I found this comparative study on education by chance : Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and other G8 countries (PDF). It appears that Japanese people are much less interested in sciences and maths than the Westerners of the surveyed countries.

Indicator 15.a : Percentage of eighth-grade students with “high” scores on the index of positive attitudes towards
mathematics, by country in 1999

Japan ranks last, with only 9% of students with highly positive attitudes towards mathematics, as opposed to 41% in England (top), and 35% in Italy, the USA and Canada.


Indicator 15.a : same for sciences

Japanese students are again the least interested, with only 10%, against 39% in England (top), and 29 to 32% elsewhere.


If we look at the percentage of people who choose maths and sciences at university, Japan also ranks last.

Indicator 26.a : Percentage of first university degrees awarded in science, by country in 1999

Only 4% of first university graduates in Japan chose a scientific subject, as opposed to 16% in the UK (top), 15% in France and 9 to 11% elsewhere.


Here is another more recent survey from the same website : Comparative Indicators
of Education in the United States and Other G8 Countries: 2004 (PDF)

Indicator 22 : Percentage distribution of first university degrees awarded, by field of study and country: 2001

Japan has again by far the lowest percentage of students choosing a scientific subject at university : only 3% (!), as opposed to 21% in the UK, 18% in France, and 8 to 12% elsewhere.



These statistics seem to correlate well with Japan's very low per capita number of Nobel Prizes in sciences and Field Medals (maths).