我國「幼兒教育及照顧法」經立法院三讀通過後，已於2011年元旦實施，所有對2‒6歲幼兒提供教育及照顧服務之機構，更名為「幼兒園」，統歸教育部及各縣市教育局（處）管轄。日本之保育所和幼稚園，與台灣幼托整合前之托兒所與幼稚園相似，分屬於兩個行政單位、兩個不同的法令，近年來日本由於少子化、職業婦女增加等因素，「待機兒童」問題成為中央及地方政府議會質詢的熱門議題，因此「幼保一元化」也成為日本學前教育改革之主要政策。
本研究目的，係為了解並比較日本與台灣之學前幼兒教育制度。採取文獻分析法、比較分析法，蒐集台灣與日本二國幼兒教育實施現況相關報告、法規、官方資料、期刊論文、網路文獻及相關文件，以達成前述研究目的。並據以對台灣幼托整合後之學前教育提出相關建議。

Having passed its third reading in Taiwan’s legislature, the Early Childhood Education and Care Act came into effect on January 1, 2011; under the provisions of this Act, all institutions engaged in providing education and care services to young children aged 2 ‒ 6 were to be renamed as “preschools,” and would fall under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and of the education bureaus of individual county and city governments. Japan has a system of nursery schools and kindergartens that is very similar to the system of nursery schools and kindergartens that existed in Taiwan prior to the 2011 reforms; nursery schools and kindergartens in Japan are supervised by different government agencies and regulated by different laws. In recent years, with the trend towards smaller families and the growing number of women working outside the home, the integration of nursery schools and kindergartens has become a key element in strategies to reform preschool education in Japan.
The aim of the present study is to compare, and develop a more thorough understanding of, the preschool education systems in Japan and Taiwan. The study makes use of a review of the literature and of a comparative analysis approach, collating reports on the implementation of preschool education in Taiwan and Japan, along with relevant laws and regulations, official statistics, journal articles, online materials, etc., in order to achieve this aim. The study puts forward the following suggestions regarding preschool education in Taiwan following the integration of nursery schools and kindergartens.