This work reveals that shadow education provides certain educational opportunities for students from disadvantaged family backgrounds and, thus, helps these students to overcome their disadvantages and achieve academic resiliency and educational success - focusing on the case of Japan. To achieve reliable and convincing findings, this issue is approached at the individual (micro-) and societal (macro-)level, emphasizing four different perspectives of concern. The results of this work not only clarify the (often mystical) role of shadow education in Japan, but allows drawing conclusions about the implications of shadow education in other national settings as well. This book provides a deep insight into the Japanese model of shadow education urging practitioners, researchers, families and politicians to take notice of the possible implications of shadow education inside and outside of Japan. It is also a call for similar works in other national contexts, particularly Western societies without traditional large scale shadow education markets. This work shows the importance and urgency to deal with the modern excesses of educational expansion and education as an institution.