Controversy exists concerning whether or not sex discrimination is the norm in Japan and what will happen with the status of Japanese women. One U.S. scholar was surprised after talking to female students at a Japanese college that only a few of them had a view of their future. It is fair to say that Japanese women are not taught to become independent at any educational level. In a 1991 questionnaire, focusing on the educational and occupational aspirations of Japanese women, in which 738 female students of 4-year universities participated, 628 of them responded that they were willing to quit full-time jobs to stay at home when they married or had a first child. Japanese women today are still waiting for something external to change their lives, resulting in their fear of independence. Just as women comprise the majority of students in U.S. colleges and universities, the number of female students in Japanese higher education is increasing. It seems clear, however, that U.S. women are more career oriented, whereas Japanese women are home oriented. Japan's Equal Opportunity Employment Law, which only came into force in 1986, has not yet had a great effect on working women's situations. Preschool teachers should commit themselves to teach in a nonsexist way because of their profound influence in molding a young child's values. The final analysis states that equality will be possible in Japan if both men and women realize that by working together, both at home and at work, a better way of life will be achieved. (BT)