The Day Japan Abandoned Critical Education

When I read Maria Kram’s first article on Dual Process Theory Understanding Thinking And Its Applications, it struck a nerve.

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Not because I didn’t know the theory—Kahneman’s System 1 and System 2 have been around for years. But because her writing reminded me just how dangerous it is when an entire Country chooses one system... and discards the other.

And yes, I’m talking about Japan.

In Japanese schools, we’re taught early: Speed over thought. Correctness over curiosity. Silence over questions.

This isn’t just preference. It’s programming.

System 1—fast, automatic, instinctive—is trained into children like a reflex. Spit out the correct answer. Don’t ask why. Pass the test. Forget the meaning.

Teachers aren’t mentors. They’re routers of pre-approved information. Students don’t learn to think. They learn to respond.

I remember this all too well.

In my student years, I was forced into the ultimate ritual of memorization: entrance exams—for high school, for university, for status. They weren’t just tests. They were performances of obedience, and I remember them feeling more like mental torture than education. No one cared what we thought—only how much we could recite.

As Hiroshi Eto, an education specialist at Nada Gakuin in Kansai, noted in an interview with Gendai Business:

And while society has evolved dramatically, schools have not. Eto continues:

This isn’t an isolated opinion—it’s an echo shared by educators, psychologists, and disillusioned students alike.

In this landscape, System 2—slow, deliberate, and logical thinking—doesn’t just go unused. It gets punished.

Ask a question? “You’re slowing down the class.” Challenge a norm? “Don’t be difficult.” Offer a new perspective? “You think you’re special?”

Critical thinking is reframed as arrogance. Logic is painted as rebellion. And before you know it, we’ve bred a nation where obedience feels safer than awareness.

Let’s be clear: Memorization has its place. System 1 is powerful, even necessary. But when it becomes the only acceptable mode of thinking, we kill the capacity for self-reflection, dialogue, and change.

What’s left is a society that:

Mistakes silence for peace

Mistakes hierarchy for order

Mistakes conformity for intelligence

And when a real challenge comes—climate collapse, technological disruption, economic instability—there’s no system left to analyze, adapt, or rethink.

Because that system was never trained. It was never allowed.

Maria reminded me that System 2, logical thinking, can be rebuilt. It’s not too late.

We start by:

Creating spaces for dialogue, not just lectures

Asking “why?” even when it makes others uncomfortable

Teaching kids that confusion is the beginning of learning, not a flaw

And beyond schools, we build communities that reward questions, not just answers. Movement, not just submission. Critical thought, not blind repetition.

Your words were simple, but they lit a fire.

Dual Process Theory isn’t just cognitive science—it’s a mirror.

And when I held it up to Japan, I didn’t like what I saw.

Thank you for reminding us that thinking is not a luxury.

It’s a responsibility.

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