Japan experienced an epoch of high economic growth up to the early1990s followed ever since then, by a low growth rate. Nonetheless, the participation rate in higher education continued to increase even in the latter period. What underlay this expansion, and what are the future implications? This paper addresses those questions. In Section 1, I have drawn up an analytical framework that involves the market for higher education opportunities （the higher education market）, the market for college graduates, the financial market, and the government. In Section 2, I examine the factors that contributed to the changes in the higher education participation rate in three periods since the 1960s. I show that the participation growth since 2000 owes much to the increased use of education loans, tapping the resources of the financial market. In Section 3, I examine the case of the United States from similar perspectives. I argue that, while the monetary market has played a significant role since the 1990s, the behavior of higher education institutions in the U.S. is different from the case of Japan. On the basis of these observations, I discuss the possible direction of future higher education policies in Japan.

　 Capital market imperfection has been seen as one of the causes of underinvestment in higher education. In the 1950s, Milton Friedman proposed a system of Income-Contingent Student Loans to remedy this imperfection in the capital market. And in the 1960s, Alan Prest approved the system as a means of financing higher education from the viewpoint of equity. The system has been put into practice in Australia and Britain. It has a lot of advantage: robustness to response to default, the provision of insurance against adverse outcomes, low administrative costs, etc. However, the system also has some problems: income definition and assessment, difficulty in dealing with various household classifications, an increased interest burden, and so on. Nevertheless, the mechanism of Income-Contingent Loans offers a promising prospects of being of practical use in various areas outside the field of higher education.

　This paper examines the content and the implications of change in the relationship between higher education and the financial markets from the perspective of changes in the procurement structure of JASSO’s scholarship project financial resources. There are currently three types of JASSO scholarship projects: benefit-type, interest-free loans, and interest-bearing loans. The main focus of our examination is on the two loan types. Interest-free loans have existed since the establishment of the public scholarship system in Japan in 1943. The interest-bearing loan is a system that was created with the cooperation of the Fiscal Investment and Loan Program (FILP) as a financial resource in 1984. As resources for these scholarship programs, the government’s general funds are used for the interest-free loan system, while FILP is used for the interest-bearing loan system. Furthermore, in both schemes, loan repayment money is used as a financial resource. In 1999, an extension of the number of lenders was adopted as national policy, against the background of the financial policy of utilizing FILP in the education field. The FILP reform was implemented in 2001, and the institutions that accept FILP have decided to issue bonds on their own initiative. Furthermore, in 2007, JASSO’s started to borrow private funds to cope with the difference between the FILP loans as a source of funding and the interest rate for interest-bearing scholarship loans. These initiatives brought about diversification of the scholarship resources. Direct financing from such financial markets has contributed to the expansion of JASSO scholarship program, to the establishment of secure stable financial resources and to a reduction in the burden imposed on public finances. However, the loan-scholarship system runs the risk for the lender of being faced with default, and a further risk for the borrower, who may not know whether or not he/she has to return the scholarship-loan. Reform of the scholarship system in the 2010s can be seen as a manifestation of these risks and institutional adjustments. There is also a systemic problem facing the scholarship projects as a public system supporting the advancement of higher education, in a context of greatly expanded higher education opportunities, of how to secure huge amounts of funds each year continuously while reducing the burden imposed on public finances.

　 Endowment funds have assumed an essential role in supporting higher education ― especially with respect to the endowment funds of top private research universities in the U.S. However, this funding asset tends to fluctuate with changes in financial markets, and many universities lost considerable assets during the 2008 financial crisis. This paper explores the role of endowments in U.S. higher education during that crisis. Using the financial data of payout rates and net prices of U.S. private universities from 2007 to 2014, this paper suggests that universities made different decisions pertaining to endowment funds in response to the financial crisis. On the one hand, the universities that had accumulated huge endowments increased their payout rates and discounted the net prices, to support families that needed additional financial aid during that period. On the other hand, universities with smaller endowments tended to reduce spending to keep the level of endowments constant, thus decreasing instruction expenses. These results imply that the role of an endowment differs depending on its size. Finally, this paper discusses the implications of the U.S. experience for Japanese higher education.

　 In this paper, following the enactment of the US trust law, which is centered on the concept of fiduciary duty, and which has formed the fundamental framework of US university investment, I discuss the characteristics of investment in private universities in Japan and investment trends in recent years.

　Originally, private universities in Japan are fiduciary, but their investments display characteristics deviating from Prudent Man rules and Prudent Investor rules. In other words, their characteristics are a lack of portfolio management, single-year oriented investment, in-house investment and quasi endowment.

　However, in recent years, there is a trend among private universities to fulfill their responsibility as a fiduciary, portfolio management, outsourced investment, and investment consistent with their educational mission.

　 The objective of this paper is to explore the current status of university-industry collaboration and venture capital and issues arising from an exposition of this topic. The central focus is placed on the relationship between university and finance, with particular reference to the case of national universities. At the present time, both university-industry collaboration and venture capital have very little significance for university finances. However, the system reform which is currently in progress as well as reforms planned to be implemented in the near future might bring about a drastic change in the relationship between university and finance.

