School Education Act

Specialized training colleges are to be educational facilities other than those stated in Article 1, providing organizational education falling under each of the following items, with a purpose of nurturing abilities necessary for occupation or actual life, or working to improve cultural education (except what is provided by other laws for providing the relevant education, and what is exclusively targeting foreign nationals residing in our country):

the course term being 1 year or more;

the number of class hours or credits being equal to or more than the number of class hours or credits specified by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology;

there being regularly 40 or more persons receiving education.

Specialized training colleges will have upper secondary courses, post-secondary courses, or general courses.

Upper secondary courses in specialized training colleges are to provide education referred to in the preceding Article, in accordance with students' mental and physical development, on a foundation of education in junior high school, to persons who have graduated from junior high school or an equivalent school, or compulsory education school, or persons who have completed the lower courses of secondary education school, or persons who are deemed to have equivalent or greater scholastic ability as provided by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Post-secondary courses in specialized training colleges are to provide education referred to in the preceding Article, on a foundation of education in high school, to persons who have graduated from high school or an equivalent school or secondary education school, or persons who are deemed to have equivalent or greater scholastic ability as provided by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

General courses in specialized training colleges are to provide education in the preceding Article other than upper secondary course or post-secondary course education.

Specialized training colleges (limited to those having post-secondary courses (referred to as "specified post-secondary courses" in this Chapter) that have a course term of two years or more and meet the other standards specified by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) may have diploma courses.

Diploma courses of specialized training colleges are to have the purpose of teaching specialized matters, to a deep and detailed extent, as well as instructing research, to persons who have completed a specified post-secondary course of a specialized training college, or persons deemed to have the equivalent or greater scholastic ability as provided for by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the course term is to be one year or more.

Specialized training colleges with upper secondary courses may be called upper secondary specialized training schools.

Specialized training colleges with post-secondary courses may be called professional training colleges.

Specialized training colleges may only be established by the national government, local government, and persons falling under the following:

having the necessary financial basis with which to manage a specialized training college;

the founder having the knowledge or experience necessary to manage a specialized training college (if the founder is a corporation, it is to be the officer of the relevant corporation in charge of its management; the same applies in the following item);

the founder having the trust of the public.

Specialized training colleges must satisfy standards regarding matters stated in the following, as specified by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology:

the number of teachers who must be positioned in accordance with the purpose, number of students, etc. (meaning students of upper secondary courses and general courses and students of post-secondary courses; the same applies in the following item and item (iii)) or type of course;

the area, location and environment of campus and school buildings there must be in accordance with the purpose, number of students, etc. or the type of course;

equipment there must be in accordance with the purpose, number of students, etc. or the type of course;

the outline or curricula and organization must be in accordance with the purpose or type of course.

Specialized training colleges must have a school principal and a considerable number of teachers.

The school principal of specialized training colleges must have insight related to education, and had been engaged in duties regarding education, scholarly activities, or culture.

Teachers in specialized training colleges must have qualifications specified by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, regarding specialized knowledge or skills of the education they are in charge of.

Approval must be obtained from the prefectural board of education for specialized training colleges established by municipalities, and from the prefectural governor for private specialized training colleges, regarding establishment and abolition of specialized training colleges (this includes establishment and abolition of upper secondary courses, post-secondary courses, or general courses), changes of founder, and changes in purpose, except specialized training colleges established by the national government or prefectures (this includes public university corporations established independently by prefectures or in cooperation with other local governments).

When there is an application for approval to establish a specialized training college (this includes establishment of upper secondary courses, post-secondary courses, or general courses), the prefectural board of education or the prefectural governor must give disposition regarding approval, after examining whether the contents of the application satisfy the standards referred to in Articles 124 and 125, and the preceding three Articles.

The provisions referred to in the preceding paragraph applies mutatis mutandis if there is an application for approval for a change of founder, and a change in purpose of the specialized training college.

When the prefectural board of education or the prefectural governor is to refuse the approval referred to in paragraph (1), it must notify the applicant of this in writing, accompanied by the reason for this.

The founder of a specialized training college must notify the prefectural board of education for specialized training colleges established by municipalities, and the prefectural governor for private specialized training colleges when intending to change the name, location or code of the school of the established specialized training college, or when falling under other cases prescribed by Cabinet Order, except specialized training colleges established by the national government or prefectures (this includes public university corporations established independently by prefectures or in cooperation with other local governments).

A person who has completed a specified post-secondary course of a specialized training college may call themselves a Professional Specialist, as provided by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

A person who has completed a specified post-secondary course of a specialized training college may transfer to a university as provided for by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

In order to contribute to improving educational standards, specialized training colleges with post-secondary courses are to, as provided by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, conduct self-inspection and evaluation of the state of the education, organization and management, and facilities and equipment of the relevant specialized training college, and publish the results.

Specialized training colleges with post-secondary courses are to endeavor to have the state prescribed in the preceding paragraph evaluated by persons, other than staff of the relevant specialized training college, who have broad and high-level insight regarding specialized training colleges, and to publish the results.

Articles 5, 6, 9 through 12, Article 13, paragraph (1), Article 14, and Articles 43 and 44 apply mutatis mutandis to specialized training colleges, Article 12-2 applies mutatis mutandis to specialized training colleges (limited to those with upper secondary courses), Article 42, paragraph (1) applies mutatis mutandis to specialized training colleges (excluding those with post-secondary courses), and Article 105 applies mutatis mutandis to specialized training colleges (limited to those with post-secondary courses). In this case, the phrase "and universities and colleges of technology must notify the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and schools other than a university or college of technology must notify the prefectural governor" in Article 10 is deemed to be replaced with "and must notify the prefectural governor"; the phrase "schools stated in each item of Article 4, paragraph (1)" and the phrase "the respective persons specified in each item of that paragraph" in Article 13, paragraph (1) are deemed to be replaced with "specialized training colleges established by municipalities (including public university corporations established independently by municipalities or in cooperation with other municipalities) or private specialized training colleges" and "the prefectural board of education or prefectural governor," respectively; the phrase "the person" in item (ii) of that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "the relevant prefectural board of education or prefectural governor"; and the phrase "the prefectural board of education for schools established by municipalities except universities and colleges of technology, and the prefectural governor for private schools except universities and colleges of technology" in Article 14 is deemed to be replaced with "the prefectural board of education for specialized training colleges established by municipalities (including public university corporations established independently by municipalities or in cooperation with other municipalities), and the prefectural governor for private specialized training colleges".

When the prefectural board of education or the prefectural governor is to give disposition under the provisions of Article 13, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph, it must notify the founder of the relevant specialized training college, in writing, accompanied by the reason for this.