Popular Culture in the Development of Japanese Education in the 21st Century: An Approach from Hegemony Theory and Postmodernism

Entering the twenty-first century, Japan has developed an educational culture grounded in the harmonious integration of traditional values-such as practical learning, ethics, and character formation-with modern principles including liberal education, creativity, and democracy.Popular culture in Japan has also enriched educational content, generated new trends in teaching and learning methods, and strengthened the connection between education, social life, and contemporary technologies.This study employs the theories of Hegemony and Postmodernism to examine how the Japanese government has incorporated popular culture into education to realize its goal of fostering a "culturally creative" (新しい文化) education system and cultivating citizens with essential "life competencies."By combining cultural and social analysis with practical observation, the research evaluates the impact of various forms of popular culture on modern school education.The findings reveal how the integration of popular culture into education enables Japan to maintain a balance between tradition and innovation in its educational development in the twenty-first century.