Brief History of SLP development
From 1950 to 1965, the first generation of speech and/or hearing professionals in Japan was comprised of physicians and therapists with a background in deaf education and other related fields. However, most early professionals did not receive a systematic education regarding communication disorders. Some studied abroad (e.g., the U.S.) and received a Ph.D. or master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders. Therapists who were trained at institutions and university clinics in Japan and/or received a formal graduate education in SLP in the U.S. continued to practice in Japan until 1970.
The first formal one-year post-graduate program at the National Center for Hearing and Speech Disorders started in 1971. A limited number of this program’s graduates were appointed as speech therapists and audiologists until 1980. Since then, speech therapists and audiologists have been trained at domestic university hospitals/clinics (e.g., otolaryngology, oral-facial surgery, neurology), higher education systems (e.g., National Rehabilitation Center College or Osaka University of Education), or foreign universities. The number of formal three-year or four-year post-high school and two-year post-graduate educations has increased in Japan.
Education
In Japan, a professional who works with individuals with communication disorders is called a speech-language-hearing therapist (SLHT). The minimum educational requirement to become an SLHT in Japan is a three-year post-high school education. As of April 2022, 78 institutions in Japan provide programs for speech-language-hearing sciences and disorders. All academic programs must be approved by the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan. These programs include 28 four-year university programs, 26 three-year or four-year college programs (i.e., vocational school), 19 post-graduate two-year courses, and 1 one-year post-graduate course. The last one-year program is intended for dual medical licensees (e.g., physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses) with prerequisite education from medical training colleges or four-year universities. The educational requirement for speech-language-hearing therapy covers both SLP and audiology. The curriculum includes both basic and clinical courses. Clinical practicum requires 480 hours of supervised clinical practicum across all speech, language, and hearing areas. In addition, 13 master’s and nine doctoral programs are available to provide more advanced training.
Licensure system
The national licensing system was established by law in December 1997, and the first national license examination for SLHTs was administered by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in March 1999. A Japanese license is required to work as a SLHT at facilities that provide services under national health insurance and long-term care insurance in order to receive insurance reimbursement. Graduate degrees (e.g., master’s degree and/or doctorate) in speech-language-hearing are not required for a clinical license. Students who graduate from undergraduate programs are eligible to take the national licensure exam to work as SLHTs. Unlike in the U.S., SLP and audiology are not separate professions in Japan, thus an SLHT acts as a SLP as well as an audiologist. As of May 2023, there were 39,896 licensed SLHTs (JAS, n.d.).