　 Under the government’s “Public and Private Innovation Program” launched in 2012, designated national universities were enabled to invest the government capital specially assigned to them in national universities’ venture capital and related investment funds, and activity actually began in 2014. At the present time, however, the said funds have not become a stable financial resource for national universities.

　 However, two legal amendments enacted in 2018 deeply transform the relationship between universities and finance, with the result that universities would be able to obtain an effective means of strengthening university finances. Although such a possibility might be materialized, it could take a long time for universities’ venture capital and funds to function efficiently. Furthermore, another disturbing factor that can be anticipated is that much depends on politics. Even if universities’ venture capital and investment funds functioned well, the result might be the introduction of many conflicts and problems into the university system.

　The objective of this paper is to review the trends in loans taken out by private universities as well as to analyze the issues and significance of these loans by using financial statistical data from 1960 to the present. The data derives from two sources, namely The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology MEXT and The Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan.

　Private universities in Japan sought to expand through two periods of time by acquiring facilities and equipment using loans. The periods can be distinguished by on the one hand a sharp rise, and on the other a sharp decrease in the number of students, Consequently, loans accounted for most of their overall finances. The period of student decrease brought hard times, but later their financial conditions improved with an increase in the number of students, allowing them to increase their funds and repay their loans.

　Nonetheless, in recent years, the expansion of private universities has come to a halt and financial conditions are once again worsening. A long-term drop in student enrollment is predicted. This paper discusses how loans should be handled by private universities to sustain ongoing stability, and addresses the issues that must be tackled and overcome.

　 The objective of this paper is to study the realization of the diffusion of knowledge to citizens in the early years of the University of Tokyo, focusing on the practice of the academic speech.

　 In previous studies, the Ri-igaku koudankai- Science and Medical Discussion Forum, held at the University of Tokyo since 1887, has been regarded as marking the beginning of the university extension system in Japan. However, the actual situation of activities before that date has not been clarified due to restrictions imposed on historical materials.

　 Primary information sources underlying the details of speech practices at the start of the university system were speeches given by the staff of Tokyo Kaisei Gakko and the Faculties of Law and Science of the University of Tokyo. An analysis of these sources revealed the reality of the speeches, the reason for their introduction, and the social configuration of the university.

　 The results of my analysis are as follows. The University of Tokyo had organized academic speeches from March 1877 in the form of Japanese language and English speeches on law, science and literature. The speeches were given by teachers, students, and the general populace, and were held regularly on a monthly basis. On the occasion of a speech, a preview notice was also posted to in the columns of the local newspaper, and citizens were widely invited to participate. Speech meetings were seen as a means of realizing a concrete image of the university by linking them with the construction of lecture rooms and connecting the university and the broader society.

　 The purpose of this study is to examine the impact which intra-Asian study abroad experiences have on Japanese students’ sense of ‘Asian citizenship’. In recent years, Japan has seen a rise of intra-Asian mobility. In particular, non-degree-seeking programs, typically lasting less than 1 year, have been on the rise. According to previous research, Japanese people have a much weaker consciousness of being ‘Asian’ than people from other Asian countries. This suggests that Japanese students may be less inclined to feel connected to Asia and may thus lack a willingness to better understand and contribute to the region. If this is the case, the question that then arises is whether intra-Asian study abroad fosters a sense of ‘Asian citizenship’ in Japanese students.

　 Europe’s ERASMUS program is a pioneer of intra-regional student mobility that since its inception has striven to foster a sense of European identity ― a part of European citizenship. However, several previous researches on this topic indicate that the impact on participants’ sense of European identity is varied and controversial. Also, Yokota （2016） found that intra-Asian student mobility has only a modest impact on Asian identity. In these researches, the definitions of regional identity are not necessarily clear. Therefore, in this study, ‘Asian citizenship’ is defined as a more comprehensive concept such as willingness to further understand Asian people and contribute to the Asian region. This study aims to contribute to these debates by offering a perspective which embraces a more comprehensive concept of regional citizenship.

　 Through a survey of 709 Japanese students at a private university in Tokyo, it was found that intra-Asian study abroad programs do have a positive impact on Japanese students’ sense of Asian citizenship. Also, it was found that the duration of a study abroad program was immaterial in terms of its effect. These results indicate the potential value of promoting future intra-Asian student mobility as a means of fostering Japanese students’ sense of Asian citizenship.

　 Scholarship loans from the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) have been the root cause of a number of social problems over a long period of time. Many media outlets continue to criticize JASSO’s scholarship policy in respect of the manner in which these loans are administered. A recent study has also asserted that the scholarship policy is the underlying cause of young people being trapped in the poverty cycle. However, this paper expresses doubts about this assertion, which is often based on simple analyses using government statistics or press reports concerning occasional cases.

　 This study utilizes propensity score matching to analyze the effects of JASSO scholarships on student time use. Results indicate that academic hours increased for university students while their allotted recreational and social time decreased after receiving scholarships. These findings are relevant regardless of whether the university is national, public, or private. Furthermore, we limited the survey range to from lower-ranked private university students, whose standard deviation scores (called “hensachi”) were measured at less than 45. Similarly, the duration of study activity time increased after receiving a scholarship. The results produce evidence which contradicts skepticism about a whole range of scholarship policy and which is often based on press reports concerning occasional cases.