IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2015) 6-1

Research article
erd

Circumstances of Surveyor License Acquisition System inJapan
TAKAHIKO KUBODERA
Chuo College of Technology, Tokyo, Japan

HIROMU OKAZAWA*
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
Email: h1okazaw@nodai.ac.jp

YOSHIHARU HOSOKAWA
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan

MASAHIRO TASUMI
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, JapanKATSUHIRO SASADA
College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Kanagawa, Japan

EIJI MATSUO
Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu Sangyo University, Fukuoka, Japan

MACHITO MIHARA
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
Received 22 December 2014

Accepted 1 April 2015(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract The license acquisition system of surveyors in Japan is composed by two levels ofnational license; the surveyor and the assistant surveyor. The survey Act, which determines
the qualifying standard for licensing, accept several routes for acquiring the license,
depending on the situations of applicants. Two primary route of license acquisition are bypassing the national qualifying examination and by graduating at designated universities,
junior colleges, technical colleges and technical schools. The circumstances of surveyor
license acquisition system in Japan were investigated from the Survey Act and the national
qualifying examination. It became clear that the surveyor has been required the newtechnologies and a wide range knowledge for survey. So as to clarify the abilities of thesurveyors who passed the national qualifying examination and of those who graduated fromthe above university or technical school, the ability verification test of assistant surveyors
was given. As a result, it can be said that the former group performed better than the latter.
In order to reduce the difference of difficulties for license acquisition, the contents ofcurrent survey educations in higher education should be improved. This paper presented thecircumstances of the national license in Japan, including the details of the national
qualifying examination and other routes of the license acquisition, and indicated the
problems.
Keywords surveying, qualification system, surveyor, assistant surveyor, license

INTRODUCTION
For the sustainable development of developing countries, it is important to make regional
development projects and to construct infrastructures. As surveying techniques play a great role in
the implementation of sustainable development projects in developing countries, engineers who
have basic surveying education are basically required. The knowledge on the present condition andⒸ ISERD

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issues related to acquiring qualifications of surveying in Japan will be certainly helpful to
implement training in surveying education in developing countries.
In Japan, there are two national qualifications: one for surveyor, and the other for assistantsurveyor. The basic survey by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan and public surveys,
for which the expenses are covered by the national or local governments, are done solely by
qualified surveyors and assistant surveyors. It is possible for qualified surveyors to establish theirown surveying businesses. In Japan, many national qualifications in the engineering field are
obtained through appropriate education and national qualifying examinations. These include thequalifications of consulting engineer, execution manager of civil engineering, and land and house
investigator. The qualification of surveyor is given to those who passed the national qualifying
examination, or to those who completed education at designated universities, junior colleges,
technical colleges and technical schools (hereinafter: relevant schools). There are multiple routes
for obtaining the surveyor qualification. It is thought that the present system for qualifying
surveyors and assistant surveyors and the problems related to education and the qualifying system
for surveyor and assistant surveyors require some investigations.
Koshimizu et al. (2008) investigated the qualification system for surveyors in Germany,
France, Canada, the U.S.A. and Australia, and reported that the systems in these five countries
were much better developed, qualitatively and quantitatively, than that of Japan. Japanese technicalschools have a system whereby foreign students can learn surveying. An according to the interview
for foreign students of the technical school (Chuo College of Technology), in Uganda, the surveyor
qualification is able to be obtained through studies of surveying and graduation from a university,and through membership in the surveyors’ association. In Nepal, the surveyor qualification is also
obtained by graduation from a university that provides surveying as a subject. Basically, it isimportant to learn knowledge and techniques of surveying by attending schools (Dagtekin, 2012;
Enemark, 2005). The objectives of this paper are to present the state of licensing in Japan and to
discuss the related problems.
METHODOLOGY
The complicated Japanese qualification system for licensing surveyors and assistant surveyors,which has two routes, is investigated based on the Survey Act (Japan Association of Surveyors,2014). The characteristics of Japan's national qualifying examination for surveyor and assistantsurveyor licensing are summarized by investigating the questions of the examinations conducted in2007 to 2014 and by using the passing rate of the examinations (Geospatial Information Authorityof Japan, 2014a).
In order to clarify the abilities of the surveyors who passed the national qualifying
examination and of those who graduated from the relevant schools, an ability verification test is
given to verify the difference in ability. It is given to 10 assistant surveyors: five who obtained theirlicenses by graduating from the relevant schools, and five who obtained their licenses by passing
the national qualifying examination. The abilities of the two groups are compared by checking thenumber of correct answers and percentage of correct answers.
The number and percentage of correct answers are used to determine ability. All theexaminees are students studying at a technical school (Chuo College of Technology) to obtain thequalification of surveyor. The test is given without advance notice to know their ability without
them having special preparation. The test consisted of questions from previous national qualifying
examination for assistant surveyors. The national qualifying examination for licensing assistantsurveyor has 28 four-choice questions.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Present State of the National Qualifying Examination for the Surveyors (Assistant Surveyors)
The questions on the national qualifying examination for licensing surveyors and assistantⒸ ISERD

