Technical associate

Technical associate （ja:専門士） is the past English name of "Senmonshi", the Japanese original academic degree. This academic degree was given to the graduates who graduated the certified vocational schools such as a "Senmon-gakkō" (専門学校) which means a professional training colleges and a "Senshu gakko" (専修学校) which means a Specialized training colleges. It was established in 1994. In 2006, Technical associate was changed to "Diploma" (but the original Japanese name was not changed) because its name is more common and known in English spoken countries and it was hard to understand its true value for the foreigners.