Japanese DCs Develop Educational Standards

The meeting was sponsored by the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC). WFC attendees were Secretary-General David Chapman-Smith (Canada); John Sweaney, DC (Australia), immediate past-president; and Adries Kleynhans, DC, who heads the department of chiropractic at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Victoria. (Note: RMIT has a chiropractic college in Japan.)

After many hours of debate, the Japanese chiropractors developed a consensus statement on chiropractic education in Japan:

Chiropractic Educational Standards for Japan Consensus Statement Tokyo, October 10, 1998 Whereas the chiropractic profession has not previously agreed upon appropriate minimum standards of education, but now wishes to do so, And whereas all leaders in chiropractic education in Japan have been invited to a consensus meeting today for this purpose, And whereas this meeting has produced a consensus agreement, Now therefore it is agreed by the undersigned parties. That henceforth people entering education to become chiropractors in Japan should only do so through a program which operates at or is in the process of achieving the international standard.* That within 5-8 years all locally-trained chiropractors working in Japan should have obtained a minimum level of education at or equivalent to a first university degree in chiropractic. That no new chiropractic programs should commence in Japan unless they begin immediately at the level of the international standard. * A program of international standard is a program that would qualify for accreditation by official accrediting agencies in other countries as recognized by the World Federation of Chiropractic.

The Japanese educational declaration is a momentous and necessary step. While having educational standards for chiropractors is taken for granted in some countries, chiropractic in Japan is confronted with diverse political stumbling blocks to official recognition.