Official National Information Center

About The Center and This Website

Q: What kind of organization is Japan’s official National Information Center (NIC), the National Information Center for Academic Recognition Japan?

A: Japanese government acceded the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education (known as the Tokyo Convention) in December 2017, and accepted the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education (known as the Global Convention) in September 2022. Both conventions aim to promote international mobility of students and academics between State Parties, by having each Party prepare systems to facilitate assessment and recognition of higher education qualifications for applicants seeking for further education or employment in another Party.

The parties to the Tokyo Convention and the Global Convention are required to establish and maintain a national information center (NIC) or similar entities mainly for disseminating information about their own country’s higher education system, so that other Parties can smoothly evaluate and recognize its higher education qualifications.

National Information Center for Academic Recognition Japan (NIC-Japan) was established within the National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education (NIAD-QE) on September 1, 2019 as Japan’s official NIC. It works to disseminate information both domestically and internationally about Japanese higher education system and qualifications, a list of Japanese higher education institutions, links to relevant websites on education systems and qualifications of other countries. The center also networks with NICs in other Parties and conducts relevant surveys and research.

For a list of State Parties to the Tokyo Convention, please see here.

For a list of State Parties to the Global Convention, please see here.