Compared to junior high school

After graduating elementary school, children enter a junior high school. It is also compulsory education in Japan.

In junior high school, many things are different from that of elementary school. So some children suffer from the gap. It is called "中一(first year of the junior high school) ギャップ(gap)".
I show you some example of the gap. For one thing, there is a change about their teachers. In junior high school they have teachers who take charge of each subject while homeroom teacher teaches almost all subjects in elementary school. Another big change is introduction of  English as a subject. Club activity is also a new thing. Furthermore,they will encounter many changes.

Compared to kindergerten or nursery school

Most children in Japan enter the kindergerten(yochien,幼稚園)  or nursery school(hoikuen,保育園) before entering elementary schools.

Childrens spend their time in there playing with their teacher and friends rather than studying like in elementary school.

History about elementary school in Japan

Elementary school education is compulsory education in Japan. Children aged 6-12 enter the school.　More than 99% of  elementary school-age children are enrolled in school.  Sarting school is considered a very important event in a child's life.

In the Edo periodo,some children attended schools called terakoya,where children learnt  practical  methods of reading, writing, and calculation.This is a model of elementary school system.
In 1886, the modern elementary school system started as compulsory education. Until 1947, only elementary schools were compulsory. Immediately before and during World War II, state education was used as a propaganda tool by the Japanese fascist government.