Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
## Chapter 1 Overview

With the trend of globalization in various fields, cross-border mobility of students and academic staff in higher education has been growing at an accelerated pace, and universities are beginning to work actively on various joint educational programs. Japan, too, must improve its international compatibility of educational systems to meet global ones and ultimately enhance its international competitiveness from the standpoints of developing education, research, and human resources that can proactively contribute to the peace and prosperity of the world. To this end, Japan has, on the initiative of the Central Council for Education, discussed the necessity of an attractive mechanism enabling Japanese universities to create joint programs and confer academic degrees jointly with universities in foreign countries with appropriate quality assurance of the degrees conferred and programs offered, so that Japanese universities can successfully host competent overseas students and more capable, motivated young Japanese students can study abroad.

Based on this understanding, a new scheme was put into effect under the Japanese legal system to allow Japanese universities (including junior colleges: the same shall apply hereinafter) to organize academic programs with foreign universities jointly (hereinafter referred to as "International Cooperative Curricula (ICC) Scheme") to confer joint degrees (hereinafter referred to as "JD"). The Guidelines have been formulated to be used by universities in Japan as a reference when they build their international joint diploma programs, including JD programs.

### 1. Objectives

The Guidelines have been formulated in light of "University Education and Global Human Resource Development for the Future" (third proposal) published on May 28, 2013, by the Education Rebuilding Implementation Council. The objectives are, in corresponding to the globalization of university education, to facilitate organized and continuous cooperation, including double degree (hereinafter referred to as "DD") and JD between universities in Japan and those in foreign countries, ensure the quality of degrees conferred and programs offered under these programs, and ultimately ensure and improve the quality of higher education in Japan and abroad.

The Guidelines have no legally binding effect but present points of attention which universities should refer to when designing actual JD and other programs under the scheme, and also serve as basic materials when the viewpoints of program development are examined by government. Universities and other parties concerned are expected to take the Guidelines into full consideration.

### 2. Basic Principles

There is no clear and detailed international agreement on how universities in different countries should develop cooperative programs, and this fact partly causes difficulties for
universities to advance discussion for program design. On the other hand, universities in a number of countries and regions are also taking steps, including the development of DD, JD and other cooperative programs with foreign universities while boosting student mobility.

In such circumstances, the development of JD, DD and other cooperative programs, as well as organized and continuous educational partnerships, between universities in Japan and foreign countries will enable the former to offer wider educational opportunities, give Japanese students opportunities to experience different cultures, and contribute to closer regional cooperation. Such educational cooperation, particularly with Asian higher education institutions, will not just vitalize exchanges in higher education based on geographical advantages, but also enable us to build mutually-beneficial relations through joint educational programs and greatly contribute to regional peace and prosperity.

JD particularly matches the period background of this global era because it enables universities to take advantage of the educational resources of other universities and provide students with advanced programs that a single university cannot offer, and to take a step forward from the stage of singly conferring academic degrees to the stage of jointly conferring academic degrees as an "integrated cross-border entity." Universities are expected to actively commit themselves to such an organized and continuous international educational cooperation while continuing to respect their own traditions and principles as well as developing its uniqueness.

Universities are expected to clearly be aware of international reputation and recognition, to ensure the quality of education and determine which of JD or DD to introduce.

The Guidelines shall have no impact whatsoever on any academic degree system in a foreign country.

Universities in Japan are required to take into account relevant laws and regulations of the countries in which partner universities are located, as well as their JD schemes, and develop academic programs that do not conflict with the Standards for the Establishment of Universities (Ordinance No. 28 of the Ministry of Education, 1956), and other laws and regulations related to the university system of Japan. This will affect the credibility of Japan's universities and degree systems. Moreover, to ensure the quality of programs, universities should of course avoid any circumstances in which they fail to offer education that ought to be provided under the programs they have developed as a matter of course.

