Defining and Interpreting Absence from School in Contemporary Japan: How the Ministry of Education Has Framed School Non-attendance

Abstract

The issue of absence from school has gained much attention in contemporary Japan. The government continues to redefine the phenomenon and to publish their opinions, frequently inducing sensational media reports. This paper studies how the Ministry of Education has framed school non-attendance over the period from 1950 to the 2000s. To investigate the ideological aspects of the Ministry's framing, I carried out a content analysis of the reports and statistics it has issued over the decades. I found that throughout the period, the Ministry's terminology in discussing school non-attendance has closely reflected popular discourse. I conclude that the Ministry appears to cast around for ways to describe, quantify, analyse and respond to non-attendance, yet is easily swayed by popular and media discourses and is likely to change its approaches without any sound conceptual reasons.