Factbook

A Dynamic Compendium of Interesting Japanese Literary and Publishing Facts
If you would like to contribute to this compendium please submit your ideas here.
All will be considered for publication by our expert panel.
  • Factbook Keyword Search:
  • Share
    • Culture

    Japanese boys outscore girls on international literary benchmark tests[UPDATED: 5-31-2017]

    Japanese students score extremely highly on international literacy benchmark tests (540 compared with an average 497 amongst OECD nations) and unusually boys in Japan outscore girls by one percentage point on these tests, while in other countries girls generally outscore boys.
    Japanese boys outscore girls on international literary benchmark tests Posted by Richard Nathan
  • Share
    • Culture

    Most Japanese folk stories don’t have ‘Happily Ever Afters’[UPDATED: 5-31-2017]

    The narrative tradition of Mukashibanashi, Japanese folk tales, include accounts of epic journeys, secret rooms and unusual treasure; as is the case in story telling and literature of many countries. But Japanese tales differ significantly from Western fairy and folk stories as most don’t end happily.
    Most Japanese folk stories don’t have ‘Happily Ever Afters’ Posted by Richard Nathan