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Overview of higher education in Japan

Higher education in Japan is provided at universities (大学 daigaku), junior colleges (短期大学 tanki daigaku), colleges of technology (高等専門学校 kōtō senmon gakkō) and special training schools and community colleges (専修学校 senshū gakkō). Of these four types of institutions, only universities and junior colleges are strictly considered postsecondary education providers. The Japanese higher education system differs from higher education in most other countries in many significant ways. Key differences include the method of acceptance, which relies almost entirely on one or two tests, as opposed to the usage of GPAs or percentages or other methods of assessment and evaluation of prospective applicants used in countries throughout the Western world. As students only have one chance to take this test each year, there is an enormous amount of pressure to perform well on it, as the majority of the time during a student's senior high school years is dedicated to performing well on this single test. Japanese high school students are faced with immense pressure to succeed academically from their parents, extended family members, teachers, guidance counselors, peers, and society at large. This mindset is largely based on a result of a traditional society that has historically placed an enormous amount of importance on the encouragement of study on top of the merits of scholarship and benefits of pursuing higher education, especially in an education system that places all of its weight upon a single examination that has significant life long consequences on one's eventual socioeconomic status, promising marriage prospects, entrance into a prestigiously elite white collar occupation, and a respectable professional career path. Unlike higher education in some other countries, public universities in Japan are generally regarded as more prestigious than private universities, especially the National Seven Universities (University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Tohoku University, Kyushu University, Hokkaido University, Osaka University, and Nagoya University). As the Japanese economy is largely scientific and technological based, its labor market demands people who have achieved some form of higher education, particularly related to science and engineering in order to gain a competitive edge over their peers when it comes to seeking for employment. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the percentage of Japanese going on to any higher education institution in the eighteen year old cohort was 80.6 percent, with 52.6 percent of students going on to a university, 4.7 percent to a junior college, 0.9 percent to a college of technology and the remaining 22.4 percent attending a correspondence school, The Open University of Japan or a specialized training college.

The modern Japanese higher education system was adapted from a number of methods and ideas inspired from Western education systems that were integrated with their traditional Shinto, Buddhist, and Confucianist pedagogical philosophies. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, many major reforms were introduced in the field of higher education across Japan, which contributed to individual work of students as well as the nation's overall originality, creativity, individuality, identity, and internationalization of higher education. Plunging itself through an active process of Westernization during the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan sought to revitalize its entire education system, especially at the higher education level to transmit Western knowledge for modern industrialization. Many Japanese students were sent abroad to Europe to study as were a number of foreign scholars from Western countries were introduced to Japan as well.

University entrance is the traditional route taken by Japanese students to enter the gateway of higher education as it is by far the most prestigious form of higher education in Japan. Unlike the usage of grade point averages and percentages used in countries like the United States and Canada as a yardstick for eligibility, entrance to universities based largely on the scores that students achieved in entrance examinations (nyūgaku shiken (入学試験)). People enrolled in undergraduate schools are awarded bachelor's degrees which take four to six years. Graduate schools award master's (2 years), doctoral (3 years), and professional degrees (2–3 years). Such intense competition means that many students cannot compete successfully for admission to the university of their choice. An unsuccessful student can either accept an admission elsewhere, forgo a college education, or wait until the following spring to take the national examinations again. A large number of students choose the last option. These students, called ronin, meaning masterless samurai, spend an entire year, and sometimes longer, studying and making preparations to secure another opportunity to attempt at the entrance examinations. In 2011, the number of ronin who took the uniform test was 110,211, while the number of high school students who took the test was 442,421. Yobikou are private schools that, like many juku, help students prepare for entrance examinations. While yobikou have many programs for upper secondary school students, they are best known for their specially designed full time, year long classes for ronin. The number of applicants to four year universities totaled almost 560,000 in 1988. Ronin accounted for about 40% of new entrants to four year colleges in 1988. Most ronin were men, but about 14% were women. The ronin experience is so common in Japan that the Japanese education structure is often said to have an extra ronin year built into it. Yobikou sponsor a variety of programs, both full time and part time, and employ an extremely sophisticated battery of tests, student counseling sessions, and examination analysis to supplement their classroom instruction. The cost of yobikou education is high, comparable to first year university expenses, and some specialized courses at yobikou are even more expensive. Some yobikou publish modified commercial versions of the proprietary texts they use in their classrooms through publishing affiliates or by other means, and these are popular among the general population preparing for college entrance exams. Yobikou also administer practice examinations throughout the year, which they open to all students for a fee. In the late 1980s, the examination and entrance process were the subjects of renewed debate. In 1987 the schedule of the Joint First Stage Achievement Test was changed, and the content of the examination itself was revised for 1990. The schedule changes for the first time provided some flexibility for students wishing to apply to more than one national university. The new Joint First Stage Achievement Test was prepared and administered by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations and was designed to accomplish better assessment of academic achievement. The Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Monbusho), the predecessor of MEXT, hoped many private schools would adopt or adapt the new national test to their own admissions requirements and thereby reduce or eliminate the university tests. But, by the time the new test was administered in 1990, few schools had displayed any inclination to do so. The ministry urged universities to increase the number of students admitted through alternate selection methods, including admission of students returning to Japan from long overseas stays, admission by recommendation, and admission of students who had graduated from upper secondary schools more than a few years before. Although a number of schools had programs in place or reserved spaces for returning students, only 5% of university students were admitted under these alternate arrangements in the late 1980s. Other college entrance issues include proper guidance for college placement at the upper secondary level and better dissemination of information about university programs. The ministry provides information through the National Center for University Entrance Examination's on line information access system and encourages universities, faculties, and departments to prepare brochures and video presentations about their programs.

