The Canadian Journal ofHigher Education La revue canadienne d'enseignement supérieur Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 pages 105-126 Universities and Government in Post-War Japan SHINICHI YAMAMOTO University ofTsukuba ABSTRACT J a p a n ' s higher education system, in w h i c h private universities and colleges play an important part, has e m b a r k e d on far-reaching r e f o r m in the 1990s. Its m a i n objective was to f r e e the national (public) universities f r o m tight control by the central g o v e r n m e n t and to give t h e m m o r e autonomy. In light of dramatic d e m o g r a p h i c changes, especially a m u c h smaller proportion of p e o p l e of traditional university age, and considering that higher education research w a s not u s e f u l to J a p a n e s e industry, the status and m a n a g e m e n t of public universities h a v e b e e n t r a n s f o r m e d to allow m o r e autonomy, competition, and private sector-style m a n a g e m e n t . M e a n w h i l e , m e c h a n i s m s h a v e b e e n introduced independent universities m o r e accountable. to hold the newly 106 Shinichi Yamamoto RÉSUMÉ Le système japonais d'enseignement post-secondaire, où les universités et collèges privés j o u e n t u n rôle important, s ' e s t d o n n é l ' o b j e c t i f d e se r é f o r m e r d a n s les a n n é e s 1990. Il s ' a g i s s a i t d e libérer les universités d ' u n contrôle étatique excessif et oppressif. C o n s i d é a n t l'évolution d é m o g r a p h i q u e du pays, surtout la f a i b l e participation des j e u n e s g e n s d ' â g e p o s t - s e c o n d a i r e , et c o n s i d é r a n t le peu d ' u t i l i t é industrielle des r e c h e r c h e s alors en cours d a n s les universités, le statut de l ' e n s e i g n e m e n t supérieur a été p r o f o n d é m e n t m o d i f i é . P a r m i les c o n s é q u e n c e s des r é f o r m e s , il f a u d r a i t souligner l ' a u t o n o m i e des institutions, y c o m p r i s en m a t i è r e de m a n a g e m e n t , et u n e f r a n c h e acceptation d e la c o m p é t i t i o n , style libre m a r c h é . D ' a i l l e u r s on a fait introduire u n e suite d e m é c a n i s m e s p o u r que, d o r é n a v a n t , ces institutions a u t o n o m e s restent tout de m ê m e i m p u t a b l e s . INTRODUCTION Japanese universities and colleges are as n u m e r o u s and as popular as their counterparts in North A m e r i c a and Europe. Fifty years ago, after a world war and at the beginnings of a second industrial revolution, Japanese universities and colleges were fewer, less well off, and burdened with outdated curricula. M o r e than half of t h e m were in private hands, and governmental control was weaker after introduction of an administrative system directed by the United States occupying force after the war. However, universities and colleges, including national universities, and faculty m e m b e r s working there enjoyed "university autonomy." Because autonomy was itself something of an innovation, it would be difficult to show h o w — i f at all—Japanese post-secondary teaching and research of the 1950s were closely linked to social and economic development in 1950s Japan. Other factors must have accounted for that development. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 Universities and Government in Post- War Japan 107 A half-century later, the picture is radically different. U n d e r the impact of the b a b y - b o o m and after two decades of vigorous policy development and state intervention, Japanese higher education has expanded into a mass system. Most universities and colleges remain private institutions, but the Japanese government has regained a degree of authority and control unparalleled in North American and Europe. Further, the government has decided to use its powers to engineer a great sea-change in the higher education sector, introducing incentives so that all universities and colleges must compete not only for research and development [R&D] f u n d i n g f r o m industry, but also f r o m public sources. Universities and colleges have gradually accepted the research imperative, and at last begun to build strong links to industry. Research and development h a v e increasingly b e c o m e the mission of all colleges and universities. Several factors account for the recent evolution of university- government relations in Japan, particularly in the Japanese political economy. On one hand, public opinion, and a clear managerial consensus in most Japanese industry, has favoured the massification of post-secondary education. On the other, traditional linkages between capital, social structure, and formal education, remain firmly in place. For example, University of Tokyo law graduates are still the largest single source of appointments to the bureaucracy of the Japanese g o v e r n m e n t — a clue to the prevailing social structure of Japanese society, and the ambitions of a well-defined elite group. In short, the relationship between the Japanese government and higher education since 1950 is a revealing indicator of the Japanese industrial mindset, as well as economic and social policy. This article examines h o w the relationship and interdependence between universities and the (federal) government developed over the last 125 years and the influences and forces that shaped the relationship. