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PART Issues and Perspectives ofHigher Education

The mission of universities is to provide people with opportunities for higher education, while serving as core institutions of higher education and as key centers of scientific research. Universities have been greatly contributing to the development of the nation through developing higher education and scientific research.

At present, the majority of universities are private institutions. Private universities account for 73% of all universities, and their enrollments account for 75% of total enrollments in all universities. (See Chart -2-3.) If we classify all universities by the number of faculties, universities with a single faculty account for a relatively high proportion, namely, 54% of all universities. (See Table -2-5.) As regards the distribution of entrants by major fields of study, a relatively high proportion of entrants to all universities (national. local public and private) are in the fields of social sciences and science and technology, while a relatively high proportion of entrants to national universities are in the fields of science and technology, teacher training, medicine and dentistry. Specifically, 42% of them are in science and technology courses, including agriculture courses. 22% in teacher training and other education; related courses, and 22% in humanities and social science courses. On the other hand, the highest proportion of local public university entrants are in the field of social sciences. For private universities, almost two-thirds of entrants are in the fields of humanities and social sciences. (See Chart -2-4.) The total number of teachers employed in all universities was 123.838 in1990. Of this total. 43.4% were employed in national institutions. 5.3% in local public institutions and 5l.3% in private institutions. (See Chart I-2-3.)

Chart -2-3 Number of Universities. Undergraduate Students and Teachers, 1990

Table -2-5 Number of Universities classified by the number of faculties, 1990

Regarding the first destination of university graduates in 1989,80% of them got employment and 7% advanced to graduate schools. (See Chart I -2-5.) Of all university graduates who got employment, the highest proportions were 27% in service industries and in manufacturing industries, followed by 16% in wholesale and retail, and 12% in banking, insurance and real estate. Education, one of the service industries, took up 10% of all employed graduates.

Chart -2-5 Percentage Distribution of University Graduates by Their First Destination, 1989

In recent years the number of foreign students studying in Japanese universities has been dramatically increasing. As of 1 May 1989, there, were 31,251 foreign students enrolled in universities in this country. Of this total, 12,414 or 39.7% were enrolled in undergraduate courses. (See Table -2-6.) The largest number of them, namely 5,129, were enrolled in social science courses, followed by humanities (2,909) and engineering (1,819). The number of foreign students accounts for O.63%of all undergraduate students in the country. (With regard to the acceptance of foreign students. see 4 of Chapter 8 of Part )

Table -2-6 Trends in the Number of Foreign Students Enrolled in Undergraduate Courses in Japan, in May Each Year

Today university education has been popularized to a great extent. If universities are to develop a wide range of human resources adapted to diverse demands from society, they will need to organize and implement distinctive curricula while coping adequately with social demands, as well as the progress of science, on the basis of their own creative initiatives, in the light of the educational aims and principles of each university. In order to develop such distinctive and diverse undergraduate education, universities need to design flexible and sound educational structures.

The results of a "Survey of the Real Life of Students" conducted in 1990 (See4 of Chapter 2 of Part I) indicate that about one-half of students in institutions of higher education are bored with their classroom lessons, and many students confess that they can understand only 50 to 70% of what has been taught in the classroom. Not many students believe that they can understand almost all that has been taught. There are a lot of demands for the improvement of the content and methods of teaching.

With a view to helping students strengthen their will to learn and to enabling them to assimilate what has been taught, universities also need to positively provide students with guidance regarding the curriculum, and to consider relevant approaches for improving the effectiveness of students'learning. One such approach would be to increase opportunities for seminars and other types of small group work so as to help students develop their abilities to think, express themselves and form judgements.

With a view to enabling university students to acquire more than mere professional knowledge, the goal of general education in universities lies in helping students acquire broad knowledge through learning various subjects, gain insights into things, and develop the ability for independent and comprehensive thinking. There is a growing need for realizing this goal in view of the more diversification of students admitted to universities, as well as the on-going development of various fields of study.

