National School Order

In 1941, Japan's education system underwent emergency reforms due to the escalating war. Elementary schools were renamed kokumingakkō (national schools) under the National School Order. This order emphasized Japan's unique national polity and revised educational content and methods to promote intense nationalism. Compulsory education was officially extended to eight years, though practical implementation was limited to six years due to wartime conditions. Secondary education also became nationalized, with the Secondary School Order in 1943 aiming to unify secondary schools, but shortening the duration to four years because of the war. As the war worsened, students above the secondary level were mobilized for industrial and agricultural work, and many were sent to battlefields, leading to the virtual closure of classes in schools above the secondary level by the end of World War II.1