Some WTO/GATS Issues of Free Trade of Higher Education Service

This paper will discuss about some critical and possible issues and discourses on the WTO/GATS and the free trade of higher education services from the viewpoints of Japanese people concerned. The first part will deal with the introduction of the Japanese government policies and responses and of the no-concerns among Japanese university people. The Japan-schedule of specific commitments is "unbound." The Japanese Government suggest that it is necessary to review educational service from the main viewpoints of maintaining and improving the quality of education. It suggests concretely of maintenance and improvement of educational research in each country, of safety net or guard for the consumers (learners) from the low quality of services, and of global use and recognition of the degrees and the credits earned. The Government suggests to organize the information network for the higher education services in the world and the system of the international quality assurance institutions. The second part will deal with the critical and possible issues that Japanese universities will face with in the coming future and that comparative educationists must be sensitive to, because of dealing with the education in other countries. Among many possible issues the author has tried to discuss what the barriers are for the free trade of higher education services, what may happen to the national system, overcoming the barriers, what the new global standards look like for the educational governance in the framework of GATS, what impacts are to be given to the developing countries, how the global markets will control the domestic educational market, and what influence may be upon culture. The author concludes that the future comparative and international educationists must be carefully concerned with these development of educational service trade issues and to be critical to those free trade of services in terms of equality and quality of educational opportunities and outcomes in the global community