（2）The Curtailment of Lengths of Courses of Universities, Higher Schools and Specialized Schools

On October 16, 1941, with the Pacific War soon to break out, an imperial order (chokurei) authorized the Minister of Education to reduce the lengths of the regular and preparatory courses of universities, the higher course of higher schools, and the specialized school course and the vocational specialized school course by six months. Accordingly, the Ministry of Education issued at the same time regulations cutting short the lengths of the courses of these schools, excepting the preparatory course of universities and the higher course of higher schools, by three months for the 1941 school year graduates and thus making graduation be held in December of that year. Then in November the Ministry issued regulations reducing the lengths of all the courses of these schools by six months for the 1942 school year graduates. As a result of this in 1942 these schools held graduation in September. In 1943 the higher course of higher schools and the preparatory course of universities were further shortened according to revisions of the 1918 Higher School Order and the University Order, both of which were promulgated on January 21, 1943, and put in force on April 1 of that year, to become two-year courses.