Japanese higher education system is the envy of the world. Japan takes education seriously, and is consistently ranked in the top 10 countries for education in the world. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the modern Japanese higher education system has undergone numerous changes, with the re-modelling of the curriculum after Western countries such as Germany, France, Britain, and the United States combined with traditional Japanese pedagogical elements. Managed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, many major reforms have been introduced in the field of higher education across Japan to serve its national needs.