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 108 Shinichi Yamamoto THE ORIGINS OF THE MODERN HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM J a p a n ' s first modern university, the University of Tokyo, opened in 1877, and b e c a m e an Imperial University in 1886—the first of seven, the other six being established gradually until 1939. T h e m a n d a t e of the Imperial Universities was to train elites, and to introduce and to interpret Western science to Japanese society. Engineering, then taught outside most Western universities, was an essential feature of the newly created university system. Meanwhile, private higher education institutions such as Keio (established in 1858) and Waseda (1882) grew to supplement their Imperial sisters, occasionally playing the role of centres f o r advanced practical and technical training. T h e system distinguished public universities f r o m their private counterparts, and recognized a further distinction between special training colleges and normal schools. N o t even the most prestigious private institutions were allowed to call themselves "universities," and gained equivalent legal status only after 1918. Despite legal equalization a m o n g all f o r m s of higher education after World War II, a hierarchy of institutions persists in Japan, differentiated by history, funding, reputation, and function. Universities such as Tokyo and K y o t o are widely acknowledged to have better students, better graduates, m o r e government funding, and greater success in obtaining competitive external research funds. 1 In the mid-Meiji era (circa 1900), popular perceptions of the university solidified. T h e middle and upper classes c a m e to think that expensive university education, especially at the Imperial Universities, would guarantee prestigious j o b s and social status. A s a result, a near-universal examination system developed throughout the entire school and postsecondary system. Entrance examinations extended f r o m elementary schools to middle schools then to higher education. Although only about 2 0 % of elementary school graduates advanced to middle schools between the 1920s and 1940s, and only about 3% of the population went on to higher education, examinations were the subject of repeated reform even b e f o r e 1945. T h e main problem was to reconcile entrance examinations with the The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 Universities and Government in Post- War Japan 109 schools' recommendations and reports on actual student achievement. T h e entrance examination, a m e c h a n i s m to justify student advancement through all levels of schooling, was taken to an extreme. Because of the extraordinary effort to get admitted to a prestigious university, the status of graduates flowed f r o m the university attended, not f r o m the students' actual academic record within that institution. Higher Education after World War II The postwar introduction of an "American-style single-track" secondary education system, followed by e n o r m o u s growth in the Japanese e c o n o m y in the 1960s and 1970s, triggered rapid increases in postsecondary enrolment. Junior high school education b e c a m e compulsory. In 2003, m o r e than 9 5 % of students advanced to senior high schools. Now, all graduates of senior high schools b e c a m e eligible to enter higher education institutions, provided they passed the appropriate entrance exam. This expansion of numbers of graduates f r o m upper secondary school and the strict hierarchy of higher education are at the origin of the so-called "examination hell" phenomenon. Higher education enrolment rose quickly f r o m the mid-1960s. Higher education b e c a m e a mass system. "Massification" of higher education did not only entail quantitative expansion of the system, but also systemic change. T h e 1963 Report of the Central Education Council, an advisory body to the Education Minister, warned that problems arising f r o m massification could b e solved only through greater diversity in the system. That is, one could not go on building old-fashioned universities forever; one would surely need colleges, technical and vocational institutes, and quasiuniversity institutions—all of t h e m well f u n d e d and strongly endorsed over a lengthy period. At the time, f e w in the system saw these implications, most retaining a fervent faith in the traditional university system. B e t w e e n 1960 and 1975, participation ratios a m o n g 18-year-olds j u m p e d f r o m 10% to 4 0 % , mainly through expansion of the private sector. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 110 Shinichi Yamamoto Private universities and colleges (including two-year junior colleges) increased in n u m b e r f r o m 525 in 1960 to 933 in 1975, while the n u m b e r of national universities grew f r o m 7 2 to 81 during the same period. 2 Participation ratios stabilized in 1975-85 through a government initiative called the Higher Education Plan, aimed at enriching the quality of university education by restricting expansion of universities and colleges. Still participation grew again after the latter 1980s. Today, nearly half the 18-year-old population attends university or college, and if one includes specialized training schools in the system, m o r e than 7 0 percent participate in higher education. To a c c o m m o d a t e so large a n u m b e r of students (about 3 million) takes m o r e than 1,200 universities and colleges, including 541 two-year j u n i o r colleges (Table 1). T h e private sector represents about three-quarters of higher education institutions— 5 1 2 universities and 475 j u n i o r (2 year) colleges. But m o r e than half (54 percent) of graduate studies occur at the 99 national universities, w h e r e the bulk of research is