This thread interests me as I have gone through the typical Japanese educational process myself.

The Japanese education may have changed since I graduated from a Japanese high school years ago (early 90'). In my school districts for an elementary, junior high, and high school, the teachers were very supportive of students to learn subjects and I was one of the model students (do homework, understand the subjects, and good at tests and exams) and a few teachers at my elementary school gave me the extra tutoring after school as I was aiming for a private junior high which has a tough admission policy and entrance exam; of course, the public schools in general are one size fits all. So, I went to a juku to study more to beat my fellow students in the local and national exams (I am always competing against my fellow students for better exam scores). Then, I moved on to the well-regarded high school which is ranked top 3 in my prefecture in terms of output of quality students it graduates and the strict admission exam to screen out students who did not study in junior high.

Then, I veered off the beaten path after I am done with the high school as I decided to go for a college/university in the USA. That is after I did one year of college in Japan, which has good foreign study/language programs. The reason I left that college is I did not see any challenge there (they had an English exam periodically and I was always #1 as they listed up the top 10 students on the main board at the college). I picked a college in North East USA where there is not many Japanese students because I wanted to focus on studying and immerse myself in the local environment/culture and because many Japanese college students come to the states more for fun than educational nourishment and challenges or because they could not make it to Japanese universities. I majored in Journalism first (in a 2 year college) and switched to Communications and Marketing when I transfered to a 4 year university. Journalism was my interest at that time (it is so even now); but, I needed to be in the business fields where I can be more marketable in the global job markets.

Long story short, I think Japanese junior high and high school programs are in a decent shape (but there is always room for improvement) compared to USA. I have no experience in European education system so I cannot comment on that. I actually tutored American students during my 2nd year (they paid me a minimum wage for tutoring) when I was a student at this 2 year college (I was fresh out of Japan and this was my first stint in a foreign country). I admit the Japanese undergraduate universities/colleges are rather anti-climactic after the feverish studying for the entrance exams as the most of the students tend to slack off.

I think the general education system does not have the power to motivate students (but it can help foster the learning environment) as much as parents/guardians of those students.

Sorry for the long post. But, I thought I would share my story on this topic.