Chris, teachers DO care--some teachers. That's the sort of blanket statement that annoys the hell out of me. Teachers are the designated whipping child for every societal problem--things suck because teachers don't care. Knock it off. It's a low blow and you're smart enough to know that.

That said, my (very limited) experience with Japanese schools would suggest that the problems you site are growing, but far from epidemic. What Japanese educators told us was that their societal problems always seem to be about fifteen years behind ours. So right now they're very worried about the future.

I think you and Chico hit at the heart of the problem when you talked about the absent parent. Many kids go to daycare until they're in fifth grade, then they go home to empty houses to hang out together like feral cats. It's a definate problem. That and chronically tired parents.