### 3. Significance

JD and DD each may have a different significance to different universities, but widely enable any Japanese universities to offer more advanced and innovative, or more attractive, academic programs that cannot be offered by a single university. This will make it possible for students to gain more quality and value-added learning opportunities, and eventually for universities, governments, companies and local communities to acquire excellent and motivated human resources.
## ☐ Significance to students

(i) Gaining advanced and value-added learning opportunities that could not be gained at a single university

(ii) Demonstrating their predominance as a result of completing educational programs provided jointly by higher educational institutions in more than one country

(iii) Developing careers that are globally valued in the labor market and academic career

(iv) Acquiring degrees in the names of more than one university in a shorter period of time possibly at a lower cost

## ☐ Significance to universities

(i) Strengthening and improving their presence abroad

(ii) Presenting study-abroad degree programs whose quality they can guarantee

(iii) Improving international competitiveness and attractiveness by making curricula more fulfilling through educational cooperation with universities in foreign countries

(iv) Developing human resources with international perspective by systematically hosting and sending out excellent students

(v) Changing mindset of academic staff through deepened cooperation with universities in foreign countries and creating opportunities for various reforms on campus, including the enhancement of international academic cooperation

## ☐ Significance to the Government

(i) Broadening opportunities for higher education, promoting Japan's higher education abroad and encouraging international exchanges

(ii) Contributing to improving international compatibility of Japan's higher education

(iii) Creating opportunities to globally harmonize the quality assurance system

(iv) Strategically strengthening human security through organized and systematic personnel exchanges

### ☐ Significance to society (companies, local communities, etc.)

(i) Developing global human resources demanded by society (companies, local communities, etc.)

(ii) Easily evaluating the capacity of students who have degrees both from Japanese and foreign universities

(iii) Gaining human networks of students completing JD and DD programs in Japanese and foreign universities

(iv) Understanding the characteristics of universities and taking advantage of the knowledge for recruitment activities if JD and DD programs become common and grouping of universities is fostered; some universities becoming known for their international education

(v) Enabling students to instantly take advantage of their experience of campus life and internship at foreign universities, which they could not gain at a university in Japan
alone, for the international activities of companies and local communities

### 4. Definitions

The definitions of the major terms in the Guidelines are as follows.

Terms explained in the Guidelines should be limited by applied programs among Japanese and foreign universities as stipulated in Japanese laws and regulations, while not applied to JD among foreign universities.

There exist different terms – not just the “joint degree” and “double degree” as cited here, but also “dual degree” and “multiple degree” – when universities develop academic programs and confer degrees jointly with foreign universities. The definitions of these terms, however, could be covered by definitions of either JD or DD stated in this Guidelines by their nature, so will not be classified specifically as different degrees in the Guidelines. In either case, universities are expected to develop and offer academic courses in line with the cautions of the Guidelines (in other words, the Guidelines shall not preclude universities from using terms other than “joint degree” and “double degree”). It should also be noted that JD, DD and other similar terms are used in different manners both at home and abroad.

## Joint Degree (JD)

A single academic degree jointly conferred on students who have completed a single joint educational program established by universities that jointly set up the said program. The latest revisions of the Standards for the Establishment of Universities, and the relevant regulations, will make it possible for Japanese universities to confer "joint degrees" in their names and the names of partner universities in foreign countries on those who have completed prescribed programs. ("Joint degree (JD)" will have the meaning after the revisions from Chapter 2 in the Guidelines.)

## Double Degree (DD)

Academic degrees separately conferred on students who have completed a number of educational programs on the same academic degree level, established by universities under a partnership and satisfied the requirements of each of the universities. Such degrees will be conferred on qualified students by each of the universities.

## Diploma

A document which is awarded to a student who has completed an academic program organized by a university (which satisfies the requirements for graduation set forth by the relevant laws and regulations) and graduated from said university. It certifies the fact that the said university has conferred an academic degree on the student pursuant to provisions of the paragraphs of Article 104 of the School Education Law (Act No. 26 of 1947).
## Certificate

A document issued to a person (student or non-student) who has completed a special academic program prescribed by a single university or more than one university to certify the fact of completion.

