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This paper aims at investigating Japanese government’s subsidy policy for private universities by applying statistical approaches to various types of quantitative data. Firstly, we briefly describe the history of the government subsidy policy to identify the dominant factors behind it and also explain the structure and mechanism of this subsidy. Secondly, by using 2005 data, we try to find influential factors in allocating both general subsidies and special subsidies for private universities. Thirdly, using the data in two periods given as 1975–1979 and 2000–2004, we try to elucidate the structural properties of the subsidy policy by applying correlative rank analyses approaches in order to measure the “dominance power” of the top-ranking subsidy-recipient schools. The results show that the number of faculty members is the most influential for general subsidies, while the number of students is the most dominant variable for special subsidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japanese education has been a focus of comparative studies for the past 20 years. Many scholars have attributed the economic success of this industrialized society to a highly literate and well-educated population. Recent studies, however, have tended to be more critical of, in particular, Japanese higher education (HE). Indeed, most universities in Japan are acutely aware of the need for change and a considerable effort at institutional reform is sweeping the nation. Unfortunately most of the constructive criticism of Japanese HE has not yet been published in English. One of the most vocal of the reformists, Professor Ikuo Amano, has published widely on various aspects of HE in Japan. The following paper is a translation of a chapter in his book Challenges to Japanese Universities. This translation is prefaced by both a synopsis of this book as well as a brief introduction to Amano and his work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]