1 Mixed Messages: Discourses of Education in Policy Speeches to the Japanese Diet By David Rear School of Arts and Sciences Shibaura Institute of Technology drear@sic.shibaura-it.ac.jp The final definitive version of this article has been published in: Asia Pacific Journal of Education 31 (2), 129-142. By Routledge (Taylor & Francis) An electronic version is available here: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02188791.2011.566985 This article is a post-review corrected version, and is the final version prior to publisher proofing. Readers are advised to refer to the published article for accurate citation.