## Program

A series of academic curricula systematically planned and organized by a single university or more than one university that consists of courses necessary for fulfilling the educational objectives of the university or universities, their faculties and departments, or academic programs themselves. The said university or universities should strictly evaluate whether students have appropriately completed the curricula, and confer relevant degrees on them, or certify the completion of the curricula.

## Curriculum

A particular system of courses, research supervision and other elements to compose an academic program offered by a single university or more than one university.

## Credit Transfer

The procedure whereby universities recognize credits that their students have gained at other universities, including foreign universities, as equivalent to those issued by themselves, in accordance with such measures as consultation with those other universities. It will be applicable when universities acknowledge that such credit transfer is beneficial to the said students in light of Article 28 and other relevant articles of the Standards for the Establishment of Universities. Universities are required to have courses necessary to achieve their educational purposes by themselves as premises, and the number of credits transferrable from other universities shall be limited.
## Chapter 2 Outline of the Scheme

### 1. Basic Principles

A JD Program is an academic program whereby Japanese and foreign universities jointly organize curricula and confer an academic degree on a person completing the curricula under the names of the presidents of the universities concerned. The Japanese educational system has long restricted and, in fact, not permitted any JD because it is not appropriate in light of quality assurance to allow foreign universities outside the jurisdiction of Japanese laws to play a part in the conferral of Japanese academic degrees. In this regard, the Japanese educational system continues, even in JD that is newly established as a system in Japanese jurisdiction this time as “International Cooperative Curricula (ICC) Scheme,” to respect the “principle of territoriality of laws” and exclude involvement of foreign universities (universities under the jurisdiction of said foreign countries) from Japan's School Education Law and other laws and regulations. Therefore, pursuant to the School Education Law and other laws and regulations, JD under this Japanese scheme is deemed as "a degree conferred by a Japanese university(ies)" and it allows universities in foreign countries to sign jointly with the Japanese university(ies) on a relevant diploma, while the actual process in reality may differ from legal treatment. With regard to the quality of educational activities of the partner universities in foreign countries, the scheme will make it mandatory for Japanese universities to conclude agreements with partner universities and establish an International Cooperative Department or Major (hereafter “IC-D/M”) to implement ICC. Accordingly, the scheme will examine the contents of such inter-university agreements, mechanisms of quality assurance and other elements of their JD programs in the process of screening for the MEXT approval of establishment of such IC-D/M. After granting an approval, the scheme will assure the quality of the approved JD programs by appropriate evaluations such as certified evaluation and accreditation, and peer reviews. In other words, the Japanese educational system has eased its restrictive stance by establishing a mechanism to secure a certain level of quality of educational activities in foreign universities and this reform of the educational system and changes in its interpretation and application will enable Japanese universities to actively cooperate with foreign universities in this globalized era.

For students at Japanese universities, the credit transfer system is already available, whereby they are allowed, for instance, to acquire up to 60 credits out of the 124 required for graduation from foreign universities in place of credits gained for courses offered by their home universities in the undergraduate level. The difference between the credit transfer system and this latest JD scheme is that the latter will systematically incorporate learning at foreign universities on an ex-ante basis that had been permitted on an individual basis and ex-post facto into the curricula of Japanese universities.
### 2. Mechanism of the Scheme

## (1) Conferral of Degrees

○ A JD program is a single academic program organized jointly by Japanese and foreign universities, in which thesis reviews for students who have completed the curricula are jointly implemented and confer jointly a single diploma on each successful student in the names of the presidents of the universities concerned. More than two universities jointly organize one single curriculum and confer a diploma on each student completing the curricula, so the JD program is different from a DD program whereby different universities separately organize their own curricula and independently confer degrees on each student.

The JD program is likely superior to a DD program in terms of time and cost: the JD program allows students to complete a single curricula to acquire a degree, whereas a DD program requires students to complete two or more curricula at universities both in Japan and foreign countries to acquire two or more kinds of academic degrees (although students in DD program may be able to save time and cost with the use of a credit transfer system, to a certain extent).