So far the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has made partial amendments to the Standards for the Establishment of Universities to make the provisions concerning general education more flexible. With regard to general education, a variety of innovations have been attempted by many individual universities. For example, a substantial number of universities have: 1) created "multi-disciplinary" subjects dealing with plural areas covering humanities, social science and natural science and 2) allowed students to learn professional education subjects soon after their entrance to the university, and to continue to take some general education subjects at the third and fourth years of their undergraduate studies.

There has been the criticism that general education at universities is just are petition of general education at upper secondary schools, and it has been very often pointed out that universities have been providing general education merely in a mechanical way, leaving uncertain the place of general education in the whole undergraduate curriculum. Criticisms have been heard that there have been discrepancies between the actual practice of general education and its goal, and that systematic interaction is lacking between general and specialized education programs.

There is an urgent task to explore the proper functions of general education in the overall educational program of the university taking account of these criticisms. On the other hand, universities are also required to improve the curriculum of specialized education, so as to make it adapted to the progress of academic research in different specialized fields, as well as the diversification and sophistication of our society.

Along with the progress of internationalization in various sectors of society, there are growing needs for the enrichment of foreign language teaching and the improvement of the content of teaching, and also for the improvement and strengthening of mechanisms for accepting and looking after foreign students with a view to making such mechanisms adapted to the increase in the number of these students. Regarding the time of student admission to the university. the Ministry of Education. Science and Culture has taken flexible measures to enable universities to admit students (or to allow them to graduate) at the beginning (or the end) of an academic term rather than an academic year. If universities are to cope flexibly with the progress of the trend toward more internationalization, it is hoped that universities will take more advantage of this flexible system.

To cope with an information-oriented society, universities are requested to help students acquire basic knowledge and techniques regarding information processing.

Today universities are required to make positive contributions to the promotion of lifelong learning by utilizing their own functions in carrying out various programs, including those for helping working people redevelop their vocational capabilities and those for helping community people upgrade their cultural levels. In order to meet these requirements, various measures have been taken. They include the improvement and enrichment of the activities of the University of the Air; the reservation of a certain number of places for working adults in the process for the selection of university entrants; the opening of university facilities to community people and the creation of courses which are offered both in the daytime and in the evening.

As there is a growing demand for diversifying the patterns of access to universities so as to promote the admission of working adults. it is now an important task for universities to strive to offer these people diverse learning opportunities by providing a certain number of places for entrants to the second or third year of the undergraduate program, and by allowing more flexibility in the students' learning patterns (for example, by creating courses offered both in the daytime and in the evening.)

In order to make educational programs at individual universities more unique and more diverse, each institution needs to be enabled to develop free and diverse educational and research activities on the basis of its own educational principles and with its own creativity and innovative attempts. For this reason, it has become an important task for the Ministry to review, from a contemporary point of view. The provisions of the Standards for the Establishment of Universities setting forth a national framework for university education. This review is being made with a view to limiting the provisions, as far as possible, to those on the basic framework which need to be observed by any university.

(3) Educational and research activities in different fields: the current status and issues and the recent improvement and enrichment of these activities

The educational and research activities of universities are carried out in a wide range of fields, including humanities, social science, natural science, technology, agriculture, medicine, Dentistry, pharmacy, mercantile marine science, home economics, education, and the fine arts. The following paragraphs will outline the current status and issues, as well as the recent improvement and enrichment, regarding educational and research activities in selected fields.

Faculties in the fields of humanities and social sciences (faculties of literature, law, economics, etc.) constitute a relatively high portion of all university faculties in Japan. In May 1990 the number of these faculties was 543 or 47.9% of the total number of faculties. The number of places for entrants to these faculties was 218,825 or 54.4% of all places for entrants to all faculties.

Of the 543 faculties in these fields, 79 were at national institutions, 34 at local public ones and 430 at private ones. Of the 218,825 places for entrants, 22,603 were at national institutions, 6,943 at local public ones and 189,279 at private ones. Private universities take up 86.5% of the total places. The rate of increase in the total number of students enrolled in faculties of humanities and social science has been remarkably high at private universities as compared with at national and local public institutions.