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surveyors cover the following: “Traversing”, “Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)”,“Leveling”, “Topographic surveying”, “Photogrammetry”, “Map compilation”, “Engineering
surveying” and “Geographic Information System (GIS)”. A wide range of knowledge is requiredfor one to obtain a license in this field. Basically, the questions are on the items and surveying
techniques described in the General Standard of Operation Specifications for Public Surveys(hereinafter: the General Standard).
The required knowledge has been changing with the times. In Japan, “Plane table surveying”
was deleted from the General Standard in 2008, and the knowledge on “Topographic surveying”
by total station (TS) became a requirement for the examinees. The name of the “Global Positioning
System (GPS) survey” was changed to “GNSS survey” when the General Standard was revised in
2011. In recent years, questions related to such areas as “Digital stereo plotter”, “GIS”, “GNSS
survey using GNSS-based control station” and “Airborne laser surveying” have been included in
the national qualifying examination in Japan.
As stated above, new technologies and a wide range of questions that meet the needs of thetimes are included in the national qualifying examination. Because of the above-mentioned changes,
the national qualifying examination for licensing surveyor and assistant surveyor differs from othernational qualifying examinations, whose questions have not been changed greatly (Masuyama,2009). A notable characteristic of the qualifying examination for surveyor and assistant surveyor isthat the examination reflects new technologies. Therefore, the acquisition of knowledge on new
surveying technologies is indispensable.
Table 1 shows the results of national qualifying examination for licensing surveyor andassistant surveyor done in the eight years from 2007 to 2014 (Geospatial Information Authority ofJapan, 2014a). The number of applicants, which is about 13,000 in each year, is stable over time.
The average rate of test-takers who pass is 27.7% for the assistant surveyor test and 9.7% for thesurveyor test. The data shows that the examination for licensing surveyor is a national qualifying
examination with a high level of difficulty in Japan.
Table 1 Results of national qualifying examinations for licensing surveyor and assistantsurveyor
Class
Year
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

Assistant surveyor
Number of
Number ofPassing ratepassing
examination(%)
candidates-takers
11,052
2,654
24.0
10,8582,435
22.4
10,5202,704
25.7
10,387
2,757
26.5
10,233
2,192
21.4
10,551
4,289
40.7
10,596
2,248
21.2
11,118
4,417
39.7
Average of passing rate
27.7

Surveyor
Number of
Number ofPassing ratepassing
examination(%)
candidates-takers
2,398
274
11.4
2,203
219
9.9
2,170
181
8.3
2,256
144
6.4
2,162
258
11.9
2,281
279
12.2
2,457
127
5.2
2,394
290
12.1
Average of passing rate
9.7

For the national qualifying examination for licensing surveyor and assistant surveyor, there areno academic requirements. For example, a high school student can take the examination. Students
at industrial and agricultural high schools nationwide are encouraged and instructed to obtain thequalification. Every year, many high school students pass the national qualifying examination(Osaka city Miyakojima technical high school; 2014, Miyazaki Prefectural Miyakonojo
Agricultural High School; 2014, Tokyo metropolitan Tanashi technical high school; 2014). Figure
1 shows the routes for one to obtain surveyor and assistant surveyor licenses by passing thenational qualifying examination. From this figure, it is found that it is even possible for one toobtain the qualification of surveyor even if one does not have an assistant surveyor qualification.
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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2015) 6-1

Even a person with sufficient work experience has to pass the national qualifying examination
to obtain the surveyor license if that person has not graduated from the relevant schools as
illustrated in Fig. 2. However, if a person with an assistant surveyor license graduates from atechnical school whose purpose is to educate surveyors, that person is able to obtain the surveyor
license without passing the national qualifying examination. In Japan, there are two technicalschools that fall into the above-described category (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan,
2014b). One of these two schools graduates more than 90% of its students every year. Generally,
graduating from a relevant school is the shortest route for obtaining the surveyor license for adults
and high school students who have obtained the assistant surveyor license.

