（3）The Strengthening of the Wartime Educational System

The strain of the war eventually forced the nation to avail itself of its last resort - complete student mobilization. Following the deliberations on the national emergency the Cabinet in October, 1943, discontinued draft deferments for all students excepting those in science and technology and teacher training programs. Emergency measures affecting all phases of university life were immediately imposed, and there was a mass movement of students to the front. While science and technological universities and specialized schools were expanded, the humanities and social science programs were greatly curtailed.

In this period, reforms in specialized schools and normal schools were also carried out. With the enforcement on April l, 1943, of the Middle Level School Order, the Vocational School Order, as the basis of a distinction between the ordinary and vocational specialized schools, was abolished. On the other hand, a revision of the Specialized School Order, which was promulgated on January 21, 1943, and put in force on April 1 of that year, added "training for the Imperial Way" to the aims of the specialized school. In regard to normal schools, the distinction between the first and second tracks in the regular course of the normal schools was repealed by the 1943 Normal Education Order, which was promulgated on March 8, 1943, and put in force on April 1 of that year. Also, by this Order, the normal school was stipulated as a government institution; the lengths of all the regular courses of the normal schools were standardized into three years; and graduation from middle level school was made a prerequisite for entrance into the regular course. Thus the normal school was reclassified as on an equal status with the specialized school. At the same time, for the enforcement of the 1943 Normal Education Order, the 1943 Normal School Regulations were issued in March, 1943, and put in force in April of that year. In the following year, a revision of the 1943 Normal Education Order was promulgated on February 17 and put in force on April 1, to establish the youth normal school as a new institution replacing the former youth school teacher training center. The accompanying Youth Normal School Regulations were issued in March, 1944, and put in force in April of that year.

As the necessity for student mobilization increased, in January, 1944, the Cabinet decided on a new emergency mobilization policy. In the latter policy even those students with deferments were expected to rotate every year between their academic work and four-month mobilization duties. Moreover to increase the effectiveness of mobilization, many schools were tuned into munitions factories. In March, 1944, the Cabinet decided that middle and higher level school students should be mobilized all the year round to perform work connected with the war effort. School buildings came to be used increasingly for military supply storage and as emergency hospitals and evacuation centers. Finally, as a result of a Cabinet decision in March, 1945, all instruction throughout the country, with the sole exception of the primary course of the National Schools, was to be discontinued for one year, from April 1, 1945. Subsequently the Wartime Education Order was promulgated on May 22, 1945, and put in force on that day to organize a Student Brigade at each school. Japanese education went down in honorable defeat (gyokusai).