In 1989, 85.O% of all graduates from these faculties became employed and l.5% of them advanced to graduate schools. Those graduates who sought employment entered a variety of industries: 22.5% of them went to wholesale and retail industries, 21.1% to service industries. 18.9% to manufacturing industries and 16.6% to financing, insurance and real estate industries.

It has become a task for faculties in the fields of humanities and social science to strive to review their educational programs and curricula in the light of various changes and trends in our society, including the trend toward internationalization, the dissemination of information media. and the predominance of "knowledge industries." In recent years, to cope with the trend toward internationalization, many universities have set up faculties and departments in the areas of international culture, international relations. international policies, international economics. foreign languages, etc. In addition, to cope with the information age, many universities have set up faculties and departments in the area of business management information. In response to the growing demand that existing faculties and departments should offer such courses as will cope with a changing society and should improve their curricula. an increasing number of faculties and departments have begun, for example, to provide information processing education and to attempt the enrichment of subjects related to international studies.

Many faculties and departments of the humanities and the social science are of a large size, and thus emphasis is placed on lecture-type lessons. It has been pointed out that this situation has made human relations between teachers and their students very weak and that due to these circumstances no sufficient results have been recorded in the development of students' abilities to think or to express themselves. While a growing number of faculties and departments are placing more emphasis on seminars, faculties and departments in the humanities and the social science are expected to continue their efforts to improve teaching methods by increasing seminars or other types of small group lessons and by other means.

Further, faculties in these fields are required to strengthen their research functions, and they are expected to activate the research activities of their teachers, including joint research work with other teachers and researchers in and out of their own universities. The promotion of international exchange regarding research is also expected.

Number of new faculties and departments created to cope with the information age

(during the years from 1986 to 1990)

New faculties 9 (Faculties of business management information,etc.)

New departments 8 (Departments of business management information, information management and industry information, etc.)

Number of new faculties and departments created to cope with internationalization (during the years from 1986 to 1990)

New faculties 16 (Faculties of international studies, International relations, international cultural studies, etc.)

New departments 8 (Departments of international business management, international and comparative laws, international cultural studies, international politics, etc.)

As of July 1990, faculties in the fields of science and engineering were existing in 149 universities. This number represented 29% of all universities (508), National, local public and private. Fifty-eight national universities (about 60% of all national universities) had 90 faculties in these fields, seven local public universities (about18% of all local public universities) had 11 faculties, and 85 private universities (about 23% of all private universities) had 115 faculties.

In 1990 the total number of entrants to these faculties was 112,000 or 23% of all entrants to all faculties (492,000). The largest number (29,0OO or about 26%) of this total was in the field of telecommunications engineering, followed by mechanical engineering (19,000 or about 17%), civil engineering and architecture (19,000 or about17%), applied chemistry (11,000 or about 9%).

Between 1980 and 1990, the proportion of entrants to telecommunications courses had increased by about four points, while the proportion of entrants to civil engineering and architectural courses had decreased by about four points.

Of all graduates from faculties in the fields of science and engineering in March1989, 79.2% got employment, 17.6% advanced to graduate schools, and the other 3.2% were the unemployed and others. Between 1979 and 1989 the proportion of graduates who got employment had decreased by 2.2 points, while the proportion of those who advanced to graduate schools had increased by 7.3 points. These statistics clearly indicate that there had been an increase in the percentage of graduates advancing to graduate schools and a decrease in the percentage of those who got employment. Of all graduates of March 1989 who got employment. 52.3% were employed in manufacturing industries and 47.7% were in other industries. (Of 47.7%. 2.1% were in financing and insurance industries.) As compared with five years before, the proportion of graduates entering manufacturing industries had decreased by 4.8 points, the proportion of those entering the other industries had increased by 4.8 points, and the proportion of those entering financing and insurance industries had increased by 1.2 points (the number increased from 523 to 1,505). Thus the proportion of graduates entering manufacturing industries tended to decrease, while that of graduates entering other industries tended to increase. The percentage of graduates entering financing and insurance industries tended to increase to a large extent.

