The Qualitative Change of the Academic Evaluation System in Japan—Establishment of a Researchers-oriented Academic Evaluation System

A well-designed academic evaluation mechanism safeguards a country in its scientific as well as technological innovation and the quality thereof. Japan started to explore a "quality higher education oriented" academic evaluation system since late 20th century, triggering a qualitative shift to "researchers fostering and supporting oriented" academic evaluation system now,15 years later. The new mechanism clearly prohibits " seduction of short-term academic behavior", and propels a multi-layer evaluation device to lead universities and research institutes to foster and support researchers in undertaking challenging projects. The present study based on a series of interviews with several teaching faculties at Japan shows that it is the multi-layer evaluation system and the democracy shown in evaluative decision-making (shifting from self-evaluation, to third-party evaluation,and to meta-evaluation) that promises the scientificity and justice of academic evaluation in Japan.