Questions regarding the school system

While this is not exactly a question about teaching in Japan, I thought this was probably a good place to ask since a lot of people here are teachers.

Asian countries in general have similar issues in regards to education. I don’t know where this stemmed from, but in Japan’s case they might have had a chance to prevent a lot of issues back in the day.

What I know is that in the late 1940s and early 50s, politicians Nanbara Shigeru and other Todai-educated bureaucrats sought to reshape Japanese education to mimic that of the United States. Some of it was absolutely necessary, but some of it was definitely overdone. For instance it became infinitely easier to set up universities.

High schools were also forced to provide the same academic material regardless of student level, and vocational education at secondary level was borderline abolished.

So… If you were in Mr. Shigeru’s position in the 1940s, what would you have done to future proof Japan’s education?