conducted. Demographic Developments and the Changing Graduate Labour Market Higher education is n o w threatened by a sharp decline in the 18-yearold population. Although their n u m b e r s peaked at m o r e than 2 million in the early 1990s, they are forecast to fall to 1,200,000 by 2010, and 800,000 b y 2050. This m e a n s a f u n d a m e n t a l change in the supply/demand balance f o r higher education. Already, m o r e than half of junior colleges and a quarter of private sector universities and colleges h a v e reported enrolment shortfalls. O n e private university closed in 2002. This closure m a y b e a prelude to the f u t u r e bankruptcy of m a n y private institutions. Possible solutions include accepting m o r e a d u l t s — s o far a tiny minority in universities as c o m p a r e d to North A m e r i c a n higher education (see Yamamoto, Fujitsuka, & H o n d a - O k i t s u , 2 0 0 0 ) — a n d increasing the n u m b e r of foreign students (presently almost 100,000 students, representing 2.5 percent of the total student body). The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 Table 1 Number of Institutions and Students of Post-Secondary Education in Japan, 2000 National Local Public Private Total Universities and Colleges 3 99 75 512 686 c: Junior Colleges" 16 50 475 541 | Colleges of Technology c 54 5 3 62 100 215 3,152 3,467 Institutions S Specialized Training Colleges ? 3 Students a' 3 c« jf ^ ^ S o k> a g | a s a. Cl o < 5 ....... 621,488 . .„ 116,706 .... 2,047,884 . 2,786,078 5,800 18,834 242,480 Colleges of Technology 50,483 4,635 2,231 57,349 Specialized Training Colleges 12,720 32,283 720,700 765,703 s 267,114 Universities and Colleges Ü § 3 a re ^ Junior Colleges 3 ? S" a Degree-awarding institutions which provide four year undergraduate and post-graduate programmes. b Providing two year associate degree programmes. c Providing associate degree programmes of five years (three of upper secondary education and two years of higher education). Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Sciences and Technology (MEXT). 2002. § ~ 112 Shinichi Yamamoto A third option is attracting m o r e graduates f r o m high schools than the current 50 percent. A s elsewhere, the Japanese higher education system is responding to socio-economic change, in particular the recent d e v e l o p m e n t of a k n o w l e d g e - b a s e d society and economy. In most countries in the developed world it is a s s u m e d that science and technology are engines f o r e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t and m o r e resources are invested in scientific and technological research than ever b e f o r e ( O E C D , 2003, p.33), a good deal of which is conducted in universities. Besides, the graduate labour market has c h a n g e d considerably over the last 4 0 years, and m a n y j o b s that only required high school qualifications in the past are n o w filled by university graduates. Thus, f o r example, in 1960 most holders of clerical j o b s — t h e crucial first step f o r careers in business and public administration/management in J a p a n — w e r e high school graduates (more than 80 percent), whereas in 2000, m o r e than 60 percent held a university degree. This upward shift of educational requirements illustrates the n e w reality of d e m a n d f o r higher education. T h e need f o r university r e f o r m in terms of educational standards is obvious. B u t there h a v e been also other drivers of university reform. Changes in the University-Government Relationship Since World War II A f t e r World War II, " n e w universities" grew f r o m various higher education institutions. T h e n e w system included four-year undergraduate p r o g r a m s with general education and special subjects, and graduate p r o g r a m s f o r m a s t e r ' s degrees and doctoral degrees, n o n e of which had b e e n f o u n d in the pre-war system. 3 A n o t h e r feature of the post-war university system was that all universities were legislated a c o m m o n mission—research and t e a c h i n g — u n d e r the School Education Law. B e f o r e the war each higher education institution had received a distinct legislated mission. Introduction of a c o m m o n mission m a d e university administrators and faculty alike accept that every institution should b e equal and should have a research-intensive mandate. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 Universities and Government in Post- War Japan 113 Universities in Japan are n o w divided into three categories: national, local public, and private (or independent). National universities are established by the national government, local public universities are by local governments (prefectures), and private universities by private school corporations with non-profit status by law. The Relationship Between Universities and the Government In post-war Japan, the national universities, all public institutions, were strongly controlled by the government. However, they also e n j o y e d a high degree of autonomy due to the fact that, as in other nations, the instructional decisions of departments and faculty were protected by law f r o m interference by the government. In addition, the government financially supported t h e m by providing t h e m with so-called general university f u n d s based on a particular f o r m u l a ( n u m b e r of chairs, students and so on) and not on competitive proposals. D u e to this, the relationship of national universities with the government was characterized by the principle " n o control, but support." Until the mid 1970s, the relationship