| ALT |
Assistant Language Teacher |
| AS |
Asahi Shinbun (Asahi
Newspaper) |
| BLL |
Buraku Liberation League |
| CIR |
Coordinator for
International Relations |
| DOE |
U.S. Department of
Education |
| ESL |
English as Second Language |
| GAO |
U.S. General Accounting
Office |
| GDP |
Gross Domestic Product |
| GHQ |
The General Headquarters
(of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers) |
| IEP |
Individualized Education
Program |
| IQ |
Intelligence Quotient |
| JCP |
Japan Communist Party |
| JET |
Japan Exchange and Teaching |
| JSP |
Japan Socialist Party;
since 1996, the Social Democratic Party of Japan |
| JTU |
Japan Teachers’
Union |
| LD |
Learning Disabilities |
| LDP |
Liberal Democrat Party |
| LEP |
Limited English Proficiency |
| MKS |
Mainichi Kazoku Shinbun
(Mainichi Family Newspaper) |
| MOE |
Ministry of Education,
Science, Sports and Culture. Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (since January 2001) |
| MOFA |
Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| NCEE |
National Commission on
Excellence in Education |
| NCER |
National Council on
Educational Reform (Rinji kyōiku shingikai or Rinkyōshin for short) |
| NCES |
National Center for
Education Statistics |
| NPO |
Nonprofit organization |
| OECD |
Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development |
| PTA |
Parent-Teacher Association |
| SML |
Special Measures Law for
Assimilation Projects |
| SSM |
Social Stratification and
Social Mobility |
| TIMSS |
Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study |
| UNESCO |
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |
| UNICEF |
United Nations
International Children’s Emergency Fund |
| YS |
Yomiuri Shinbun (Yomiuri
Newspaper) |
