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PART Issues and Perspectives ofHigher Education

1 Higher Education before World War

At the beginning stage of educational modernization, soon after the enactment of the Government Order of Education in 1872, there were specialized institutions of various levels for the teaching of Western arts, sciences and languages. In 1877 the Government consolidated two of these institutions, namely Tokyo Medical School and Tokyo Kaisei School, and created a University of Tokyo. This was the first modern university in Japan.

In 1886 the Imperial University Order was promulgated. The Government created a Cabinet system in 1885, and was planning to inaugurate the Imperial Diet in 1890, as a part of its endeavors for developing various national structures relevant to a modern state. The Imperial University Order, like the Elementary School Order and other education orders, was promulgated as an integral part of the Government's modernization policies, with the aim of providing a firm foundation for a modern national system of formal education in Japan.

The Imperial University Order defined the aim of an imperial university as "to be engaged in teaching scientific knowledge and arts relevant to the needs of the State, and to pursue a profound study of these areas of knowledge and the arts. " The Order prescribed that the Imperial University be composed of several colleges, each specializing in law, medicine or some other disciplines, and a graduate school.

In accordance with the Order, the University of Tokyo became an Imperial University, merging the Engineering School under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry. In subsequent years the University continued further development and expansion. In 1897 a Kyoto Imperial University was created as the second university in this country. In later years other imperial universities were established in Sendai (in 1907), Fukuoka (in 1910), Hokkaido (in 1918), Osaka (in 1931) and Nagoya (in 1939). These imperial universities played key roles in higher education and research as core institutions among all the institutions of higher education in Japan.