there are highly respected and rewarded.

Hamilton Rotarians were yesterday told this by a visiting professor from the International Christian University in Japan, Mr. David Rackham.

Mr. Rackham, who is in Bermuda with his family as a guest of Wesley Methodist Church, has lived in Japan for the past eight years.

And yesterday at Rotarian's luncheon at The Princess, the Canadian-born instructor shared his observations of Japan's society, education, and business practices and how they are linked.

Mr. Rackham said while Japan remains psychologically isolated from the rest of the world, Japanese have been able to adapt to other cultures without subverting their uniqueness.

He noted that the island of more than one million people has remained one of the most peaceful places on earth, with the exception of its involvement in both World Wars.

He said 90 percent of Japanese consider themselves middle class.

And he said Japanese investment abroad has helped to sustain the economy of many countries, including some considered "first world'' countries.

"Perhaps the seed of its success can be found in its people,'' Mr. Rackham said.

Japanese place great emphasis on education at the early stages, he added.

Education in Japan is co-educational and compulsory up to high school.

Students complete six years of primary school, three of middle school, and three of high school, before many -- about 33 percent -- go on to post secondary institutions.

Mr. Rackham, who was educated in Canada and Japan, said entry into prestigious high schools and post secondary schools is competitive and difficult.

"At my university only about 10 percent of the students who write the entrance exam are accepted,'' he said.

While many may view this as discriminatory, Mr. Rackham said Japanese see this as egalitarian.

He said the Japan school day, week and year are longer than those of the US or Canada.

And he said "teaching is a highly respected and remunerated job in Japan''.

"The family, especially the mother, is very much involved in the education of children,'' Mr. Rackham said, adding that discipline is also firmly enforced.

He said the training that Japanese students received also seems to prepare them culturally and psychologically for society at large.

Mr. Rackham also noted that Japanese put group needs above individual aspirations.

But, he quickly added, he was not suggesting that Japanese were clones of each other.

"They have their own individuality,'' Mr. Rackham said, "but they find less flamboyant ways of expressing it.'' Admitting that there is a clear class system in Japan, he said the Japanese system of hierarchy "actually fuels less tension than in other countries''.

In addition to being fully competent, people in high positions in Japan are usually there because they are older and considered a "loving person'' by their subordinates, Mr. Rackham said.

He added that employers tend to look after the life-time needs of employees, and employees in return look out for the welfare of the employers.

Mr. Rackham suggested that the world could be a better place if other countries would emulate the admirable qualities of Japan, and if Japan would attempt to communicate more effectively with the rest of the world.

EDUCATIONAL INSIGHT -- Mr. David Rackham shared his knowledge about Japan with Hamilton Rotarians yesterday at their weekly luncheon.