Higher school (Japan)

Higher school was an institution of higher education in Japan, which was a preparatory institution for imperial universities and national medical colleges until the educational reform in occupied Japan.
Apart from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, higher schools were the most prestigious pre-university higher education institutions in Japan and provided liberal arts education based on Kyōyōshugi instead of specialised education.
The higher schools have now been converted or merged into universities. Despite the same name, Kōtō Gakkō, higher schools are completely different to high schools after WW2.