A candidate for surveyor and assistant surveyor(Regardless of academic requirements)

The national qualifying examination forassistant surveyor license
Pass
Successful candidates can obtainthe “Assistant Surveyor License”

Enter to technical schoolfor surveying

The national qualifying
examination for surveyor license
Pass

Pass

Graduate

Successful candidates of the national qualifying examination or graduatesof technical school can obtain the “Surveyor License”

Fig. 1 Flow chart of acquisition of surveyor license via national qualifying examination
Acquiring Qualification of Surveyor / Assistant Surveyor at Relevant Schools
Figure 2 shows the routes for obtaining the qualifications of surveyor and assistant surveyor by
graduating from the relevant schools. It is possible for the graduate of a relevant school who hasearned required number of credits to register as an assistant surveyor with the Geospatial
Information Authority of Japan. If a person who graduated from the relevant school has therequired years of work experience in surveying, then that person is able to obtain the qualificationof surveyor without passing the national qualifying examination, even the person does not have thequalification of assistant surveyor. The range of work related to surveying does not necessarilyneed to cover a range as wide as that of the national qualifying examination for licensing surveyors.
The requirement in this case is simply surveying experience. Given that an average of only 9.7% of
those who take the national qualifying examination for surveyors pass, it is advantageous forsomeone who wishes to acquire the qualification to graduate from a relevant school and to work forsome years, rather than taking the national qualifying examination. A person who acquires thequalification of assistant surveyor and then graduates from a relevant school is able to obtain thequalification of surveyor without any work experience.
The surveyor licensing system is liable to create surveyors without balanced knowledge.
Therefore, it is desirable for the relevant schools to educate their students by providing subjects that
address domestic and international regulations, which are included in the questions of the national
qualifying examination, and that address a wide range of items covered in the national qualifying
examination, including traversing, GNSS and GIS.
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A candidate for surveyor and assistant surveyor
must go to university, college technical college or technical school

University/College(Bachelor degree)

Junior College(Associatedegree)* TechnicalCollege(Associate degree)

Technical
School(No degree)

Requirement for
Graduation is 4 years

Requirement for
Graduation is 2 years

Requirement for
Graduation is 5 years

Requirement for
Graduation is a year

Graduates of each relevant school can obtain the “Assistant Surveyor License”
Work experienceof surveying
more than a year

Work experienceof surveying
more than 3 years

Work experienceof surveying
more than 3 years

Work experienceof surveying
more than 2 years
Technical School

No requirementof work
experience
Graduates of each relevant school who has work experience of surveying for each years or
graduates of technical school can obtain the “Surveyor License”*This is composed of high school education and junior college education

Fig. 2 Flow chart of acquisition of surveyor license without national qualifying examination
Results of Ability Verification Test
Roughly, there are two routes for obtaining the assistant surveyor qualification; one is by passing
the national qualifying examination and the other is by graduating from a relevant school. To assess
the relative ability of assistant surveyors qualified through the two different routes, 10 students
were given an ability verification test: five who had obtained their qualification by passing thenational qualifying examination, and five who had obtained their qualification by graduating at arelevant school.
The results of the ability verification test are shown in Table 2. The average number of correct
answers for the group of assistant surveyors who obtained their licenses by passing the national
qualifying examination was 14.2, and that for the group of examinees who obtained their licenses
by studying at a relevant school was 13.0. The number of correct answers of the former group was
1.2 higher than that of the latter group. The standard deviation for the former group was 4.0, andthat for the latter group was 4.7. The scores for the former were more narrowly distributed thanthose of the latter. Therefore, the coefficient of variation for the former was 27.9%, and that for thelatter was 36.1%. The variance of the scores of the former was smaller than that of the latter.
Correct answers as a percent of all questions averaged 50.7% for the former and 46.4% for thelatter was. The former is higher.
As a result, it can be said that the former student group performed better than the latter. The
reason for the difference in test results is thought to be that the latter group of students had not beentaught a wide range of subjects in surveying or, even if they had been taught the subjects, they had
not learned sufficiently, and the sense of purpose in studying surveying of the students in the lattergroup was more diverse than that of the former.