between private universities and the government had been " n o control, n o support," whereas b e f o r e the War the g o v e r n m e n t often intervened in m a n a g e m e n t of private universities. T h e post-war Private School L a w strictly limited governmental intervention in private institutions. In addition, the post-war Constitution of Japan provides that n o public m o n e y or other property shall be expended or appropriated f o r the use, benefit or maintenance of any religious institution or association, or f o r any charitable, educational, or benevolent enterprises not under the control of public authority (Article 87). Thus, provision of financial support by the government f o r private institutions was difficult, even had they wished to accept. T h e School Education L a w decrees that schools should b e supported and controlled by those w h o establish t h e m (Article 5). Since private school corporations establish the private institutions, the corporations must support their o w n schools. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 114 Shinichi Yamamoto Main Policy Concern Until Mid 1970s Within this f r a m e w o r k , the m a i n roles of the Ministry of E d u c a t i o n were: (1) design and administration of h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n (2) approval of n e w private and local public institutions, 4 system, (3) and the r u n n i n g of national universities and c o l l e g e s o n a b u d g e t secured f r o m the F i n a n c e Ministry f o r national universities. G e n e r a l l y speaking, policy w a s set out so that the h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m w o u l d f u n c t i o n a c c o r d i n g to law. T h e public saw universities and colleges as ivory t o w e r s not very d i f f e r e n t in f o r m and f u n c t i o n f r o m w h a t they h a d b e e n b e f o r e the War. U n i v e r s i t y a u t o n o m y acquired high value. T h e Ministry of E d u c a t i o n w a s e x p e c t e d to b e a general secretariat f o r all universities and colleges in Japan. In the 1960s, with the growth of the Japanese economy, debate intensified on the relationship between education and e c o n o m i c growth. T h e g o v e r n m e n t saw the importance of education as an investment in developing h u m a n resources in its " R e p o r t on the L o n g - R a n g e Educational Plan Oriented toward the Doubling of I n c o m e ( I 9 6 0 ) . " In addition to this, various n e w policy m e a s u r e s were discussed and implemented ( B e a u c h a m p , 1991, pp. 3 5 - 4 2 ) . O n e new policy concern was added in the 1960s. D u e to growth in the national e c o n o m y and thus of income, along with increases in the 18-year population, the desire f o r access to higher education grew. B e c a u s e very f e w parents of students had attended higher education, chiefly f o r financial reasons, adults wanted their children to g o to universities and colleges provided they w e r e affordable. T h e participation rate of the 18 year-old population in higher education began to rise. T h e increase rapidly c a m e to near 4 0 % in 1975. T h e so-called "Japanese-style e m p l o y m e n t s y s t e m " pushed people to apply to enter higher education. 5 A s people wanted to increase their and their children's chances f o r decent e m p l o y m e n t and income by going to university, the growth of d e m a n d f o r higher education continued to b e greater than the supply. T h e most serious p r o b l e m in higher education w a s the so called "entrance The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 Universities and Government in Post- War Japan 115 examination hell," m o r e onerous than in the years b e f o r e the War, as f a r m o r e students w e r e involved. T h e question was h o w to provide more opportunities in education to secure equal access to higher education, and h o w to ease the competition f o r entry. The Higher Education Plan Initiated by the Government T h e growth of higher education, however, stopped in the m i d 1970s. By the mid 1970s, the rapid growth of higher education began to cause n e w problems: (1) an imbalance in the locations of universities and colleges, since private institutions tended to locate in urban areas like Tokyo and Kyoto; (2) a decline in the quality of higher education, because so m a n y institutions w e r e established in a short period; and (3) rapid massification of higher e d u c a t i o n — l e a d i n g to the question whether Japan needed m o r e post-secondary education. Disorder at universities in the later 1960s led the government to consider drastic r e f o r m . T h e solution of the day was not to " m a s s i f y , " but rather a kind of "birth-control" in order to support existing institutions by preventing n e w ones f r o m establishing themselves in urban areas. Financial support f o r existing private institutions was strongly supported by conservative politicians. T h e constitutional problem was solved by direct governmental control of accounting. G o v e r n m e n t avoided direct control of whole institutions, restricting themselves to accountancy. T h e Ministry of Education began to i m p l e m e n t n e w initiatives. T h e r e was financial support f o r private institutions of u p to 50 percent of running costs, although the figure never exceeded 30 percent. M e a n w h i l e the Higher Education Plan aimed at controlling the quantity of higher education by prohibiting establishment of new institutions and departments in urban areas, and b y encouraging universities to locate in or m o v e to suburban or local areas. Finally, new national universities, as f o r instance the University of Tsukuba and the University of the Air, were f o u n d e d in response to n e w d e m a n d s f o r higher education. With implementation of the Higher Education Plan, the participation rate of the 18 year-old population The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 116 Shinichi Yamamoto in universities and colleges stopped growing and those w h o could not enter universities and colleges advanced to special training schools different f r o m universities and colleges. T h e Plan encouraged universities and colleges to locate outside Tokyo. In 1976, w h e n the Plan was implemented, 37.8% of the students studied in universities and colleges located in Tokyo. In 1980, the figure dropped to 32.0% and continued to decline to 2 6 . 