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As higher education services that cross national borders, such as overseas branches of universities and e-learning, *1 are provided and international competition between universities develops, negotiations on the liberalization of trade in education services are being held at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and international discussions are proceeding in regard to securing the quality of higher education at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Furthermore, within Japan, the August 2002 Central Council for Education Report "Building a New System to Secure the Quality of Universities" and the March 2003 Cabinet decision "Three-Year Program for Promoting Regulatory Reform (Revised)" made recommendations concerning how best to secure university quality able to respond to international developments.

Based on this situation, MEXT, in cooperation with academic experts and others, is proceeding with the study of specific policies to contribute to the globalization and improvement of the international competitiveness of education and research in universities in Japan, and to contribute to the building of an international system to secure the quality of universities.