Meanwhile, regarding faculties in the field of agriculture, 55 faculties in this field existed in 51 universities in July 1990. Of this total, 38 were in 35 national universities, 3 in 3 local public universities, and 14 in 13 private universities. About 70% of the total 55 faculties in this field were faculties of agriculture, and the others were faculties of horticulture, veterinary medicine, animal husbandry, etc. The total number of entrants to faculties in this field in 1990 was 17,000, accounting for about 3% of the total university entrants in the year.

Of all graduates of March 1989 from all faculties in this field, 78.7% were employed, and 14.3% advanced to graduate schools. Of those who got employment,33.l% entered manufacturing industries, and 66.9% other industries.

University education in the fields of science and engineering has been appraised as having developed engineers and researchers who supported the development of science and technology in this country, and as having contributed to the improvement of the level of research in science and engineering, as well as to the development of the industry in Japan.

Today, however, it has been pointed out that the current supply of manpower in science and technology involves a structural imbalance, both quantitatively and qualitatively, against the social needs for this manpower. Quantitatively, there is atonable shortage of manpower in these fields. In particular, there is a great need for the development of engineers in most advanced areas of electricity, electronics, information, biotechnology and new materials. Qualitatively, one of the problems is that faculties of science and technology have not succeeded in having their students acquire the basic and broad abilities required by society.

Social demands for university education in the fields of science and engineering are dramatically changing in the context of the changing industrial structure. As well as of the rapid progress of science and technology.

With regard to education in technology. in the light of these changing social demands, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture organized in October 1988 a "Consultative Committee on the Promotion of Technological Education" to examine the current problems and future issues regarding technological education. As a result. in December 1990 a report entitled "Technological Education in Transition" was published. The report pointed out the following tasks to be tackled with regard to technological education:

1)Definite goals of technological education should be set forth, a curriculum relevant to these goals should be organized, and comprehensive basic technological education should be carried out. In addition, appropriate educational structures which are flexible enough to adapt to various changes should be organized and managed.

2) Appropriate infrastructures should le developed through: drastically expanding educational facilities and equipment; institutionalizing research assistants and teaching assistants; increasing fellowships to graduate students; and so forth.

3) Provisions for lifelong learning should be developed through: offering retraining courses for researchers and engineers; providing people with information regarding learning opportunities; and so forth

4) With a view to seeking able and talented students from overseas, the selection procedures for graduate school entrants should be improved so as to make them adapted to internationalization.

5) The collection and compilation of various statistical data and the creation oft heir data bases should be promoted as sound bases for policy planning

In order to secure an adequate number of excellent engineers and researchers in keeping abreast of rapid technological changes and rapid changes in the economic structure, high level continuing professional education needs to be provided for working engineers and researchers. For this reason, in May 1990 the Ministry organized a "Consultative Committee for the Promotion of Re-education of Working Engineers" to begin to consider relevant measures to be taken for the promotion of reeducation of working engineers at universities and other institutions.

With regard to university education in the field of agriculture, since the mid l95O's, agricultural education, in such areas as horticulture, animal husbandry, agricultural chemistry and agricultural technology, has been expanded to cope with the modernization and rationalization of agricultural production, including the betterment of agricultural productivity and the reform of agricultural structures. Agricultural sciences have been defined as applied sciences aimed at the production and utilization of biological resources useful for the food, clothing and shelter of people.

However, the social environment surrounding agricultural sciences has been drastically changing, due to the recent emergence of resources and energy problems, problems regarding the international supply and demand of agricultural products, problems concerning the designation of a 2O0 mi1e economic zone, and other acute problems. In spite of these circumstances, agricultural departments have not been adequately coping with the changing social environment, and they have not been successful in securing a synthetic approach in education and research or in carrying out interdisciplinary studies related to agriculture. This failure is a result of the inflexible conduct of their educational and research activities due to the fragmentation of disciplines which has helped deepen scientific knowledge regarding agriculture.

