Policy issue in Japanese higher education

Abstract

Traditionally Japanese governments avoided as far as possible directinterference in higher education policy. In part this was due to concern notto infringe academic freedom and in part a reflection of the major effortbeing made to develop and expand education at the pre-higher educationstages. When demand for higher education did increase, it was readily met byexpanding the private sector.

The debate on higher education generated by campus unrest in the late1960s led during the 1970s to discussion on the governance of highereducation and also to some new initiatives such as the creation of theUniversity of Tsukuba and the University of the Air. In the 1980s a newadvisory body, Daigakushin, was created and several new administrativemeasures introduced. Thus, by the 1990s, it could be said that highereducation had become an important policy issue in Japan.

The article discusses the reform movement under the following headings:de-regulation and moves towards self-regulation; accountability; highereducation as an economic resource; and internationalization. Some furtherchallenges are reviewed, notably the impact of future demographic changewhen the relevant age cohorts decrease. This is all the more significantsince so much of the system relies on the private sector which is in turndependent on fee-income. The article also draws attention to evidence thatJapanese industry is changing its expectations of what higher educationshould be providing for its students.