In response to allegations of bribery perpetrated by a former MEXT official, Futoshi Sano, who reportedly exchanged funds in return for a place for his son at Tokyo Medical University, an investigation into university officials began. The investigation found that priority was given to legacy applicants. The incident made international headlines, many of which denounced the pervasive sexism of higher education in Japan, working culture in Japan, and of Japanese society in general. The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper quoted an unknown source at the university who attempted to explain the rationale for the discrimination, saying "many female students who graduate end up leaving the actual medical practice to give birth and raise children." In a subsequent government investigation of universities throughout Japan, several other medical schools, including Juntendo University and Showa University were found to have manipulated scores in a similar way. In December 2018, three additional universities – Iwate Medical University, Kanazawa Medical University, and Fukuoka University – also admitted to the manipulation of women's entrance exam scores.

In 2017, more than 2.89 million students were enrolled in Japan's 780 universities. At the top of the higher education structure are research institutions that provide four year training leading to a bachelor's degree, and some offer six year programs leading to a professional degree. There are two types of public four year colleges: the 86 national universities (including The Open University) and the 95 local public universities, founded by prefectures and municipalities. The 597 remaining four year colleges in 2010 were private. With a wealth of opportunities for students wishing to pursue a university education, the nation's prestigious universities are the most appealing for students seeking to gain the top notch employment prospects, particularly with the government and large corporations. The overwhelming majority of university students attend full time day programs. In 2005, the most popular courses, enrolling almost 38% of all undergraduate students, were in the social sciences, including business administration, law, and accounting. Other popular subjects were engineering (17.3%), the humanities (16%), and education (5.7%). The average costs (tuition, fees, and living expenses) for a year of higher education in 1986 were 1.4 million Yen(US$10,000), of which parents paid a little less than 80%, or about 20% of the average family's income in 1986. To help defray expenses, students frequently work part time or borrow money through the government supported Japan Scholarship Association. Assistance also is offered by local governments, nonprofit corporations, and other institutions. In 2005, there were approximately 89 females for every 100 males enrolled in post secondary education in Japan, and their numbers are still slowly increasing. Women's choices of majors and programs of study still tend to follow traditional patterns, with more than two thirds of all women enrolling in education, social sciences, or humanities courses. Only 15% studied scientific and technical subjects, and women represented less than 3% of students in engineering, the most popular subject for men in 1991. The quality of universities and higher education in Japan is internationally recognized. There are 51 Japanese universities listed on the 2024 QS World University Rankings, with the University of Tokyo at 28th and Kyoto University at 46th .

Graduate schools became a part of the formal higher education system only after World War II and were still not stressed in the 1990s. Even though 60% of all universities have graduate schools, only 7% of university graduates advance to master's programs, and total graduate school enrollment is about 4% of the entire university student population. The pattern of graduate enrollment is almost the opposite of that of undergraduates: the majority (63%) of all graduate students are enrolled in the national universities, and it appears that the disparity between public and private graduate enrollments is widening. Graduate education is largely a male preserve, and women, particularly at the master's level, are most heavily represented in the humanities, social sciences, and education. Men are frequently found in engineering programs where, at the master's level, women comprise only 2% of the students. At the doctoral level, the two highest levels of female enrollment are found in medical programs and the humanities, where in both fields 30% of doctoral students are women. Women account for about 13% of all doctoral enrollments. The generally small numbers of graduate students and the graduate enrollment profile results from a number of factors, especially the traditional employment pattern of industry. In the private sector, the demand for students with advanced degrees (especially in the non hard sciences and liberal arts, social sciences, and humanities) is low compared to other developed countries. This is because private sector companies frequently prefer to hire new university graduates and train them to operate according to company guidelines.