For this reason, agricultural departments need to attempt to reorganize their educational and research structures with the aim of contributing to the development and utilization of new biological resources to be made available by biotechnology, and to the conservation and utilization of natural resources based on the solution of environmental problems. Thus agricultural departments should be engaged in educational and research activities and in the training of relevant human resources in such a manner as will properly cope with the contemporary demands of society.

With respect to veterinary medicine, with a view to meeting social demands for the development of stock raising and the spread of public health services, the government has extended the length of the undergraduate course in veterinary medicine from four to six years to ensure the further enrichment of education in this area. For the postgraduate level, it has institutionalized the four-year doctor's degree course in this field.

Recent changes in the industrial structure caused by the progress of science and engineering have made it necessary for universities to meet changing social demands for the development of engineers and researchers. In this context, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has been actively promoting the creation, reorganization and transformation of relevant university faculties and departments, especially those in information, biotechnology, new materials and other fields of advanced technology for which social demands are very strong.

Further, with a view to providing working adults with more educational opportunities contributing to their lifelong learning, the Ministry has been promoting the creation of courses offered both in the daytime and in the evening and the reservation of a certain number of third-year student places for graduates from colleges of technology and junior colleges with the aim of giving them an opportunity for further education. Through these and other measures, the Ministry has been attempting to expand the functions of university faculties in these fields.

Especially in the field of information technology, as information media have been rapidly spreading throughout society, there is an urgent need for the training and recruitment of an adequate number of information technologists. In June 1988 the Ministry published an interim report on "the Training and Recruitment of Information Technologists." In accordance with this report, the Ministry has been positively carrying out relevant measures.

In this interim report, the Ministry estimated that the total number of information technologists (both those for hardware and those for software) to be needed by the year 2000 would be 2,300,000 to 3,000,000 and asserted that 1,500,000 to 2,250,000 of them should be trained in formal institutions of higher education. Based on this estimate, the Ministry suggested that the number of places for entrants to faculties and departments related to information technology be increased in accordance with a definite plan.

To this end, the Ministry has been promoting the expansion of faculties and departments in this area. The total number of places for entrants to departments related to information technology was 30,109 in 1990, representing an increase of 70% over five years before.

Further, in order to ensure the qualitative improvement of the curriculum at these departments, the Ministry has been helping universities develop relevant curricula for information processing education. In addition, in order to help improve the quality and capacity of teachers. the Ministry has organized study meetings of university teachers regarding information processing.

(Additional statistical information)

In May 1990 there were 79 universities (42 were national institutions, 8 local public ones and 29 private ones) having faculties of medicine, and the number of places of entrants to these faculties was 7,685. There were 29 faculties of dentistry in 27 universities (11 faculties in 11 national institutions. one faculty in a local public institution and 17 faculties in 15 private institutions), and the total number of places of entrants to these faculties was 2,732. (See Chart -2-6.)

Chart -2-6 Trends in the Number of Places of Entrants to Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry

The length of the bachelor's degree course in medicine and dentistry is six years. The length of the doctor's degree course in these fields is four years.

Regarding the training of medical doctors, since the mid- l960's the Ministry of Education. Science and Culture has formulated and implemented definite plans for increasing the number of places for entrants to faculties of medicine and for ensuring that every prefecture has at least one medical university or faculty. These plans were intended to cope with growing demands for medical services. To rectify regional imbalance in the number of medical doctors, and to contribute to the improvement of the level of medical services in each region. As a result, The immediate target of 150 medical doctors per 100,000 inhabitants was achieved by 1983.

For the training of dentists, the Ministry strove also to increase the places for students to be admitted to the existing faculties of dentistry and to help universities set up additional faculties of dentistry. As a result, the immediate target of the average number of 50 dentists per 100,000 inhabitants was achieved by 1980.

