The economy, at last
経済 憲法 内閣 天皇
Taught by the end of sixth grade.
Field note 013 ended on an exception: 経済 waits until sixth grade, because 経 is a fifth-grade kanji and 済 is sixth. Here it arrives. So do 憲 (憲法, constitution), 閣 (内閣, the Cabinet) and 皇 (天皇, the Emperor). Sixth-grade social studies covers Japan's politics, its history and its place in the world, and its official text names 日本国憲法, 天皇, 国会 and 内閣. By the end of the year a child has been taught every kanji in those words.
Taught, not finished
The curriculum is careful about what learned means. Children read every kanji taught so far, write the earlier grades' kanji, and learn to write the sixth-grade ones gradually; the official commentary allows until the second year of middle school to secure them. So a sixth grader has been taught 経済, not necessarily mastered writing it.
Eleven in, one out
Sixth grade had 181 kanji before the 2017 curriculum, in full use from 2020. Eleven came in: nine from fifth grade, 恩 券 承 舌 銭 退 敵 俵 預, and two from fourth, 胃 and 腸. One went out: 城, down to fourth grade, because it is in prefecture names such as 茨城 and 宮城. 181 plus 11 minus 1 is 191. In the clip the eleven are marked 5年から and 4年から.
Not everything in the textbook
Some words in sixth-grade social studies still need kanji from outside the elementary list. 租税, tax, is named in the official text, but 租 is not taught in elementary school, and neither are 鎌 and 江, the first kanji of 鎌倉 and 江戸.
Just under half
1,026 is 48 percent of the 2,136 jōyō kanji. The other 1,110 are left for middle school, where the official target is to read them; writing is a separate, smaller goal.
How to use the clip
Each character appears alone for two beats; say it before the voice does. The kanji come in order of how often they appear, with 宙 placed just before 宇 so that 宇宙 can be the example. The readings shown and spoken are the official ones from the 2010 常用漢字表, and every example word uses only characters from grades 1 to 6.
1,026 down, 1,110 to go.