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The provision of learning opportunities that reflect people's needs is vital to the expansion and enhancement of learning activities. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and boards of education are therefore working to provide diverse learning opportunities in such fields as school education, social education, culture, and sports.

Other administrative agencies and private-sector education enterprises also provide a variety of learning opportunities. Prefectural governors' offices and public safety commissions provide various learning opportunities that reflect their administrative objectives in such areas as welfare for the aged, rural revitalization, environmental protection, the promotion of local industries, and traffic safety. Private-sector education enterprises, including foundations, incorporated associations, and business corporations are also actively involved in a variety of activities, especially in urban areas. Culture centers, for example, which are social education ventures operated as private-sector profit-making enterprises, use the characteristics of individual companies to provide learning opportunities based on a flexible response to demand for learning.

Companies also provide various types of training and education for their employees. An increasing number of firms are encouraging their employees to resume their education at the university or other levels or are providing paid education leave.

A wide variety of learning opportunities are available in Japan today, but there is a need for continued efforts to enhance learning opportunities and stimulate learning activities. The expansion of learning opportunities in specific fields, such as school education, social education, culture, and sports, are discussed in the chapters that deal with these topics. The following discussion focuses primarily on the role of schools in lifelong learning and the relationship between lifelong learning and volunteer activities.

Schools, from elementary schools to institutions of higher education, play a key role in the following three aspects of lifelong learning.

First, school education is itself an important channel for learning activities. Lifelong learning is sometimes defined as out-of-school learning, but in reality school education plays an extremely important part in lifelong learning.

Second, school education lays the foundation for lifelong learning activities. To encourage people to continue learning throughout their lives, it is necessary to emphasize the basics and give full scope to individuality at the school education level and to foster willingness to learn independently and the ability to cope positively with social change (self-education ability).

Third, expanding access to school education and implementing social education programs provide learning opportunities to a wider range of people, including workers, homemakers, and the elderly.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture is implementing a number of measures at the school education level to provide diverse learning opportunities, including

Recent trends, including rapid technological progress and changes in the industrial structure, have created a growing need for the reeducation of adults through recurrent education in schools .^* There is particular need for refresher education, vocation-orientated education provided by institutions of higher education for people in the work force. To meet this demand, universities and other institutions need to develop policies that provide for the active acceptance of adult students. The following measures are being implemented for this purpose.

Many universities have special selection procedures for adults. In fiscal 1993 such systems were in operation at 182 universities, including 25 national universities. A total of 3,665 adults were enrolled (437 in national universities).

An increasing number of graduates of junior colleges and colleges of technology are seeking transfer admission to four-year universities. In 1991 the Standards for the Establishment of Universities were revised to facilitate the establishment of quotas for transfer admissions.

Many universities have responded to students' time limitations by establishing evening courses and day/evening programs. In fiscal 1993 a total of 146,416 students were enrolled in evening courses at 157 universities and junior colleges (including 18,518 students at 35 national universities). Evening courses had also been established at 7 graduate schools. As of fiscal 1993, day/evening programs, which enable students to take lectures both in the daytime and in the evening according to their circumstances, had been established at 21 universities (including 19 national universities) and 72 graduate schools.

Special register students are part-time students who register for individual subjects and courses. They are eligible to receive course credits. As of fiscal 1993 a total of 2,119 special register students had been accepted at 168 universities (including 584 students at 39 national universities).

Unlike full-time students and special register students, audit students and special non-degree students have traditionally been accepted by universities. Normally audit students are upper secondary school graduates and special non-degree students are university graduates. In fiscal 1993 the total number of audit students and special non-degree students was approximately 56,000.

In fiscal 1993 approximately 230,000 people were enrolled in correspondence education courses offered by 22 universities and junior colleges (including approximately 50,000 enrolled in the University of the Air). In addition to correspondence education provided in the context of school education, 4 universities provide correspondence social education programs that have been certified by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.

The university entrance qualification test system provides opportunities for university education to certain categories of people, such as those who have not received upper secondary education. Applicants are tested, and if they pass certain subjects they are qualified for university entrance. In fiscal 1993 a total of 20,569 people took the test, and 5,214 passed.

The University of the Air uses television and radio broadcasts to provide university-level education to a wide spectrum of people in Japan. It began to enroll students in April 1985, when it commenced broadcasting in parts of the Kanto region. In the first term of fiscal 1994 the number of students exceeded 50,000. In March 1994 the number of graduates reached 4,498.

The University of the Air does not have entrance examinations. In addition to regular students, whose goal is graduation, it accepts one-year non-degree students (one-year enrollment) and one-term non-degree students (one-term enrollment), as well as special non-degree students who study specific fields. In this way the University of the Air is able to meet a wide range of learning needs.

The coverage of the University of the Air is currently limited to part of the Kanto region. As a core institution for lifelong learning, it is working to respond to the increasingly sophisticated and diversified learning needs of people throughout Japan and to ensure equal opportunity for education. At present it is preparing to expand its coverage nationwide through the use of the successor to the nation's third broadcasting satellite.

Credit-based upper secondary schools base their subject coverage requirements solely on credits. The purpose of the system is to make upper secondary education available to all by providing opportunities to people with varying academic backgrounds and lifestyles. In addition to the elimination of curricula divided into grades, credit-based upper secondary schools are characterized by

In fiscal 1994 there were 37 public credit-based upper secondary schools in 27 prefectures. In addition, 6 private credit-based upper secondary schools have been established in four prefectures.