Thus the immediate targets for the supply of medical and dental doctors have been achieved, and the quantitative expansion of faculties of medicine and dentistry was completed by around 1980. On the other hand, the Ministry of Health and Welfare began in 1984 to reexamine the supply-demand relationship of medical and dental doctors in the future. With the help of experts and knowledgeable people, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture also began to examine the optimum number of students to be enrolled in faculties of medicine and dentistry. As a result, a proposal was submitted to the Ministry that by 1995 the total number of new medical doctors per year be decreased by 10% and that of new dentists per year be decreased by 20% with a view to improving the environmental conditions of students' clinical clerkship and other educational activities, and with a view to making optimum the supply-demand relationship of medical and dental doctors. With this target in view, it was recommended that medical and dental faculties take relevant measures to reduce the number of entrants, and to admit students within the prescribed number of places for students to be admitted.

In the light of this recommendation, those universities which have successfully reached an agreement with the community and within the university have begun to decrease the number of places for entrants.

b Tasks for faculties of medicine and dentistry

Today, social circumstances surrounding medical education and treatment have been drastically changing, and these changing circumstances have been greatly affecting medical and dental education at universities. The major factors calling for changes in medical and dental education can be outlined as follows:

1) Progress of science and technology, as well as an increase in the volume of information, in the field of medicine

To keep abreast of the progress of medical sciences and treatment, medical and dental doctors have been increasingly required to be active in learning constantly the latest knowledge and techniques. It has also begun to be pointed out with concern that in the future the fragmentation of medical disciplines may lead to an increase in those medical doctors who are not capable of proper medical treatment based on broad knowledge and views.

2) Changing relations between patients and doctors

In recent years greater importance has been attached to the idea that medical treatment should not be defined as one-way service on the part of doctors and that it should be carried out on the basis of mutual trust between doctors and their patients.

3) Various issues affecting bio-ethics

There have been taking place a number of issues affecting bio-ethics and undermining the conventional views on human life. Such issues include brain death, organ transplant and the preservation of frozen in-vitro fertilized eggs.

4) Changing disease structures

Disease structures have been changing due to the advent of an aging society and the changes in life styles.

5) Internationalization in the various sectors of society

Along with internationalization in the various sectors of society, international activities for the exchange of persons and information have been actively carried out in the fields of medical research and treatment.

In the context of these changing circumstances surrounding medical research and treatment, there are growing expectations for the development of "good medical doctors" and "good dentists" who have a warm heart, a deep reverence for life, and insight into the minds of patients and their families, and who are capable of medical treatment with an understanding of the minds of patients.

c Improvement of education at faculties of medicine and dentistry

In view of the aforementioned changes in the circumstances surrounding medical research and treatment, in 1984 the Ministry of Education. Science and Culture organized a Consultative Committee for the Study for Improving Medical and Dental Education and asked it to propose strategies for improving university education in this area. In 1987 the Committee published its report. In this report the Committee proposed a number of improvements with regard to the following aspects, with a view to helping develop "good medical doctors" and "good dentists":

Making clearer the aims of medical and dental education

Improvement of procedures for selecting entrants

Improvement of the curriculum

Enrichment and promotion of basic medical (and dental) science and social medicine

Improvement of graduate education in medicine and dentistry

Coping with internationalization

Optimum size of total enrollments in faculties of medicine and dentistry

Improvement of mechanisms for medical and dental education

For example, with regard to the improvement of the curriculum the Committee believed that the curriculum of medical and dental courses should aim at helping students acquire such basic and common knowledge, skills, attitudes and habits as will be required in any field of medical research and treatment. From this point of view, the Committee offered specific proposals regarding: the concentration of the content of teaching on basic and essential matters; paying high regard to the autonomy of students in choosing what they should 1earn; placing much emphasis on clinical practice and other practical work the development of teaching about ethics and human relations to be respected by medical and dental doctors. The Committee also recommended that medical and dental education should cope with the changing disease structure and called for placing importance on comprehensive and continuous medical treatment.

