As an important composition of Japan’s higher education,private higher education has contributed a lot to the popularization of higher education but also gone through a tortuous process of development–from the original restrictions of the government,the post-war shift of ideology and recognition of private higher education as public welfare to the gradual establishment of protective legislation,the governmental financial aid and the construction of evaluating system so as to guarantee the quality of education. Much progress as private higher education in China has achieved at present,it is still on a preliminary stage both in quality and reputation. Therefore,it is important to draw lessons from Japan’s private higher education,especially the related legislation the funding sources,the administration mechanism,which will help to promote the development and improve the quality of China’s private higher education.