In order to promote better understanding of counselhng m higher education m Japan, first an overwew of the entire educational system and stat~sucs on higher education and transmon from high school to higher institutes are provided, followed by a description of the current state of counselhng and problems to be solved Further, through a brief description of a typical Japanese umvers~ty counselhng center, the needs for professtonahsat~on and ~dent~ty of counsellors as well as reorgamzatlon of the system are emphasased in order for counselhng centers to make umque contributions to the welfare of every student who looks for help m the developmental process
I. Overview of universities and higher education in Japan
In order to promote meaningful comparisons and a deeper understanding of student counselhng m higher education lnStltUt~ons in Japan, it will be valuable to provide a brief description of the overall educational system as well as demographic background and current trends in htgher education 1 The Japanese educational system After World War II, "the Japanese educattonal system was restructured by the American occupation forces for the purpose of conformmg to Amertcan concepts and to be less ehttst, and more stated to the type of mass society Japan was developing" (Relschauer, 1977, pp 167-170) In 1947, the structural organtzatlon of the present system was estabhshed, adopting the American six-three-three-four system (Figure 1) Two-or three-year colleges, so called jumor colleges were estabhshed, parallehng four-year umverslties Above the umversttles are graduate schools Unttl now the fundamentally ldenttcal system has been malntamed with some changes One major change Is the introduction of a post-secondary professtonal training college in 1976, which provides practical vocational education and professional techmcal education to cope with various learning needs brought about by changes m students' needs as well as society.
The Fundamental Law of Educatton, enacted m 1947, set forth the first nine-year general education (6-year elementary and 3-year lower secondary) as compulsory education In Japan, over 99% of citizens have completed