I don't know what the rules are for medicine, etc, but for education here in Japan teachers often trump parents. When I was working at the high school here, I

I don't know what the rules are for medicine, etc, but for education here in Japan teachers often trump parents. When I was working at the high school here, I can't tell you the number of times parents were brought in so that the teachers could yell at them for doing a poor job. The teachers even go to the house to ensure that the home environment is acceptable for the child. Personally, I like the system and if I had kids I would happily raise them here. However, I've talked to many expat parents who despise it and believe that the state should never be able to tell them how to raise their children. There are good arguments on both sides and probably there are balance points where it mostly works (and sometimes fails spectacularly) all across the spectrum.