On the basis of these proposals, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has been studying specific measures for the improvement of medical and dental education, and has also been encouraging individual faculties to introduce relevant improvements and innovations in their educational programs. As a result, in many universities a variety of efforts in response to the Committee's proposals have been witnessed. Some of them have began to study how to improve the curriculum of medical and dental courses, and some others have begun to carry out new curricula.

With regard to the improvement of procedures for the selection of entrants, there is a growing number of universities which have reserved a certain number of places for students to be admitted merely on the recommendation of the upper secondary school principal. A number of universities have incorporated interviews and essays as part of the process for selecting entrants to medical and dental faculties. In addition, the Japan Medical Education Foundation and a research team supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Education. Science and Culture have been conducting a study for the development of an aptitude test based on new concepts, utilizing some data on the Medical Achievement Test used for the selection of entrants by many medical colleges in the United States.

Further, the clinical internship after graduation from a university course plays a major role in the development of medical and dental doctors. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and other organizations and people concerned with medical and dental education are studying how to improve and enrich this internship program. A number of efforts for developing new curricula for internship programs and for improving existing curricula have been made in many university hospitals.

Considering the social and research demands for medical and dental courses, The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has been increasing the number of medical and dental courses, and setting up facilities for the students' clinical training, and for medical and dental faculties at national universities. In 1990, the Ministry set up, at the Faculty of Medicine. Tottori University, a new department with the aim of providing bioscience education, as well as basic medical education.

Regarding local public universities and faculties of medicine, taking account of the importance of the training of medical and dental doctors in these institutions. The Ministry has been subsidizing part of the current expenditures of these institutions so as to improve and enrich their educational and research activities.

Regarding the training of medical technicians such as nurses, clinical laboratory technicians and medical x-ray technicians, the Ministry has been striving to help transform special training schools in this area into junior colleges, with a view to developing technicians with broad knowledge and high-level techniques, to securing the increased recruitment of these technicians in those fields for which the demand is very strong, and thus to coping with the rapid progress of medical research and treatment.

Since 1967 the Ministry has created 22 national junior colleges for the training of medical technicians on the basis of the reorganization or transformation of former special training schools. The number of local public junior colleges offering courses for the training of medical technicians, which was eight in 1965. Increased to 51 by 1990. (See Table -2-7.)

Table l-2-7 Trends in the Number of Places of Students to be Admitted to Nurse Training Institutions

Table -2-8 Number of Hospitals, 1 October 1988

Table -2-9 Number of Sickbeds at Hospitals, 1 October 1988

As mentioned above, the training of medical technicians has so far been expanded primarily through the expansion of courses at junior colleges. In the coming years, however, it will become more important to train those people who will play a leading role in, for example, nursing education and nursing research, and accordingly it will be necessary to duly promote the development and expansion of undergraduate or graduate courses for the training of these people.

e University hospitals

University hospitals are facilities set up to be used for the educational and research activities of medical and dental faculties at universities. In order to carryout effectively their educational, research and clinical functions, these hospitals need relevant clinical divisions and facilities, and an adequate number of sickbeds and outpatients. Each faculty of medicine may have, in addition to its hospital, some affiliated hospitals where a part of the students' clinical education is provided.

University hospitals function not merely as facilities for clinical education for students, for the research activities of medical doctors and for the intern ship training of students after their completion of an undergraduate course. They also serve as core medical facilities in the community. Therefore, on the one hand, For educational purposes they are required to deal with a variety of cases of disease, Not only serious ones but also mild ones. On the other hand, they are required to maintain a high level of medical treatment, keeping abreast of the progress of medical research and treatment. They accommodate a lot of patients with those serious and difficult diseases which cannot easily be dealt with by other medical facilities. Further, in recent years there have been growing expectations for university hospitals as facilities for the lifelong learning of medical and dental practitioners.

