The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan (MEXT) has announced a partial revision of the Ordinance for the Enforcement of the School Education Act and has specified that those who have finished General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A-level), and who are aged 18 or above are to be recognised in regards to Japanese university admission as having academic abilities equivalent or above upper secondary school graduates in Japan.

The change has been made in order to further internationalise Japanese higher education institutions and enable them to accept more international students from abroad. Following this change, Japanese universities are now required to decide which GCE A-level subjects and grades they will recognise as the minimum entrance qualifications in accordance with their admission policies, and publicise such decisions in advance of admission. Japanese universities are also required to verify each applicant’s qualifications by GCE A-level certificates.

This announcement was made on 31 March 2016 (effective on 1 April 2016), but those who completed GCE A-level before this date are also qualified to enter a Japanese university provided they are 18 years of age or above.

Analysis:

Most Japanese universities are in the process of amending their entry requirements and it is anticipated that some universities will recognise completion of specific GCE A-level subjects/grades as equivalent to have graduated from an upper secondary school in Japan and not require applicants to take any additional examination, while other universities may still ask candidates to pass their entrance examination.

The main barrier for Japanese students considering GCE A-level courses in the UK was that the qualification was not recognised by Japanese universities (only a handful of universities have recognised GCE A-level prior to this revision), which meant less flexibility for students who want to come back to Japan after finishing their A-level study in the UK. This revision is therefore expected to encourage more Japanese students to enrol on GCE A-level courses in the UK or elsewhere. Students are advised to confirm the latest entrance requirements with the Japanese university they wish to apply to prior to starting their A-level study in the UK.

Source: MEXT website www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/1369935.htm (Japanese)