There are several laws that you will have regard to: the School Law on Education or Gakkou Kyouiku Hou 学校教育法; or the Constitution and Fundamental Law on Education (Kyouiku Kihon Hou), the UN Convention on the Child’s Right to Education (CRC) which Japan has ratified. Notes: The Fundamental Law of Education, as the name suggests, is a law concerning the foundation of Japanese education. Brought into effect one month before the constitution of Japan, it acts as the basis for the interpretation and application of various laws & ordinances regarding education and as such is also known as “The Education Constitution” (教育憲法, kyōiku kenpō?) and “The Charter of Education” (教育憲章, kyōiku kenshō?). The law is short, consisting of a preamble, 11 regulations, as well as supplementary provisions. MEXT’s discussion on the amendments to the Fundamental Law on Education may be found here. Other discussions critiquing the amendments are found here and here.