In my research on modern Japan's secondary night schools and the Railway Training School, I discovered a common characteristic. Even though these schools' curriculums were similar to traditional secondary and post-secondary schools, they did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. Because of this, secondary night school and railway training school students and graduates did not meet the requirements for admission to traditional post-secondary academic institutions, they were unable to gain employment as ordinary civil servants without taking the Ordinary Civil Servant Examination, and they were required to take a certification examination in order to obtain an elementary school teacher's license. The focus of this paper, the Communications Official Training Institute and the Communications Staff Training Center, face the same dilemma. These schools were established by the Ministry of Communication to provide a graduated system of vocational training for ministry officials and staff. As such, these schools were considered to be no different than traditional secondary and post-secondary institutions, and they were even listed alongside such institutions in entrance examination guidebooks. Because there is no historical research on these communications schools, it is important to the field of the history of Japanese education to study the significance of these educational institutions. This paper's main conclusions are as follows: 1. The Ministry of Communications' schools were institutionally weak. The communications school system and curriculum was easily altered by the will of powerful ministry officials, by popular opinion within the ministry, as well as by economic considerations and even interference by other ministries within the government. 2. The Ministry of Communications made every effort to adhere to the same requirements established for traditional educational institutions. These schools must be considered not just as vocational training centers, but also as formal educational institutions. 3. Because the students were employed by the ministry, tuition was free, giving these schools a reputation as "the poor man's high school/college." In modern Japan, secondary education enrollment was approximately 30%, largely determined by the economic situation of each potential student's family. Free tuition made it possible to recruit capable youth who formed the core of the ministry's officials and staff.