This article describes the creation of a fully online master's program for e-learning specialist training. This program is the first of its kind in Japan. As background information, Japan's general trends in e-learning are described, including activities of the e-Learning Consortium Japan and National Institute of Multimedia in Education. Such features of the master's program are then introduced as core and optional competencies for graduates, curriculum design, course design policy, and learning portal design. Since the core of the program is instructional design and the program deals with e-learning not only as the means of delivery but also as the content area of training, this online master's program may be considered unusual. Nevertheless, the lessons learned in this case and associated implications for other program development are important to others building similar online programs. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)