriously impressive.
It's a system where the elite who graduate college and land at big companies get to coast,
so I guess all that excellence just channels into job security.
129AnonymousSep 9, 2026 20:10
Re: #128
Given global trends, academic credentials are going to matter less and less for getting hired at companies.
139AnonymousSep 9, 2026 20:14
Re: #128
>1st among the 38 OECD member countries
165AnonymousSep 9, 2026 21:01
Re: #134
The opposite, lol.
People overseas admire how fun and varied Japanese student life is.
Didn't you enjoy your school days?
170AnonymousSep 9, 2026 21:03
Re: #165
Whatever the case, Japanese wages are still low.
Though Takaichi's saying some weird stuff.
193AnonymousSep 9, 2026 22:25
Re: #148
Japanese food just keeps getting tastier lol
Background and Key Points of This Topic
PISA is an OECD-administered international comparative survey targeting 15-year-olds who have completed compulsory education; this round included 760,000 participants from 91 countries and regions, with 6,500 first-year Japanese high schoolers taking part. The “first place in every category” claim refers to Japan’s ranking among the 38 OECD member countries—the original article notes, though it’s easy to overlook, that among all 91 countries and regions (including non-members), Japan placed only 4th in reading and 5th in both math and science. Nor does this result simply mean academic ability improved: average scores in math and science fell from the previous survey but were judged statistically flat, while reading comprehension dropped 13 points and was treated as a “significant decline.” In the thread, opinions split over how to explain the gap between high academic achievement and economic stagnation, highlighting differing views on contributing factors such as the falling birthrate and aging population, fiscal policy, and the mismatch between the exam system and real-world application.
*This article was compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Breaking News Plus) thread “OECD International Learning Assessment: Japan Ranks First in All Categories—Reading, Math, and Science Hold Steady Amid Falling Averages.”
