The National Institute for Educational Policy Research started out as the National Institute for Educational Research after the Second World War, then changed its name and mission following the central government restructuring.

More concretely, the National Institute for Educational Research was established in 1949 as an affiliated institution to the Ministry of Education (at that time). Other institutions that were affiliated to the Ministry of Education were those such as the National Museum, the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, and the National Institute of Genetics. The mission of the National Institute for Educational Research was to conduct practical and basic research in education. Half a century later, during the reform of the government structure in 1999, when many of the affiliated institutions became independent agencies, it was decided that the National Institute for Educational Research should be maintained as a national body, which meant that "its function is something that should be conducted by the national government.and that it conducts cross-sectional research and studies that are relevant to diverse policy objectives". Following this decision, in 2001, the mission was changed to "conduct basic research and studies in policies related to education" and the name of the institution was changed to the" National Institute for Educational Policy Research".

In the report by the Central Council for Education in 1998, under the principle that the central government and local governments need to collaborate as equal partners in carrying out educational administration, some proposals were made. It said that the central government was expected to provide support by guiding and advising the local bodies based on its expertise, and in order to do so, national centers should be established for curriculum and student guidance and counseling, as well as an information system for a database that allows people to search and use empirical research on education. Following these proposals, the Curriculum Research Center, the Guidance and Counseling Research Center, and the National Information Center for Educational Resources were established. Today, the functions of these organizations are enhancing.

In January 2008, we relocated our office that was in Meguro to the current building, which is the same building as MEXT. This enabled us to work together with MEXT, both physically and substantially, over educational policy research, and we are conducting research of the entire education system including elementary and secondary education, higher education, social education, and lifelong learning.

Currently, reducing household burden for education costs is a major concern in educational policy under the economic situation in the recent years. In addition, education, together with medical services, have been recognized as sectors that support the growth of the entire nation and therefore, the need to invest more public funds in these areas. Also, it is important to take into account the development and unification of eastern Asian economy, when developing policies in employment and human resource cultivation. Furthermore, with the development of globalization, assuring the quality of education and ensuring high standard in itself has become a competition internationally.

At NIER, we are committed to contribute to the policy development in these areas through empirical research and studies.

Tamotsu Tokunaga
Director-General
National Institute for Educational Policy Research