0 % by 1990. F o r the e f f e c t i v e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n of its plan, the government c h a n g e d a crucial rule. F r o m 1976, private and local p u b l i c institutions w e r e required to h a v e the approval of the M i n i s t e r of E d u c a t i o n w h e n they w i s h e d to create a n e w d e p a r t m e n t and/or to raise e n r o l m e n t . Until then, only the e s t a b l i s h m e n t of n e w institutions or the creation of n e w schools within the institutions h a d required approval. T h e n e w rule w a s e n f o r c e d and, along with financial support (and strings attached to it), g a v e g o v e r n m e n t a strong tool to control the e x p a n s i o n of private h i g h e r education. F r o m then on, relations b e t w e e n the g o v e r n m e n t and private higher e d u c a t i o n institutions f o l l o w e d a n e w principle, n a m e l y " s u p p o r t and c o n t r o l . " R e g a r d i n g national universities, this relationship did not c h a n g e until the 1990s. CHANGES OF UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT IN THE 1990s F u n d a m e n t a l r e f o r m waited until the early 1990s. Universities, conservative as always, resisted it. T h e 1990s are nevertheless k n o w n as " T h e Ten-Year R e f o r m " in higher education. A l t h o u g h successful implementation of r e f o r m s would h a v e been difficult in the 1970s and 1980s, c h a n g e could b e a c c o m m o d a t e d in the 1990s, partly because of sweeping socio-economic developments after the collapse of the " b u b b l e e c o n o m y . " "University a u t o n o m y " was replaced by the notion of "accountability of public institutions." T h e majority of the public c a m e to think that universities and colleges w e r e supported by public money, thus should be accountable to the public. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 Universities and Government in Post- War Japan 117 T h e high value attached to post-secondary education had been a matter of the n a m e and reputation of institutions, rather than what students learned there. This e m p h a s i s on the " s c r e e n i n g " function of universities was thought appropriate f o r Japanese-style e m p l o y m e n t . University education itself was thought unimportant, as presidents of big companies tended to think students should pass difficult entrance e x a m s — a n d that the fact of their passing would assure dedication to task during later e m p l o y m e n t . T h e restructuring of the Japanese e m p l o y m e n t system to b e c o m e m o r e knowledge-based has changed this view. Instead, industry has begun to ask universities and colleges to provide students with practical k n o w l e d g e and skills u s e f u l f o r business and e m p l o y m e n t . A s a consequence, university education is b e c o m i n g m o r e important than ever, but institutions are similarly under considerable pressure. T h e decline of the 18 year-old population also p u s h e d f o r w a r d university r e f o r m . It has c h a n g e d the relationship b e t w e e n universities and students. University administrators and faculty, especially in private institutions, n o w realize they will not survive unless they r e s p o n d to student and society d e m a n d s . A s m o r e than a h u n d r e d institutions are at risk, universities increasingly accept the challenge that they must strengthen their financial situation and managerial capacity, and i m p r o v e their teaching and research methods. Main Reform Measures in the 1990s In the 1990s, the most important r e f o r m measures w e r e "evaluation" and "competition," along with the introduction and expansion of competitive governmental f u n d i n g . In the field of evaluation, the government introduced self-evaluation in 1991 at the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n of an advisory University Council. Universities had been reluctant to evaluate the quality of their teaching and research because institutional autonomy was regarded as a f u n d a m e n t a l value. In respect of this, the government chose to i m p l e m e n t the m e a s u r e of " s e l f ' evaluation under which the institutions would not necessarily experience direct loss of autonomy. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 118 Shinichi Yamamoto O n c e the self-evaluation system w a s introduced, m a n y universities responded quickly. By the end of 1997, m o r e than 8 0 % of universities practiced self-evaluation, and about 7 0 % published the results. Such a rapid spread of evaluation encouraged the g o v e r n m e n t to advance this system. External evaluation began in 1998. In 2000, a n e w national evaluation c o m m i t t e e was created in T o k y o — t h e National Institution f o r A c a d e m i c Degrees and University Evaluation ( N I A D ) . N I A D began evaluating teaching and research at national universities in that same year. In 2004, the g o v e r n m e n t set u p another evaluation system requiring every institution to be assessed regularly by an external organization authorized by government. A l t h o u g h not exactly the same as the A m e r i c a n accreditation system, external evaluation influences education and research at the universities. T h e N I A D is expected to be a m o n g the external organizations, as the n e w evaluation system begins its work. Competition is another feature of the 1990's reforms. National universities had, in the past, received large a m o u n t s of general university f u n d s f r o m the Ministry of Education. Competitive f u n d i n g , like research grants, used to be smaller. Faculties mainly p e r f o r m e d their research under the general university f u n d , distributed by the central administration of their institution. U n d e r the old scheme, the competitive research f u n d w a s a resource supplemental to other f u n d s . G o v e r n m e n t deficits, f o l l o w e d by g o v e r n m e n t - w i d e administrative r e f o r m , produced financial difficulty in university research in the late 1980s. General university f u n d s w e r e f r o z e n and research stagnated. In the late 1980s, it was thought that the Japanese e c o n o m y w a s good, but Japanese universities poor. T h e i m p r o v e m e n t of research conditions at universities b e c a m e an urgent p r o b l e m of higher education policy. T h e 1990s w e r e r e g a r d e d as the d e c a d e of e m e r g i n g i m p o r t a n c e of science and technology. In every country, science and t e c h n o l o g y c a m e to b e r e g a r d e d as the e n g i n e s of e c o n o m i c g r o w t h and social w e l f a r e . T h e e n d of the C o l d War d r e w every nation into c o m p e t i t i o n f o r e c o n o m i c status. J a p a n w a s n o exception. T h u s , the g r o w t h of i n v e s t m e n t f o r The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 Universities and Government in Post- War Japan 119 research i n f r a s t r u c t u r e within universities b e c a m e a high priority in the sector. F u n d i n g w a s p r o v i d e d via c o m p e t i t i o n . Grants-in-aid f o r scientific research h a v e sharply increased since the m i d 1990s, while the g r o w t h of general (discretionary) university f u n d s has r e m a i n e d m o d e s t ( Y a m a m o t o , 1999). G o v e r n m e n t policy f o r expansion and r e f o r m of graduate education in the 1990s stimulated competition. Because resources w e r e limited, government chose a policy that saw only selected national universities receive f u n d i n g f o r their newly expanded graduate (doctoral) p r o g r a m s ("Juten-ka"). M o s t selected institutions were f o r m e r Imperial Universities, such as the University of Tokyo and the University of Kyoto. B u t other national universities wanted doctoral p r o g r a m s to b e f u n d e d and competition a m o n g national institutions intensified. Along with such change in governmental funding, the Ministry of Education encouraged universities and colleges to expand and reinforce ties with industry (Yamamoto, 2002). For the institutions, the results of academic basic research b e c a m e desirable, not only to encourage contributions f o r industrial research and development, but to acquire n e w financial resources f r o m industry. Industrial f u n d i n g rose during the 1990s, mainly through joint research or contract research, and through direct donations (Yamamoto, 1999). T h e introduction of a five-year g o v e r n m e n t Plan f o r Science and Technology in 1996, r e n e w e d in 2001, strongly supported growing cooperation between universities and industry. In the long run, the most important r e f o r m of national universities was administrative: the reorganization that converted national universities to "national university corporations" ("Hojin-ka"). This scheme, conceptualized during governmental r e f o r m planning in the 1990s, aims at m a k i n g national universities more active in research and teaching, and m o r e accountable to the general public by separating their administration f r o m that of government. T h e General L a w of Administrative Corporations enacted in 1999 states that administrative corporations will deal with public matters that need not be carried out by the g o v e r n m e n t itself, but that are also not expected of the private sector. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 120 Shinichi Yamamoto Since national universities are public corporations, they are expected to be responsible to the general public. S o m e critics say that this s c h e m e aims at reducing the m o n e y that has to date been granted to universities. Although this may b e true to s o m e extent, the real aim is the clarification of responsibility of university activity. To d o so, the g o v e r n m e n t has required each university to have a six-year action plan, improving the quality of teaching, p e r f o r m i n g m o r e research activities, reducing the n u m b e r of e m p l o y e e s and so on, approved b y the Minister of Education. Results of the six-year plan must b e evaluated by a Ministry panel. External administrators must be involved in university governance. So-called "faculty a u t o n o m y " will b e replaced by presidential initiatives, m e a n i n g that