As a result of external pressures during the 1990s, the Japanese higher education system underwent quick and remarkable changes. Some of the most significant factors that influenced those changes included a decrease in the youth population, a prolonged recession and lack of jobs, and a rather hasty structural reform in higher education spearheaded by the government. Resulting changes in Japanese higher education are apparent in four prominent ways. First, the higher education system has moved from a growth industry into a declining one as the traditional college-age population declined and employment prospects became gloomy for college graduates. Second, the movement toward universal access to higher education has brought serious confusion and hollowness to the system in terms of quality. Moreover, the vital ideas that used to define university roles and missions have been abandoned. Third, universities have been rapidly bearing more of a resemblance to profit-making companies. These lean years have put a financial strain on universities which have forced them to make efforts at fundraising to support their operations and research. Finally, the higher education system has nearly given up its autonomy and has become subordinate to political and economic systems.

　 What should undergraduate programs look like so that “anybody can study anything anytime?” This question is the starting point for this article which presents models for increasing access to higher education based upon an analysis of a leading university in Hokkaido. Comparative historical perspectives on the creation and standardization of undergraduate education in the U.S. and Japan first provide a context for the challenges in the current system. Following this, Hokkaido University’s liberal arts curriculum, science preparatory courses, and specialized subjects are presented as potential models for increasing student access to higher education. Finally, articulation problems among the 36 universities and colleges, 26 junior colleges, and 5 technical institutes in this region are discussed. It is recommended that undergraduate programs should promote the easy and systematic transfer of students among various institutions in the region. These institutions should be more fully integrated with one another.

　 Japanese junior colleges have evolved as a distinctive subset of the Japanese higher education system. When we consider the future development of Japanese junior colleges, it is necessary to recognize their institutional characteristics including their high populations of female students, their emphasis on community, and their short-term programs. Moreover, they are often the first stage of higher education for many students in a society dedicated to lifelong learning.

　 Initially focused on quantitative expansion, they now concern themselves with qualitative development. Japanese junior colleges have experienced various reforms concerning new systems for acquiring degrees and an interchangeable credit system. These reforms are compared and contrasted to those implemented in community colleges in the U.S. in the 1980s.

　 Three strategies for the development of junior colleges include : clarifying their institutional status ; developing a fluid transfer system ; and establishing an evaluation system based on clear objectives.

　 This paper examines the development of special training colleges since the late 1990s and discusses future directions for them. These institutions share several common features including their vocational orientations, short courses of study, programs geared toward adult students, an emphasis on transfer, and control by local government. Despite early predictions by some researchers that special training colleges would decrease due to anticipated lower numbers of high school graduates and the perception that these institutions were fallbacks for students who did not earn admission into universities, special training colleges have continued to grow. They have expanded not because of the relevance of their curriculum for an emerging specialist society or because of the preparation they offer to nontraditional learners. This paper hypothesizes that they play a “terminal education function,” particularly in disciplinary training, which was formerly carried out by high schools. High drop-out rates from these institutions need to be examined and policies supporting the transition of youth to society should be developed. Finally, a policy research agenda on inclusive education and training services is proposed.

　 The revised School Education Law of 2002 established the “University Evaluation System of Recognition” system which requires each university to undergo periodical assessment by the appropriate agency recognized by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

　 Taking account of the “Recognition System to the Evaluating Agencies” in Japanese higher education, this paper examines the significance of recognition system to the various accrediting agencies in the U.S.

　 This paper first explores the “USDE. Secretary’s Recognition” procedures undertaken by the accrediting agencies in the U.S. and then explains USDE’s indirect role in enforcing institutional compliance with accreditation criteria and National/State law. Finally, based on the above considerations, this paper reviews the significance of the new Japanese evaluation system promoted by the government and details problems associated with this system in relation to the global trade in higher education “services.”

　 When one looks at the university marketplace, the percentage of active high school students applying to junior colleges and four-year institutions and the population of potential entrants in that age bracket are the important figures. The latter continues to decrease. As long as the university market considers its prime customers to be Japanese young people this figure will not get any larger.

　 The top position in national universities is that of president, a teacher become CEO. The majority of education organizations which include a private university are run by either someone from a subsequent generation of the founder or someone from the faculty. Universities, almost without exception, suffer the difficulty of having CEOs with insufficient management ability.

　 Up to now the tacit understanding has been that university teachers divide their time between research, education, and administrative duties/service to society on a ratio of 7 : 2 : 1, but, according to Masayoshi Kinukawa, if that ratio is not altered to 2 : 7 : 1 so that education receives by far the greatest emphasis universities will not continue to exist. Universities which do not make public information concerning the percentage of entrants who ultimately declined and their dropout rate, information sufficient to assess a university success, will sooner or later be singled out for criticism.

　 Universities which continue to maintain high standards will not suffer a serious loss of students who select them as their first choice. However, universities which have difficulty maintaining such standards will-so much so that their situation will become hopeless. Henceforth universities will be judged on the basis of the number of students who select them as their first choice, not just on their number of applicants. A management strategy which contributes to increasing the former is essential.

　 In 2010 the number of applicants will fall below the number of allotted places for half of all private universities. For one-fourth of them, even if the number of applicants exceeds that of allotted places, with only 50% to 60% of the applicants actually entering (and not going elsewhere) it will be very difficult to fill all of the allotted places. The top one-fourth will be the private universities with a high probability of having all of their allotted places filled. That is to say, only 300 of all the national, public, and private universities will be able to maintain a mere a functioning student selection process.

　 When a majority of universities reach the point where they are no longer able to maintain a functioning student selection process, entrance examination fees will either plummet to a very small figure or disappear altogether. It is believed that whether a university can set an entrance examination fee or not will become one of the criteria by which society evaluates universities.

　 Up to now it has been thought that the concept of management is not really applicable to the university situation. However, only universities which are able to set up an effective management strategy and make appropriate decisions swiftly will survive.

　 Professional education at the university level is one of the key issues for higher education in Japan. Similarly, integrating professional business education with a liberal education has been a major issue in American higher education for a long time. This paper will illustrate the processes of how the pioneering business school at the University of Chicago went about constructing a system of professional education in the early 1900s. When it was founded, the business school at Chicago was confronted with many difficulties. It did not have independent status and only a small amount of funds. Under these severe conditions, it was a very difficult task for the business school to construct its own courses distinct from the curriculum offered at the other existing colleges. Trying to overcome this situation, the business school worked hard in the 1910s to establish a system of professional education for business. It did not limit its educational domain to the business field and tried to integrate every stage of university education into one effective system. Each course or academic field was made significant within the new system. A student’s entire educational experience should be one of academic synthesis. This is the essential point even for current professional education in universities.