The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has recently adopted a policy that will make way for the introduction of a joint degree system that will enable Japanese universities and universities overseas to establish a joint curriculum, and allow students enrolled in these programmes to receive a degree from both universities. The policy aims to raise the overall quality of university education in Japan through incorporating international high standard courses along with encouraging Japanese students to study abroad. 

The proposed joint degree system is a four year undergraduate progamme in which students will be able to obtain a degree both from a Japanese university and a university overseas. Moreover, the curriculum will be created and delivered on a joint basis. This means that students will need to study abroad in order to take the courses delivered by universities overseas. While joint degree programmes have been popular among universities in Europe and the United States, they have not been legally recognised in Japan. In its Central Council for Education, MEXT reviewed their proposals for the past year and began work on amending their university educational policy for the upcoming year. It was decided that the joint degrees would be introduced into universities from the year 2014.

MEXT have identified three features of joint degree programmes.

1. Students will be able to receive a high standard of education at overseas institutions.
2. Students will be able to acquire a high level of proficiency in a foreign language.
3. Students will be able to gain a degree which is recognised internationally and have the opportunity to work in companies overseas. 

The Japanese government has been keen to allow joint degrees as part of their ongoing and well-funded drive to internationalise their higher education sector . The “Global 30 plus” funding stream will be succeeded by a new “Super Global Universities” funding in 2014, which specifically welcomes the establishment of joint degree programmes, and the British Council Japan have received enquiries from Japanese universities about establishing such programmes with UK universities