defiant children "engaging in arbitrary activity". In 2002, the Japanese Education Ministry — pressured by the need to reform — eliminated 30 percent of its core curriculum. This freed up time for students to learn in groups according to the students' chosen path. The use of the term mukatsuku, meaning "irritating and troublesome", has been rising in use among students as a description of the feelings they experience of being fed up with teachers, parents, and life. See also Education in Japan Helicopter parent Hong Kong children Tiger parenting, a similar parenting style in Mainland China and other parts of East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia Soccer mom References Academic pressure in East Asian culture Behavior modification Education in Japan Japanese family structure Japanese values Maternity in Japan Pejorative terms for women Social issues in Japan Stereotypes of middle class women Suicide in Japan 1960s neologisms