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Internationalization in Okinawan Universities by Anna Nagamine What is internationalization? To what does internationalization in higher education refer? By focusing on these questions as they relate to universities in Okinawa, I would like to come to a stronger understanding of the way internationalization is proceeding in Japanese higher education. This paper looks at the numerbs of foreing students in Japan and at the numbers and treatment of foreign teachers. David Ewick's homepage, Chuo University Faculty of Policy Studies, 2003.
Univ. offers unique combination of English, IT Page 1 & Page 2 An article about Aizu University, Japan's first university specialising in IT, in which 45% of the teachers are foreign and more than half of classes at 3rd year and above are in English. Daily Yomiuri, 26 June, 2006.
Aizu University English homepage.
International Christian University English homepage.
List of University Degree Courses Offered in English from Japan Student Services Organization, October 2006.
Steps eyed to triple foreign students here: Goal to enroll 300,000 by 2020 The government, hoping to boost the ranks of foreign students in Japan to 300,000 by around 2020 from 118,500 at present, unveiled steps Tuesday that include simplifying immigration procedures and allowing candidates to complete admission and accommodations applications in their own countries. Japan Times, July 30, 2008.
Japan Student Services Organization An organization that provides financial support for foreign students to come to Japan.
JASSO eliminating exchange student funding on medical expenses JASSO assistance to foreign students medical expenses program, which had been cut from 90% to about 30% last year, is now being cut to ZERO as of this April. This is a letter to the debito.org website that explains how cutting support for medical expenses will affect foreign exchange students, especially those from poorer countries or who are not English speakers (and so cannot earn mony by teaching English part-time).
Blacklist of Japanese Universities This is a list of Japanese universities which discriminate against non-Japanese teaching staff by giving them different, less stable emploment conditions, often short-term contracts instead of tenured positions. It is compiled by Arudo Debito. There is also a greenlist of universities which treat Japanese and non-Japanese teaching staff more equally and have a progressive attitude to hiring non-Japanese staff. debito.org.
Hokkaido Professor Fights for the Rights of Foreign Academics David Aldwinkle (who is now Arudou Debito) talks about the discrimination against foreign academics in Japanese universities and suggests some questions to ask to judge the fairness of teaching positions offered by universities to foreigners. Tokyo Classified, May 15, 1999.
Academic Apartheid at Japan's National Universities by Ivan P. Hall. An article about the discriminatory treatment of foreign teahcers at Japanese universities including and a Ministry of Educatin directive that has led to the dismmissal of thousands of senior foreign academics in Japan. Japan Policy Research Institute, October 1994. See also Academic Apartheid Revisted, also by Ivan P. Hall, 9 May 1995.
Combating Discrimination at a Japanese University by Cynthia Worthington An article about a labour dispute between the Prefectural University of Kumamoto and a group of foreign teachers who were dismissed after forming the Kumamoto General Union--the first general union of foreign teachers at a public university in Japan. Japan Policy Research Institute, June 1999.
Foreign Students Staying on to Work in Japan Hits Record High: Ministry of Justice According to the Ministry of Justice, which controls Japan’s immigration bureau, the number of foreign students who found jobs and stayed in Japan after graduating in 2006 increased by 40%, from just over 5,900 in 2005 to 8,272 last year. Japan Economy News, August 15, 2007.
More than 10,000 foreign students got jobs in '07 The number of foreign students who graduated from Japanese colleges and graduate schools and found jobs in Japan came to 10,262 in 2007, up 24 percent from the previous year and exceeding the 10,000 line for the first time, the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau said....In 2007, around 30 percent of the foreign students who graduated from Japanese universities got jobs here, according to the Immigration Bureau. Japan Times, July 31, 2008.
Japanese system stifles foreign scientific talent: Stark options mean researchers forced to head elsewhere The Japanese domestic research environment....remains far from diverse. The numbers of both female and foreign scientists employed at Japanese universities are "extremely low" relative to other member countries of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), the government admits. However, despite the government's statements to the contrary, many government initiatives actively prevent the integration of foreign scientists into the Japanese research and university environments. Japan Times, June 5, 2007.
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science To promote international scientific cooperation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science encourages highly qualified researchers from the worldover to come to and conduct joint research activities with colleagues at Japanese universities and research institutes. During the 2002 fiscal year, 4296 researchers from 91 countries did research in Japan under JSPS programs.
Students of Non-Japanese Nationality Numbers of foreign permanent resident students and students from other countires in Japan from 1960 to 2005. Japanese Ministry of Education.
Students from Abroad by Region of Origin May 2005. Japanese Ministry of Education.
Students from Abroad by Field of Study May 2005. Japanese Ministry of Education.
Editorial: Foreigners and the strong yen The strong yen has hit foreign students, interns and trainees hard, especially those from Asian countries....Unless education, government and business find new ways to support these important programs, the doors to Japan will start to close. Japan Times, Feb 8, 2009.
Say no to global trade in education The Ministry of Education will consider revising legislation governing the recognition of foreign universities in Japan as a wedge for opening Japan's education market to foreign institutions. The reason for this reconsideration is pressure from the World Trade Organization. Eight WTO members, including the United States, have asked Japan to liberalize regulations concerning higher education generally. Japan Times, Sept. 5, 2002.
Exchange rate woes putting foreign students in a bind The strong yen is making life difficult for many foreign exchange students in Japan. Japan Times, Dec. 31, 2008.
Japanese universities need foreign students: U.K. scholar Recruiting foreign students will be key if Japanese universities are to survive the competition expected as the population shrinks, according to British scholar Peter Mathias. Japanese universities must establish an "international status" that will enable them to attract students from all over the world, he said. Japan Times, March 11, 2006.
Fewer Japanese studying abroad Over the past decade, the number of foreign students seeking higher education in Japan has more than doubled. In contrast, the number of Japanese students going abroad for their education is waning.Yomiuri Shimbun, 30 April 2009.
Foreign students finding jobs scarce Foreign students seeking work in Japan after graduation are facing difficulties in finding jobs as employment conditions deteriorate because of the economic downturn. More than 120,000 foreign students study in Japan annually. Observers say the government should support the students’ job-hunting efforts to keep them from losing interest in Japan and returning to their home countries. Yomiuri Shimbun, April 9, 2009. (For comments on this article, including some by foreign students themselves, see Debito.org Yomiuri: NJ students brought to J universities by the bushelful, but given little job assistance and scroll down to the end of the article.)
Society must value overseas study: Nakagawa Young Japanese shouldn't be blamed for not studying abroad, but society needs to change so they can attend universities overseas without having to worry about their careers after they return, education minister Masaharu Nakagawa said. AS well as reporting an interview with Nakagawa, the article looks ta the decline in study abroad by Japanese students and discusses the intended role of the Global 30 Plan in encouraging more study abroad by Japanese students. Japan Times, Sep 24, 2011.
JAPAN: University internationalisation scaled back The future of Japan's Global 30 project, established by the government just last year to internationalise universities, is in doubt as it is running out of money. At the end, this article also looks briefly at challenging faces foreign students trying to find work in Japan, especially language issues. University World News, 28 Nov 2010.
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