Special training colleges provide practical vocational education, specialized technical education, and other types of education to meet the needs of society. In May 1993 a total of 859,000 students were enrolled in 3,431 special training colleges.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture is implementing various measures to promote diversified education in special training colleges. In June 1994 it made a number of changes to the Standards for the Establishment of Special Training Colleges, including

The aims of these changes are to enable special training colleges to respond more flexibly to diverse learning needs and to promote the acceptance of workers as students. The changes were prompted by the March 1994 report of the Consultative Committee for Research and Surveys Regarding the Enhancement and Promotion of Special Training College Education.

The Ministry has also established Regulations Concerning the Conferral of "Technical Associate" Qualifications on People Who Have Completed Postsecondary Courses at Special Training Colleges (Ministry of Education, Science and Culture Notification No. 84, June 21, 1994). These regulations enable the title of "technical associate-(course name) postsecondary course" to be conferred on people who have completed postsecondary courses that fulfill certain criteria, including a study period of at least two years. Aims include the appropriate evaluation of learning achievements in postsecondary courses.

In promoting diverse learning activities, it is important to make the functions and facilities of schools available to the public in order to meet the learning needs of community residents. For this reason the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture provides incentives and subsidies to encourage educational institutions to implement extension courses and other activities aimed at the public and to make their facilities available to the public.

Extension courses at universities give the public direct access to the fruits of higher education and research and provide community residents with opportunities for advanced learning. In fiscal 1991 approximately 480,000 people attended a total of 3,578 extension courses at national, local public, and private universities. These courses cover an extremely wide range of fields, including specialized and technical subjects for workers, contemporary issues ,^* languages, and sports.

Boards of education and other organizations respond to learning needs in their regions by using the educational functions of upper secondary schools to offer numerous extension courses. In fiscal 1992 approximately 110,000 people throughout Japan attended 1,890 courses in various fields. Extension courses are also provided for community residents at special training colleges.

Reeducation is vital for adults and workers. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture is implementing the Recurrent Education Promotion Program to provide opportunities for organized learning so that people can keep pace with structural changes in industry and employment and the development of new technology. Programs are managed by local recurrent education promotion conferences, which consist of representatives of institutions of higher education, local governments, industry, and other groups. The conferences carry out comprehensive activities, including

For many years there has been an active policy of making school facilities available to the community. In fiscal 1994, 93.5% of elementary schools, 88.7% of lower secondary schools, and 59.7% of upper secondary schools made their facilities available in some way. Most of the facilities offered at present are for use in physical education, but it is anticipated that other types of facilities, such as special classrooms, libraries, and kitchens, will be made increasingly available in the future. In fiscal 1991 a total of 382 national, local public, and private universities made their physical education facilities available for community use.

The number of surplus classrooms is increasing because of the decline in student numbers. Utilizing these spaces for learning activities of community residents by converting them into facilities for social education, sports, and cultural activities is extremely valuable from the viewpoint of promoting lifelong learning. In April 1993 the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture formulated the Guidelines for Surplus Classroom Utilization to highlight the importance of conversion, offer specific examples of conversion programs, and provide guidance on aspects of management and operation that require special care. Local governments were notified of these guidelines.

To enable schools to serve as centers for community learning activities as well, it is necessary to take this function into account at the facility development stage. In its Guidelines for Upgrading School Facilities, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture stipulates approaches to facility development that provide for utilization for community learning activities. The Ministry also provides subsidies for the development of facilities, such as clubhouses, to promote community utilization of school facilities.

The relationship between lifelong learning and volunteer activities can be approached from the following three perspectives.

The 1992 report of the Lifelong Learning Council discusses the important role played by volunteer activities in building an enriching and dynamic society and creating a lifelong learning society. It also lists a number of priorities regarding the promotion of volunteer activities, including

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture is implementing the following measures to support and promote volunteer activities.

Volunteer activities that reflect local conditions are carried out at all levels of school education, including primary and secondary education. Generally, such activities are implemented as part of club activities in special activities or as labor, production, and social-service events that form part of school events. There is a wide range of activities, including community cleanup activities and volunteer service at special homes for the aged and other facilities. Volunteer activities are also studied in the context of school subjects, such as "moral education," "social studies," and "home economics." The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture designates pilot schools for research on hands-on learning, including social-service activities.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture provides subsidies for Comprehensive Programs for Promoting Lifelong Learning Volunteer Activities implemented by prefectural governments. The implementation of these programs centers on boards of education, lifelong learning centers, youth education facilities, and women's education facilities. Measures include In fiscal 1994 efforts also began to focus on research and surveys, the preparation of a manual for coordinators of lifelong learning volunteer activities to enhance volunteer center functions, and the compilation of case studies to increase understanding of volunteer activities. The purpose of these efforts is to improve systems for the collection and distribution of information and the provision of advice for people who want to participate in activities, people involved in activities, and people who need help.

The 1992 report of the Lifelong Learning Council advocates the use in school instruction of experience and achievements in out-of-school volunteer activities and the recognition of experience and achievements in volunteer activities as a requirement for qualifications and as a perspective to be taken into account in entrance examinations and in the recruitment procedures of government agencies and private companies. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has been implementing a number of measures on the basis of this report.

In the area of university entrant selection procedures, provision has been made for the inclusion of volunteer activities and other activities in the student credentials submitted by upper secondary schools, and universities are being encouraged to evaluate such activities appropriately. Those responsible for upper secondary school entrant selection procedures have been notified that appropriate recognition should be given to volunteer activities and other activities in admission on recommendation documents and student credentials. Since fiscal 1993 the Ministry has been conducting research and surveys concerning society's evaluation of volunteer activities.