• Japan has strong laws and policies supporting the promotion of a lifelong learning society and the provision of a wide variety of adult educational activities. However, the actual state of lifelong learning for adults falls far short of Monbushô's goals.
• The lifelong learning system has several notable strengths such as kôminkan, a wide variety of challenging certification programs, on-the-job training by businesses, the University of the Air, and private enterprises that provide educational activities to adults.
• The deep-seated attitude of most Japanese people which overemphasizes a person's prior academic career will probably not change quickly. If the Government continues to strongly support lifelong learning and programs to recognize a person's knowledge and skills regardless of where learned, the emphasis on prior formal schooling should eventually decrease.
• Very few adults take university courses or participate in degree programs. Despite some recent limited improvements, universities generally remain inaccessible to adults and inflexible in the ways to earn and transfer credits. Business support hardly exists for employee attendance at universities. The current system still requires many improvements to provide adults satisfactory opportunities for higher education.

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