（2）The Reform of the System of Higher Education

Since the inauguration of the new university system under the School Education Law, approval for the establishment of universities had been based on Standards for Universities set in July, 1947, by the Japanese University Accreditation Association. However, accreditation in this case simply signified approval for membership in the Association, which was an independent body of universities. The need for official standards which would regulate such matters as organization of teaching staff, curriculum, location, physical plant, and equipment was met in October 1956 with the issuance of ministry of education regulations (monbushorei) on Standards for the Establishment of Universities.

A second important area of development within the higher educational structure was the establishment of a permanent system for junior colleges by a revision of the School Education Law, which was promulgated on June 19, 1964, and put in force on that day. These two-year or three-year junior colleges, which had started on a more or less ad hoc basis in 1950, expanded rapidly and came to occupy a unique position within Japanese education. Several reasons for the popularity of these colleges include the fact that the economic burden of a junior college education is considerably lighter than that of the regular four-year university; some professional training or vocational education can be obtained within a short time; and as educational institutions, junior colleges seem to provide an especially appropriate course of study for women students. Junior colleges at present are characterized primarily by the fact that they are small in size, predominantly female (83.l% of the junior college student population in 1971), and almost totally private (86.4% of all junior colleges and 90.4% of the junior college student population in 1971). Although their curricula have been heavily oriented toward literary, linguistic, and home economics courses, there has been a notable increase recently in departments which provide professional training, such as in education and nursing.

A third notable development took place in the establishment of technical colleges (kilo senmon gakko). To meet the needs of an industrial society the demand arose to train professional workers who also had a good scholastic foundation. Even prior to the 1952 effectuation of the Peace Treaty the creation of a "specialized college" called senshu daigaku which would combine three years of upper secondary education with two or three years of university level education was recommended in October, 1951, to Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru by his private Consultative Committee for the Revision of Cabinet Orders (Seirei Kaisei Shimon Iinkai). The Central Council for Education in four separate reports during the period between 1954 and 1958 had mentioned a similar variation of the junior college system. In March, 1958, a bill for a revision of the School Education Law, which would provide for the establishment of another "specialized college" called senka daigaku, was introduced into the Diet, but no action was taken. In spite of the growing social demand for this type of educational institution, the Diet repeatedly refused to approve supportive legislation. Finally, the Ministry of Education took the lead in proposing the formation of technical colleges which would provide industrial education and be quite' distinct from the concept embodied in the junior colleges. Legislation for industrial education of this nature a revision of the School Education Law, was promulgated on June 17, 1961, and put in force on that day. Based on this revision technical colleges began to be established from April, 1962.