the essential issue is obedience. obedient children devote their creativity and effort into doing as their parents and teachers want, such as getting good test scores.
one way to try to observe obedience is to look at how harsh conditions people will accept when told to, without complaining and trying to do something about it. everything i know about japanese schools points to a lot more pressure on students to be studious and that kind of thing, and a lot less complaining about any decisions by authorities.
