6. NYT will definitely blame Japan for a similar oath ceremony, national anthem/flag etc., if Japan would do the same like in the US
7. You could be a NYT reader after living in Japan
8. Original NYT readers, not a mutant in the above, would be surprised to know that the government gives subsidies to private schools, not only Brazilian schools, but also North Korean schools.
About the contention 2., your favorite subject, the aging population, they are loud everywhere in the US, Europe, and Asia even in China, the red army generation.
If I remember correctly, some countries in Europe have already come to see Japan for more practical solutions of the aging, but healthy and workaholic society somewhere Nagano.