Taking account not only of educational and research needs for universities but also of social demands for university hospitals as core medical facilities in the community. individual hospitals attached to national universities have been expanding the necessary clinical divisions and special clinical facilities such as departments of emergency medicines. By 1990 five national university hospitals had created ageneral medicine division which is to contribute to the training of medical doctorscapable of primary care.

Under the present system of teacher training, teacher certificates are awarded to those students who have earned a prescribed number of credits in relevant subjects at national, local public and private universities or junior colleges, so as to attract to the teaching profession excellent students who have a broad general education as well as high-level professional knowledge. This system is called an "open" system of teacher training. In other words, teacher training in Japan is provided both by teacher training universities and faculties and by other universities and faculties, and both types of institutions take advantage of their distinctive features in carrying out teacher training programs. Almost all teacher training universities and faculties are national institutions, which aim at developing primarily teachers for compulsory schooling.

Of the faculties of teacher training at national universities, 46 faculties (46 universities) are institutions developed on the basis of former normal schools or other teacher training institutions under the pre-war system. The other three faculties at three universities are new institutions based on new concepts which are aimed at providing in-service teachers with an opportunity for study and self enlightenment in postgraduate courses. The total number of places for entrants to national universities and faculties of teacher training was 19,930 in 1990.

Regarding teacher training universities based on new concepts (called "new universities of education"), two universities, namely Hyogo University of Education and Joetsu University of Education were set up in October 1978, and another university named Naruto University of Education was created in October 1981. All these universities are composed of a graduate school and an undergraduate faculty.The graduate school admits practicing teachers and provides them with an opportunity for in-service training and self enlightenment. The undergraduate faculty is designed to train elementary school teachers. These universities stress theoretical and practical education and research related to teaching and learning in schools.

Due to a decrease in elementary and secondary school enrollments in recent years and the resulting decrease in the number of teachers recruited, the proportion of teacher training university (or faculty) graduates entering the teaching profession has been declining in recent years. The proportion recorded a peak figure of 78% in 1979 and then began to decline and became 60% in 1989. It is anticipated that this trend of decline will continue for a substantial number of years.

In the light of this situation regarding the supply and demand of teachers. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, with the cooperation of some knowledgeable people, carried out a study of the future direction for teacher training universities and faculties, with a long-term perspective for the supply and demand of teachers in the future. As a result, the Ministry determined to take, as far as local circumstances allow, such measures as: (1) transferring a part of student places for teacher training faculties to other faculties and (2) creating new courses at teacher training faculties for students who may enter employment other than teaching after the completion of the course. During the four years from 1987 to1990, 40 courses of this type (multi-disciplinary science courses, cultural and social studies courses. etc.) were created at 28 universities. No students enrolled in these courses are required to obtain a teacher certificate when they complete their courses. The places for students (2,955) to be admitted to these courses were created by transfer from a part of the existing student places for teacher training courses. As these courses have specialized sub-courses related to international studies and information sciences for which there are growing social demands. There are a relatively large number of applicants for these courses.

Meanwhile, regarding teacher training courses which are core elements of teacher training faculties, it is an important task for individual universities to improve further the content and methods of teaching for these courses with their own creative and innovative efforts, so as to develop teachers of high quality who will play a leadership role in individual schools. To this end, the Ministry has encouraged teacher training faculties to set up centers for action research in education which are to be responsible for conducting action research in educational technology and for the planning of student teaching programs, as well as for the supervision of prospective teachers before and after their teaching practice.

Further, in order to improve retraining programs for practicing teachers and to upgrade the level of education and research in teacher training institutions. The Ministry has set up a number of postgraduate courses in these institutions. By 1990, 27 postgraduate departments (with 169 courses) had been set up in 27 universities among the 49 universities having teacher training faculties. (The total number of places for students to be admitted to these departments was 2,243 in 1990.) In the light of the aim of the revised statutory system of teacher certification, these postgraduate departments are expected to implement innovative at tempts such as offering certain courses both in the daytime and in the evening and thus to meet the social demands for the betterment of the quality of school teachers.