While, for every undertaking, the conceptual framework determines its goals and characteristics, conceptual infrastructure of career guidance has not been carefully examined in Japan. This paper attempts to analyze the concept of career which provides significant influence to shape the goals of career guidance. By examining 1) the definition of career guidance made by Mpnbusho, the Japanese national ministry of education, 2) the arguments took place in Japan over the bill of School Education Law (1947), 3) D. E. Super's theory of career, and 4) various views on career which emerged in Career Education movement in 1970's in the U.S., this paper comes to the following conclusion: In the early twentieth century, the vocational guidance initially built its theoretical framework in the United States as to cope with the social needs. D. E. Super's academic endeavors and Career Education movements were functioned as the major factors that lead the vocational guidance expand its realm and develop itself to the current career guidance. This expansion has predominantly influenced the concept of career guidance in Japan and the term "career" now has the broad meaning, almost equivalent to "life", with the focus in vocational aspects. Today, however, the theoretical explanation on such "career" applicable to the contemporary Japanese society has not been made. Also, the logic for the today's career guidance to integrate educational guidance into itself has not been successfully established. In order to make the goals of career guidance clear, we need to reexaine our own views toward the concept of career and try to grasp its structure.

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