Celia Hatton

What practical implications can we take away from this survey?

Any surprises for you in the results of this study?

Any surprises for you in the results of this study?

A lot of schools, for example, ban boys in particular from wearing coats over their school uniforms. Girls are allowed to wear coats. But girls have a whole list of things that they have to follow. Their underwear has to be a certain color. Their socks have to be a certain color. Their pencil cases can only be a certain shape. They have to be a box shape.

A lot of schools, for example, ban boys in particular from wearing coats over their school uniforms. Girls are allowed to wear coats. But girls have a whole list of things that they have to follow. Their underwear has to be a certain color. Their socks have to be a certain color. Their pencil cases can only be a certain shape. They have to be a box shape.

Girls have to wear their hair over their ears. And in many schools, anyone who genetically just kind of has light colored hair has to dye their hair to make it even more black. Students are often banned from bicycling to school. The lists go on and on and on. And that's why many feel that Japanese high schools are quite oppressive places and they're just misery inducing, really.

Girls have to wear their hair over their ears. And in many schools, anyone who genetically just kind of has light colored hair has to dye their hair to make it even more black. Students are often banned from bicycling to school. The lists go on and on and on. And that's why many feel that Japanese high schools are quite oppressive places and they're just misery inducing, really.

No, there's a whole different list of rules for primary school students. I spent quite a lot of time when I was a reporter in Japan looking at primary schools and they have their own lists of rules. So, for example, students have to help clean their own classrooms in Japan when you're in primary school. But also at lunchtime, primary school students have to eat their lunches in a certain order.

No, there's a whole different list of rules for primary school students. I spent quite a lot of time when I was a reporter in Japan looking at primary schools and they have their own lists of rules. So, for example, students have to help clean their own classrooms in Japan when you're in primary school. But also at lunchtime, primary school students have to eat their lunches in a certain order.

So they have to eat everything on their tray that's in box A and then move on to box B. And that's been a subject of discussion in itself. Some people think that it encourages eating disorders because students aren't allowed to decide in what order they're going to eat their lunches.

So they have to eat everything on their tray that's in box A and then move on to box B. And that's been a subject of discussion in itself. Some people think that it encourages eating disorders because students aren't allowed to decide in what order they're going to eat their lunches.

There's been an ongoing discussion in Japan, particularly over the last few years, that centers around rising levels of youth depression and correspondingly rising levels of youth anxiety. suicide. So we've seen actually in the past year, 2024, suicide rates in Japan have actually gone down. But youth suicide is at a record high.

There's been an ongoing discussion in Japan, particularly over the last few years, that centers around rising levels of youth depression and correspondingly rising levels of youth anxiety. suicide. So we've seen actually in the past year, 2024, suicide rates in Japan have actually gone down. But youth suicide is at a record high.

Japanese society does have a focus on being polite, to be considerate of others and to kind of really think about the wider, greater good. And so following the rules is also kind of this idea sort of carried into the workplace. But I think in the past few years in particular...

Japanese society does have a focus on being polite, to be considerate of others and to kind of really think about the wider, greater good. And so following the rules is also kind of this idea sort of carried into the workplace. But I think in the past few years in particular...

Many parents are beginning to question whether the school and teachers and headmasters at schools are actually more important, whether they should have a bigger say in their child's lives than they do. And so there's this kind of push and pull between schools and parents. And I think parents are starting to slowly gain a bit of the upper hand.

Many parents are beginning to question whether the school and teachers and headmasters at schools are actually more important, whether they should have a bigger say in their child's lives than they do. And so there's this kind of push and pull between schools and parents. And I think parents are starting to slowly gain a bit of the upper hand.

It's a city that's in a special economic zone of North Korea. Even North Koreans themselves have to get special permission in order to travel to this city. North Korea famously was the first country in the pandemic to completely seal itself off from the outside world right at the start of 2020. So it's carried that process through. It's really been closed off for such a long period of time.

It's a city that's in a special economic zone of North Korea. Even North Koreans themselves have to get special permission in order to travel to this city. North Korea famously was the first country in the pandemic to completely seal itself off from the outside world right at the start of 2020. So it's carried that process through. It's really been closed off for such a long period of time.

that any time they kind of ease their restrictions, they allow more people in, that's when we really need to start paying attention. And to allow tourists in on top of that, it really shows that North Korea is changing a little bit in the way it's thinking and the way that it wants to make money. So what does it tell us about North Korea? I mean, why now?