One of the changes that occurred during the occupation of Japan (1945-1952) was a major restructuring of the Japanese education system. The number of years children spent in school changed to the 6-3-3 system, meaning six years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, and three years of senior high school. Today, students in Japan must go to school until they complete grade 9 but most go on to some kind of senior high school. The Occupation authorities also initiated changes in what was taught in schools and how schools were governed. The goal was to encourage democracy at a very early level. One of the ways this was done was by encouraging students to create a democracy right in their own school. So students were encouraged to elect representatives for a student government. Today students continue to elect a number of different representatives, from student president, vice-president and even class representatives to serve on their school’s student council. In many schools, these elections look very similar to other elections in Japan, with student-candidates greeting other students at the school entrance, holding signs, and having supporters cheer them on. Student-candidates give speeches to the student body, asking their schoolmates to vote for them in the upcoming election.