Though university is the most prestigious form of higher education in Japan, a number of Japanese students choose to attend vocational schools instead. Vocational schools provide students with employment skills without them having to undertake the pressure of the national university entrance exam. In Japan, parents traditionally place a higher emphasis on traditional academic education rather than vocational education. Vocational school remains as a backup option for students with lower grades or those who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Vocational schools have not only been successful in attracting secondary school graduates with lower grades but also university graduates who weren't able to secure employment upon graduation.

Junior college (短期大学) – mainly private institutions – are a legacy of the occupation period; many had been prewar institutions upgraded to college status at that time. More than two thirds of the students in junior colleges are women as many attend them as a form of preparation for a short term career before marriage. Students who complete the course of study at a junior college are awarded an associate degree or a diploma. Many polytechnic junior colleges have a small campus with several hundred students. Junior colleges also train people who are studying to become mid level technicians in civil, mechanical, electrical, and systems engineering sectors. Graduates of polytechnic colleges have a very high rate of employment, as Japan's dominant high technology sector offers a high demand for skilled technicians.

Special training schools and community colleges (senmon gakkō (専門学校) in Japanese) are two year specialist schools that offer advanced courses for vocational careers that require upper secondary school completion. Specialized training colleges are not regulated by MEXT. People holding a diploma are eligible to transfer to a four year university and people holding an advanced diploma are eligible to enter a graduate school. They offer training in specific skills related to fields such as carpentry, graphic design, hotel management, home economics, hairdressing, fashion design, typing, culinary arts, computer science, engineering, liberal arts, agriculture, early childhood education, bookkeeping, hygiene, foreign languages, therapy, dietetics and medicine. Most graduates of special training schools and community colleges do not continue on to university but instead join the workforce right after graduating. These institutions enroll a large number of men. The prestige of special training schools is lower than that of universities, but graduates, particularly in technical areas, are readily absorbed by the job market. 80 percent of special training school and community college graduates are able to secure employment and about 90 percent found jobs in fields related to what they have studied. Other trade specialties offered by colleges of technology include wastewater treatment plant operating, plastering, drywalling, home inspection, landscape and park maintenance, power engineering, power plant operation, power line and security systems installation and servicing, telecommunications and broadband installation and servicing, culinary arts, appliance and HVAC servicing, heat and frost insulation, pipeline maintenance, pipe laying, ironworking, gasfitting, elevator systems installation and servicing, electronics and electronic equipment servicing, steamfitting, steel fabrication, plumbing, electrical works and electrical servicing, masonry, roofing, warehousing, carpentry, machine operation, welding, marine shipping maintenance and servicing, aviation and aircraft maintenance and servicing, automobile and vehicle servicing, and power equipment servicing. As the Japanese economy began to experience major growth in the 1950s, major Japanese corporations lobbied the national government to place a stronger emphasis on vocational education to fill in the skills gap. Private colleges of technology were established in 1961 in response to Japan's growing need for vocational education as well as changing industry needs for well trained manpower of tradespeople and technicians across the Japanese economy, especially the automotive industry and the industrial sector. There, high school age students acquire trade and technical skills through work based learning, apprenticeships, and work placement programs. 70 colleges of technology have been operating since the early 1960s. A small percentage of college technology graduates transfer to universities as third year students, and some universities such as the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo Institute of Technology even earmarked entrance places for transfer students of colleges of technology in the 1980s who wished to continue to pursue and attain a university level education. Students are eligible to enter colleges of technology halfway through their senior secondary years. College of technology programs usually last for 5 years. This system of institutions was founded in 1961 and they have enjoyed increased popularity as an alternative route besides the traditional path of going to university. Graduates of colleges of technology were been successful in navigating Japan's high tech labor market as they been swamped with job offers despite Japan's sluggish economy during the 1990s. Nevertheless, technical graduates usually find employment immediately upon graduation. Technical education in the skilled trades and technical careers continues to be a solid option for Japanese high school graduates who enjoy working with their hands and have no plans of attending university. With about 10,000 graduates a year, Kosen colleges have not produced nearly enough graduates to meet the demands of Japanese industry as major corporations would give preference in job offers to foreign trained students, who are perceived as more competent in the workplace than graduates of Japan's four year universities. and received recognition as an "Institute of Advanced Vocational Education" from the Japanese Ministry of Education in 1988 for its vital contribution to Japanese computing society. KIC is the first IT College in Asia. Now, KIC is one of the major institutes for professional, vocational, and practice oriented education in ICT and other digital industries in Japan with 17,700 alumni. A 2004 white paper from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology indicated that the colleges of technology are leaders in the use of apprenticeships and internships, with more than 90% of institutions offering this opportunity compared to 46% of universities and 24% of junior colleges. As of 2008, 23.1% of high school graduates study at colleges of technology with 99.6% being employed after graduation.