EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM & PRACTICE IN JAPAN

40	“II Japanese Educational Administration and Finance”	Previous	Next	JAPANESE

	According to Article 2 of Japan’s School Education Act, “Schools can be founded only by the state, local government, and juridical persons as defined by Article 3 of the Law on Private Schools.” However, to found kindergartens and schools for handicapped, a founder does not need to be a school juridical person. A person who wants to found a school must follow the criteria for school establishment, such as the type of school, the equipment and the composition which are determined by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The criteria for establishing new elementary/lower secondary schools were not set until 2002. This is because 99% of the elementary schools and 94% of the lower secondary schools were public schools due to regulations of the School Education Act and other laws defining criteria for establishment. However, in order to encourage and to promote the establishment of private schools, new criteria for school establishment were formulated in 2002. As an exceptional measure, school founders, school establishment companies and school establishment incorporated nonprofit organizations can establish schools under Special Zone’s Act for Structural Reform.