THE STRUCTURE OF UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION IN JAPAN

The Japanese system of university administration is described in terms of the legal framework and the powers of the founding bodies which ca n be the state (in the case of 'national' universities), local bodies (in the case of 'local' public universities) or private corporations i n the case of 'private' universities. The tradition of autonomy and ac ademic freedom is discussed in its historical context and the strong e mphasis on the power possessed by individual faculties is explained. T he modifications brought about by post-war reforms are described and a ttention drawn to the quadrupling in the number of universities and th e development of a more open and less elitist ethos. These adjustments are shown to have particular significance for the 'private' universit ies which are now responsible for about 75% of the total provision. Th e period of campus strife in the late 1960s brought university reform to the top of the agenda and the paper analyses government initiatives designed to encourage universities to embark upon self-initiated refo rm; notable amongst these initiatives were the foundation of the gover nment-sponsored University of Tsukuba with its new administrative styl e and the increased ministerial regulatory power which followed on the introduction of national subsidies to 'private' universities. After c ommenting upon further developments in the university reform movement, the paper draws attention to the challenge facing universities as the y are encouraged to use their autonomy, in an admittedly worsening fin ancial environment, to develop, in consultation with other sectors of society, an effective response by the universities to Japanese aspirat ions for the 21st century.