○ As described previously, from the viewpoint of the “principle of territoriality of laws,” it is inappropriate to authorize foreign universities outside the Japan’s jurisdiction to confer degrees based on the School Education Law and other laws and regulations, irrespective of the nature of JD programs. (Pursuant to the provisions of Article 104 of the School Education law, only Japanese universities and the National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation (hereinafter referred to as the "NIAD-UE") may confer academic degrees in Japan.) Therefore, in the JD scheme this time, students completing any ICC will be granted Japanese degrees from Japanese universities pursuant to the School Education Law and other laws and regulations.

○ In this regard, the Rules for Degrees (Ordinance No. 9 of the Ministry of Education, 1953) comprise an ordinance that prescribes that only Japanese universities and NIAD-UE have the right to confer academic degrees in Japan. The Rules (Article 10-2) prescribe that Japanese universities may jointly confer academic degrees under the Domestic Cooperative Curricula (hereafter “DCC”) Scheme similar to the JD scheme in the names of the presidents of a number of the Japanese universities jointly organizing the curricula concerned. This, however, is feasible simply because universities jointly organizing curricula are all institutions authorized to confer Japanese academic degrees.

The School Education Law, on the other hand, does not permit foreign universities outside the jurisdiction of Japanese laws and regulations to confer academic degrees as authorized by Japanese laws and regulations, so it is inappropriate in light of the "principle of higher law" to permit foreign universities to confer Japanese academic degrees under the Rules for Degrees. Therefore, Japanese laws and regulations acknowledge JD under
the latest scheme as degrees from Japanese universities that are authorized to confer Japanese degrees in accordance with the Rules for Degrees. (NB: In relation to this interpretation, no Japanese laws and regulations refuse permission to any foreign universities to confer Japanese academic degrees as long as they are approved as Japanese universities through examination for establishment pursuant to the provisions of the School Education Law and other laws and regulations, and permitted to confer Japanese academic degrees.)

With the recent trend of globalization in higher education, Japan must have a mechanism whereby Japanese universities can actively engage in educational and research activities in collaboration with foreign universities, provided that a certain quality of education and research can be secured. To realize this, the restrictive treatment on conferral of JD was revised and the interpretation and application of the relevant laws and regulations changed. Meanwhile, the content to be written down in diplomas of Japanese universities has been left to the discretion of universities. But now, Notification On Enforcement of the Ordinance to Revise the Standards for the Establishment of Universities and other relevant laws and regulations (November 14, 2014), and other documents, officially permit foreign universities to state their names on the diplomas of Japanese universities for JD programs in which they are involved as long as such JD programs satisfy certain conditions. By necessity, no universities are able to issue JD diploma jointly with their partner foreign universities, if they fail to satisfy such conditions for quality assurance of the JD scheme (establishment and examination of, and approval for an IC-D/M).

On the basis of a provision in paragraph (4), Article 4 of the School Education Law, the Standards for Changes in Types (bachelor, master, and doctor) and Fields (academic disciplines) of Academic Degrees (Public Notice No. 39 of 2003, MEXT) classify fields of degrees. On the other hand, it should be noted that different fields exist for academic degrees in different countries and such fields do not necessarily match those in Japan, while it is thought that there is a certain commonality among the fields of degrees in line with the need to secure international competence of academic degrees. Thus, education under ICC Scheme shall be interpreted as "changes in the fields of degrees". (NB: Because of this, universities will be unable to take advantage of the existing notification system for establishment, but will be subject to examination and approval when they are establishing an IC-D/M.)

○ As stated above, curricula for JD will be jointly organized by a Japanese university and a partner university in a foreign country, and a single diploma will be granted to a person completing the curricula jointly offered by the universities. Thus, the types of degrees for JD by the universities are naturally designed to be identical. (For instance, if a Japanese university wishes to organize JD at the bachelor level, it will cooperate with a foreign university with curricula at the bachelor level to organize JD curricula.)