Education

Education for speech-language-hearing therapists is offered at the post-high school level at universities, institutes for college graduates, and institutes for high-school graduates. All courses are taught in Japanese. The required curriculum is shown in the table below.

Basic Courses	Specialized Courses
Linguistic and phonetic sciences: linguistics, psycholinguistics, phonetics, experimental phonetics, psychoacoustics, etc.	Introductory courses: speech-language pathology and audiology
Cognitive behavioral sciences: developmental psychology, clinical psychology, psychology of learning, neuropsychology, etc.	Diagnostic procedure courses: aphasia, higher cortical functions, speech and language delay, articulation, voice, stuttering, dysphagia, dysarthria, and audiology
Medical Sciences: anatomy, physiology, pathology, medical ethics, health statistics, etc.	Intervention procedure courses: in all areas of speech-language pathology and audiology
Clinical medicine: internal medicine, rehabilitation medicine, plastic surgery, psychiatry, pediatrics, geriatrics, otorhinolaryngology, clinical neurology,　dentistry, etc.	Clinical practicum: supervised clinical practicum in all areas of speech-language pathology and audiology
Social welfare and education

Basic Courses

Specialized Courses

Linguistic and phonetic sciences:

linguistics, psycholinguistics, phonetics, experimental phonetics, psychoacoustics, etc.

Introductory courses:

speech-language pathology and audiology

Cognitive behavioral sciences:

developmental psychology, clinical psychology, psychology of learning, neuropsychology, etc.

Diagnostic procedure courses:

aphasia, higher cortical functions, speech and language delay, articulation, voice, stuttering, dysphagia, dysarthria, and audiology

Medical Sciences:

anatomy, physiology, pathology, medical ethics, health statistics, etc.

Intervention procedure courses:

in all areas of speech-language pathology and audiology

Clinical medicine:

internal medicine, rehabilitation medicine, plastic surgery, psychiatry, pediatrics, geriatrics, otorhinolaryngology, clinical neurology,　dentistry, etc.

Clinical practicum:

supervised clinical practicum in all areas of speech-language pathology and audiology

Social welfare and education

Graduate programs at master's and doctor's levels are available at some institutions. Graduate degrees are not required for license.

Job opportunities

Licensed SLHTs can expect to find job opportunities at organizations including:

Medical institutions and rehabilitation centers
Medical administration facilities
Public health departments
Schools
Facilities for children with physical and communication handicaps
Home health agencies
Nursing facilities
Medical equipment manufacturers
Educational/research institutions
Private clinics

A Japanese license is required to work at facilities that provide services under national health insuranceand long-term care insurance.