Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Universities in Modern Japan: A Historical Outline
- Chapter 2 From Showa to Heisei: The Formation of Japan’s Contemporary Higher Education System
- Chapter 3 The Heisei Period: Plus Ça Change?
- Chapter 4 National Universities: Autonomy in Their Governance; Ideology and Practice
- Chapter 5 Public Universities: Prefectural, Local Higher Education
- Chapter 6 Private Universities: Diverse and Adaptable
- Chapter 7 Foreign Universities in Japan: Opportunities Taken and Missed
- Chapter 8 The Financing of Higher Education in Japan
- Chapter 9 Undergraduate Admissions: Shifting Trends
- Chapter 10 The Hensachi: Its Dominant Role in University Rankings
- Chapter 11 Self-Assessment: How Japanese University Students Assess Their Learning Outcomes
- Chapter 12 Policies for Hosting International Students: Issues for the Post-300,000 International Students Plan Era
- Chapter 13 Regional Cooperation in East Asia: Shifting Reality
- Chapter 14 International Students: Inbound Mobility at “Elite” and “Mass” Universities
- Chapter 15 Academic Support and Advising: Historical and Contemporary Issues
- Chapter 16 Women’s Universities in Japan: Life Choices
- Chapter 17 Junior Female Academics: Experiences and Challenges
- Chapter 18 Women of Color Leading in Japanese Higher Education
- Chapter 19 International Faculty: Increasing Mobility
- Chapter 20 Research Universities: Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
- Chapter 21 Liberal Arts Education: The Japanese Way
- Chapter 22 The English Language in Japan: A Historical Overview 1809–2020
- Chapter 23 Languages Other Than English: Mysterious Eclipse
- Chapter 24 Critical English Curriculum Enactment: A Policy Planning Perspective
- Chapter 25 The Dawn of Reiwa: Waves, Revolutions and an “A.I. Society”
- Appendix 1 Chronology of Japan
- Appendix 2 Japanese National Universities, by Prefecture
- Appendix 3 Japanese Public Universities, by Region
- Glossary
- Index
Chapter 5 - Public Universities: Prefectural, Local Higher Education
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 May 2023
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Universities in Modern Japan: A Historical Outline
- Chapter 2 From Showa to Heisei: The Formation of Japan’s Contemporary Higher Education System
- Chapter 3 The Heisei Period: Plus Ça Change?
- Chapter 4 National Universities: Autonomy in Their Governance; Ideology and Practice
- Chapter 5 Public Universities: Prefectural, Local Higher Education
- Chapter 6 Private Universities: Diverse and Adaptable
- Chapter 7 Foreign Universities in Japan: Opportunities Taken and Missed
- Chapter 8 The Financing of Higher Education in Japan
- Chapter 9 Undergraduate Admissions: Shifting Trends
- Chapter 10 The Hensachi: Its Dominant Role in University Rankings
- Chapter 11 Self-Assessment: How Japanese University Students Assess Their Learning Outcomes
- Chapter 12 Policies for Hosting International Students: Issues for the Post-300,000 International Students Plan Era
- Chapter 13 Regional Cooperation in East Asia: Shifting Reality
- Chapter 14 International Students: Inbound Mobility at “Elite” and “Mass” Universities
- Chapter 15 Academic Support and Advising: Historical and Contemporary Issues
- Chapter 16 Women’s Universities in Japan: Life Choices
- Chapter 17 Junior Female Academics: Experiences and Challenges
- Chapter 18 Women of Color Leading in Japanese Higher Education
- Chapter 19 International Faculty: Increasing Mobility
- Chapter 20 Research Universities: Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
- Chapter 21 Liberal Arts Education: The Japanese Way
- Chapter 22 The English Language in Japan: A Historical Overview 1809–2020
- Chapter 23 Languages Other Than English: Mysterious Eclipse
- Chapter 24 Critical English Curriculum Enactment: A Policy Planning Perspective
- Chapter 25 The Dawn of Reiwa: Waves, Revolutions and an “A.I. Society”
- Appendix 1 Chronology of Japan
- Appendix 2 Japanese National Universities, by Prefecture
- Appendix 3 Japanese Public Universities, by Region
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
A note on terminology: Japan has three major categories of universities, national, (kokuritsu), public (kōritsu), and private (watakushi ritsu, usually shortened to shiritsu). These terms will be used here, though there is sometimes confusion, as of course national universities are also public universities. It is best to think of public universities as local universities. According to the Japan Association of Public Universities (JAPU), kōritsu daigaku kyōkai, or Kōdaikyō for short, 62 percent are prefectural universities (including urban metropolitan areas such as Tokyo and Osaka), 30 percent are city universities, four percent are consolidated city/prefectural universities, and four percent are some other form of incorporation.
Introduction
In the fall of 2003, while serving as Provost and Chief Operating Officer of Becker College in Worcester MA, I was contacted by an old friend and mentor from my days at Keio University about whether I would be interested in returning to Japan and working with a public university. In a very Japanese way there were no specifics mentioned, but I was very interested and after a few months of discussion and learning that the university was Yokohama City University, following a visit to YCU, I agreed. I was appointed president elect and worked, first from the US and then from Yokohama from September 2004 in planning a drastic reform of the university to be enacted following its entry into the new category of “independently administered public university entities” or kōritsu gakkō hōjin. The national and public university gakkō hōjin was created by the National University Corporation Law of 2003 with the rationale for creating them embedded into the descriptive title of an “independently administered” (dokuritsu gyōsei) entity. A detailed description on the incorporation of national public entities will be given later in the chapter, but the basic idea was for them to become more independent from their government entities and also to develop more of an individual character. Until gakkō hōjin incorporation, a foreigner would not have been able to become president of a public university, as when Yokohama City University was directly governed by the City of Yokohama, those employed in the university were public servants, kōmuin, and foreigners could not become public servants.
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- Handbook of Higher Education in Japan , pp. 65 - 77Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2021