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2015) 6-1

Table 2 Results of ability verification test for surveying that practiced at a technical school(Chuo College of Technology)(a) Students who obtained assistant surveyor
license by passing the national qualifying
examination
Number of
Correct
Subjects
correct answers
answer
(5 students)(28 questions)rate (%)
A
15
53.6
B
9
32.1
C
14
50.0
D
13
46.4
E
20
71.4
Average
14.2
50.7
S.D. *
4.0
C.V. ** (%)
27.9* : standard deviation(b) Student who obtained assistant surveyor
license by graduating at a relevant school
Subjects(5 students)
F
G
H
I
J
Average
S.D. *
C.V. ** (%)

Number ofcorrect answers(28 questions)
17
11
9
19
9
13.0
4.7
36.1

Correct
answerrate (%)
60.7
39.3
32.1
67.9
32.1
46.4
-

**: coefficient of variation

Requiring New Materials for Teaching Surveying at the Relevant Schools
If the relevant schools are providing technical education that produces surveyors and assistantsurveyors who have poor knowledge, then the situation is problematic. It is unfortunate for society
and for surveyors who obtain licenses by graduating from relevant schools if their knowledge andtechniques are insufficient. To solve this problem, it is necessary to further enhance the educational
content qualitatively and quantitatively at the relevant schools. New educational materials need tobe created by taking into consideration the latest technologies, which address the changes of thetimes, and the questions on the national qualifying examination, including previous questions.
Licensing via school education has an advantage over licensing via national qualifying examination,in that the students are able to learn how to use surveying equipment in their practice training andhow to produce documents, drawings and other materials after the training; they are also able tolearn how to work as members of a team, as their training is done in groups. The development of
new educational materials is required to take into consideration the above characteristic advantagesof school education.
CONCLUSION
The circumstances of surveyor license acquisition system in japan were investigated from theSurvey Act and the national qualifying examination. Further, in order to clarify the abilities of thesurveyors who passed the national qualifying examination and of those who graduated from therelevant schools, the ability verification test of assistant surveyors was given. As the results, thefollowing points are summarized.
(1) As the results of the investigation on Japan's national qualifying examination for surveyor andassistant surveyor licensing for seven years, it became clear that the characteristic of the national
qualifying examination. Namely, new technologies and a wide range knowledge for survey has
been setting in the national qualifying examination. The percentage of examination-takers who passwas 27.7% for the assistant survey examination and 9.7% for the surveyor examination. The
surveyor has been required the new technologies and a wide range knowledge for survey.
(2) Given that an average of only 9.7% of those who take the national qualifying examination forsurveyors pass, it is advantageous for someone who wishes to acquire the qualification to graduate
from a relevant school and to work for some years, rather than taking the national qualifying
examination.

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IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2015) 6-1(3) As the results of the ability verification test, the students who obtained the assistant surveyor
qualification by graduating from passing the national qualifying examination were higher correct
answer rate, lower standard deviation and coefficient of variation than the students who obtainedthat qualification by graduating from a relevant school. The differences in test results are following
reasons. The latter group of students had not been taught a wide range of subjects in surveying.
Even if they had been taught the subjects, they had not learned sufficiently. The sense of purpose instudying surveying of the students in the latter group was more diverse than that of the former.
(4) Licensing via school education has an advantage over licensing via national qualifying
examination, in that the students can learn how to use surveying equipment in their practicetraining and how to produce documents, drawings and other materials after the training; they canalso learn how to work as members of a team, as their training is done in groups. In order toenhance the educational content qualitatively and quantitatively at the relevant schools, thedevelopment of new educational materials is required to take into consideration the latest
technologies, which address the changes of the times, and the questions on the national qualifying
examination, including previous questions, while taking into consideration the above characteristic
advantages of school education.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was supported by the grant-aid from Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan.
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