decision-making is not controlled by faculty meetings, but by presidents. Finally, the g o v e r n m e n t will provide f u n d s that m a y vary, depending on the results of the Ministerial Reviews. A l t h o u g h the university corporation s c h e m e does not m e a n the privatization of national universities, each institution will c o m p e t e with the rest for limited resources available to all under the competitive f r a m e w o r k which was implemented in April 2004. University administration will c h a n g e drastically f r o m the past norm. RECENT CHANGES IN RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UNIVERSITIES AND THE GOVERNMENT, AND REASONS FOR THEM Changes in University-Government Relations Universities, and especially national universities, d o not express strong o p p o s i t i o n — a s they once d i d — t o university r e f o r m . In a broader sense, r e f o r m since World War II m a y b e regarded as the re-adjustment or re-distribution of benefits that universities and faculty o n c e had, to the exclusion of broader interests in society. U n d e r r e f o r m , university faculty m e m b e r s are required to work harder in teaching and research, just as other citizens must " w o r k hard." It is thus surprising that universities and professors d o not resist reform. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 Universities and Government in Post- War Japan 121 Universities have c o m e to see the Ministry of Education, not as an obstacle to institutional autonomy, but as a benevolent sponsor w h o allocates funding. B e f o r e the 1990s, faculty members, especially in the social sciences and humanities, tended to oppose new Ministry policies because they seemed to threaten university autonomy and f r e e d o m of research. U n d e r these circumstances, university administrators were particularly careful to introduce Ministry policies as non-intrusively as possible. But n o w the situation has drastically changed. At faculty meetings in m a n y universities, the Ministry's d e m a n d s are seen and accepted as ironclad, and disputes and difficult situations within institutions are settled decisively. Thus, universities are participants in a "rat-race" for limited resources under Ministry control. Instead of opposing governmental policy, universities f o l l o w directives. With increased competition, professors' main concerns are h o w to c o m p e t e with their peers for superior research outcomes. G o o d evaluations f r o m peers or f r o m the Ministry are important tickets to future success. Thus, professors are busier than ever. T h e y b e c o m e less interested in university administration, as c o m p a r e d with their research activities. M a n y professors n o longer seriously concern themselves with university autonomy. Instead, they w o n d e r h o w to improve the p e r f o r m a n c e of their research activities. T h e role of the government (the Ministry of Education) has b e c o m e greater, and national universities h a v e diversified in size and importance, as the result of severe competition between one another. T h e distinction between winners and losers will soon b e clear. Reasons for Change There are, as yet, n o persuasive explanations in Japan f o r these n e w reforms. Still, three reasons f o r it deserve consideration, and not just by researchers, but also by university faculty m e m b e r s and administrators concerned about university autonomy and responsibility. First, research has become more expensive than ever, while universities and their faculty m e m b e r s h a v e increasing difficulty in The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 122 Shinichi Yamamoto f u n d i n g research. Discretionary university f u n d s play a f a r reduced role, whereas competitive research grants and other types of competitive f u n d s h a v e increased. Universities and colleges are anxious to find n e w f u n d i n g , b e c o m i n g m o r e sensitive and submissive to national policy, and to the attitudes of the g o v e r n m e n t . T h e r e w a s a time w h e n Japanese universities need not worry about research money. T h e general, discretionary university f u n d w a s e n o u g h to finance research. This was especially true f o r the social sciences and humanities. If an institution could buy books and resources f r o m the f u n d , that was enough. E v e n today, s o m e faculty in these fields purchase books and f u n d travel f r o m their o w n pockets. Thus, the social sciences and humanities were relatively indifferent to n e w arrangements of g o v e r n m e n t f u n d i n g , if only because they were not so afraid as the natural sciences of losing f u n d s . T h e medical and engineering fields were similar, since faculty in those fields could find resources outside the Education Ministry, f r o m industry or other governmental sources. T h e y need not fear losing money. T h e field of science, on the other hand, needed money f r o m the Education Ministry because its research was highly expensive and no one other than the Ministry would pay f o r it. In the 1960s, 1970s, and even the 1980s, since scientists were far more influential than scholars in other fields, and in light of improvements in the financial condition of the Government, professors in the sciences could easily obtain research f u n d i n g f r o m the Ministry. Since the early 1990s, research in the social sciences and humanities has b e c o m e m o r e expensive with sophistication of research methods, and n o w require resources and facilities. Research needs and m a n p o w e r requirements exceed the abilities of individuals to bear library-intensive expenditures. Thus, more academics have become dependent on g o v e r n m e n t a l f u n d i n g than m a y have been the case a decade or t w o ago. Second, f e w people working f o r universities and colleges n o w can recall times b e f o r e and during the War w h e n non-science university activities were neglected by the government. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 Even the generation Universities and Government in Post- War Japan 123 involved in 1960s university and social disorder, and which opposed attacks on university autonomy, have b e c o m e older and m o r e complacent. M o s t current faculty m e m b e r s h a v e no personal acquaintance with those earlier periods, and are interested only in their o w n research and teaching. F r o m their perspectives, the government is the source of f u n d i n g , not a p o w e r opposed to university autonomy. Third, people in the Ministry have also changed. In the 1950s and 1960s, most w h o entered the Ministry of Education graduated f r o m universities other than the School of L a w at the University of Tokyo, as the Ministry of Education was a less popular destination a m o n g t h e m than the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Industry. Then, in the 1970s and 1980s, the n u m b e r of people in the Ministry of Education w h o had graduated f r o m the School of L a w at the University of Tokyo rapidly increased (Yamamoto, 1998). 6 A s is well k n o w n , the m a i n route to b e c o m i n g a high-ranking bureaucrat of the government began with graduation f r o m that School. Graduation f r o m the University of Tokyo gave bureaucrats m u c h self-confidence, and they b e c a m e bureaucrats in the worst sense of that term, rather than public servants according to the great objectives of the Constitution. A s f o r the Ministry of Education, its staff operate as administrators, rather than as secretariats f o r universities and colleges. This, along with the factors described earlier, suggest the possibility of rapid development in university-government relations in years and decades to come. FUTURE PERSPECTIVES IN RELATION WITH THE KNOWLEDGEBASED SOCIETY Japanese universities, as in other countries, w e r e once isolated f r o m government and society. But with the rise of a knowledge-based society, and given the changing higher education environment, the distance between universities and the rest of society has diminished greatly. Burton Clark suggests that three kinds of university stakeholder play important roles in the university system (Clark, 1983, p. 143). O n e The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 124 Shinichi Yamamoto is the university itself. T h e second is the market or the general public. Universities cannot disregard the emerging and changing needs of research and teaching expressed by the public, industry, parents, and students. T h e g o v e r n m e n t is the third stakeholder. There has been a gradual shift in the balance a m o n g these three stakeholders. Private universities have b e c o m e m o r e aware of the m a r k e t ' s role. National universities, in contrast, h a v e g r o w n to rely m o r e on government, including its resources. T h e m o v e to independence, therefore, causes anxiety f o r m a n y university administrators and faculty. W h e t h e r the National University Corporation system will b e successful or not is entirely dependent on the ability to o v e r c o m e this fear. CONCLUDING OBSERVATION: THE NON-INTENDED COSTS OF THE PRESENT REFORM University professors will be involved in discussions of university r e f o r m , whether or not they are interested. O n the other hand, if they c o m m i t too m u c h time to reform, the o u t c o m e s of their research and teaching will decline (Kobayashi, 1998). Faculty m a y wish to gauge carefully the a m o u n t of time and energy they devote to r e f o r m , r e m e m b e r i n g they must continue to be productive in their institutions and in society. P r o f e s s o r s ' most central occupation is, after all, research and teaching, not administration and m a n a g e m e n t , perhaps better d o n e by professional administrators. ^ The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXXIV, No. 3, 2004 Universities and Government in Post- War Japan 125 Notes 'In 2003 the University of Tokyo alone received about 14% of the scientific grant-in-aid funded by the Education Ministry. 2 Data come from the School Basic Survey of the Ministry of Education, Tokyo, Japan. Statistical data for this paper come from publications of the Ministry of Education, culture, sports, science and technology, searchable at: http://www.mext.go.jp/english/ 3 Before 1939, graduate education was a step in the preparation of academic researchers, organized as kind of an apprenticeship. 4 Although more local public universities were established and supported by the local governments in the 1980s and 1990s, only with national and private universities are discussed here. 5 By that time, the so-called Japanese-style employment system was a well- established practice in big companies. It meant a life-long employment practice (by the age of 55 or so), employment of graduates mainly from prestigious universities, and employment exclusively of new graduates younger than 25 or so. Adult education and graduate education were almost irrelevant to people wishing to be employed by big companies. 6 Reasons for the increase are many and different. 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