Recent Policies and Changes in Internationalization of Japanese Higher Education: Unintended Consequences

JAISE‐KAIE Joint Seminar 2018  “Developing Future International Student Exchange”   

Toyo University 

November 1, 2018

Hiroshi Ota, Ph.D. 

Professor, Center for Global Education and Exchange

Hitotsubashi University

E‐mail: h.ota@r.hit‐u.ac.jp    

No immigration policy so far…

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In Japan, the population will decline about 10M. over the next 10 to 15 years, and 30% of the population will be 60 years of age or older. 

In 2017, the number of foreign workers reached 1.3M. It’s becoming easier to obtain a permanent residency. 

A large number of unskilled foreign workers under the training visa and student visa. 

In 2017, 267,000 international students including Japanese language school students.

Officially, Japan has no immigration policy. However, back doors and side doors are open… 

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Source: Bloomberg (2014) Why Immigrant‐Shy Japan Is Luring Foreign Workers: QuickTake Q&A

Source: National Institute of Population and Social Security (2013) 4

5Source: Asian Nikkei Review (2018) Famous for its resistance to immigration, Japan opens its doors

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Source: Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (2018)

20%

20%

Overview of Japanese Higher Education

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Source: MEXT Basic Statistics of Schools (2018)

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Size of Japanese Higher Ed. (# of institutions)

Type National Local Public Private Total% of Private Schools

Universities  86 93 603 782 77.1%

Junior Colleges

0 17 314 331 94.9%

Colleges of Technology

51 3 3 57 5.3%

Total 137 113 920 1,170 78.6%

Size of Japanese Higher Ed. (# of students)

* 88.7% of junior college students are female.

Source: MEXT Basic Statistics of Schools (2017)

Type National Local Public Private Total (int’l student # and %)

% of Private Schools’ Students

Universities 609,473 152,931 2,128,476 2,890,880

(123,919: 4.3%)73.6%

Junior Colleges

0 6,670 117,279 123,949*(1,915: 1.5%)

94.6%

Colleges of Technology

51,632 3,742 2,227 57,601(559: 1.0%)

3.9%

Total661,105 163,343 2,247,982 3,072,430 

(126,393: 4.1%)73.2%

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Average Tuition and Fees of Undergraduate Programs (first year)

Type Tuition Admission Fees

Facility and Equipment 

FeesTotal

Private: Humanities and Social Sciences

¥768,000($6,982)

¥234,000($2,127)

¥288,000($2,618)

¥1,290,000($11,727)

Private: Natural Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

¥985,000($8,955)

¥243,000($2,209)

¥372,000($3,382)

¥1,600,000($14,545)

Private: Medicine and Dentistry 

¥2,919,000($26,536)

¥956,000($8,691)

¥2,436,000($22,145)

¥6,311,000($57,373)

Private：Others ¥994,000($9,036)

¥266,000($2,418)

¥391,000($3,555)

¥1,651,000($15,009)

Local Public (Municipal) ¥540,000($4,909)

¥390,000($3,545)

¥20,000($182)

¥ 950,000($8,636)

National ¥535,800($4,871)

¥282,000($2,564) 0

¥817,800($7,435)

Unit: JPY, (US$), $1 = ¥110                         Source: Obunsha (2017)

“An Age When All Are 

Accepted to College”

Deteriorating national demographic climate and the overcapacity of H.Ed.

• College (first degree program) participation rate: 57.9%

• College (first degree program) acceptance rate: 93.7% 

• Post‐secondary ed. participation rate (inc. non‐university HEIs.): 81.5% 

• In 2018, private univs. did not meet their authorized enrollment quotas: 36.1% (210), two‐year colleges: 70.4% (212) 

• Newly admitted students through a system of admission based upon recommendations by high schools: 44.3% (private: 51.2%) 

Source: Ministry of Education, Cultures, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) (2018)Promotion and Mutual Aid Cooperation for Private Schools of Japan (2018) 

“An Age When All Are 

Accepted to College”

• Enrollment problems (low domestic enrollment) Private: Undergraduate, esp. single‐department colleges 

in the provinces 

National: Postgraduate, esp. humanities and social sciences due to the expansion of graduate schools’ capacity: 90,000 in 1991 ⇒ 260,000 in 2009

• Becoming difficult to recruit enough qualified students into STEM field programs

• Prevailing “skilled migration approach” and “revenue‐generating approach” as the rationales of Japan’s int’l student policies Weakening “aid and mutual understanding approach”

13Source: Nippon.com (2015) 

International Students andInternational Student Policies in Japan

15Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2017)

International Students in Japan

Policy Change

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100,000 International Students Plan   (1983 – 2004)

Aid approach: Scholarships and financial assistance/aids for int’l students and their host institutions

Int’l students supposed to return home countries upon graduation

300,000 International Students Plan   (2008 ‐ 2020)

Skilled‐migration approach: Promotion of post‐graduation employment in Japan responding to its demographic changes

Revenue‐generating approach: responding to enrollment problems

Japan Revitalization Strategy 2014“Attract highly skilled international students to boost the country’s competitiveness and to revitalize the economy”

Local governments and business associations promote the recruitment and employment of international students in collaboration with HEIs. 

International Students in Japanese HEIs. 

by Field of Study in 2017

Field of study

Social Sciences

Humanities Engineering Fine Art Agriculture Others Total

# of students 67,664 45,647 30,804 8,432 3,739 32,098 188,384

% of total 35.9 24.2 16.4 4.5 2.0 17.0 100

by Place of Origin in 2017

Place of origin China Vietnam Nepal Korea Taiwan Indonesia Others Total

# of students 79,502 35,489 14,850 13,538 6,994 4,235 33,776 188,384

% of total 42.2 18.8 7.9 7.2 3.7 2.2 17.9 100

% change +5.6 +24.2 +10.4 -0.2 +9.3 +15.4 +11.9 +10.1

Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2017) 17

International Students in Japanese Language Schools 

by Place of Origin in 2017

Place of origin China Vietnam Nepal

Sri Lanka

Korea Myanmar Others Total

# of students 27,758 26,182 6,650 3,587 2,202 2,130 10,149 78,658

% of total 35.3 33.3 8.5 4.6 2.8 2.7 12.9 100

% change +19.5 +3.8 +10.6 +73.2 +16.8 +20.2 +27.3 +15.4

# of int’l students enrolled in Japanese language schools in 2016: 68,165

Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2017)

Grand total: enrolled in language schools (78,658) + HEIs (188,384) = 267,042 (+11.5%)

*Typical path to a Japanese degree: Japanese language schools and programs (port of entry) → entrance exams → HEIs (esp. UG programs): about 70%

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Changes in International Students Level or type of 

program2011 2017

Change in percentage

Postgraduates 39,749 46,373 +17%

UG including AD programs

71,244 80,020 +12%

Vocational and training schools

25,463 58,771 +131%

Japanese language schools

25,622 78,658 +207%

Preparatory courses

1,619 3,220 +99%

Total 163,697 267,042 +63%

19Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2017) 

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International Students Enrolled inJapanese Language Schools

Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2010‐17)

22,28017,354  15,079  15,991 16,607

19,19023,221

27,758

5,490

2,862 2,268  1,979 1,837

1,882

1,886

2,2021,234

901 962  941 1,260

1,704

1,929

1,953

721

1,046 

1,735  7,509

15,265

18,751

25,228

26,182

752

957 

1,150 

2,619

5,157

7,559

6,015

6,650

2,789 

2,502 2,898 

3,587 

4,844 

7,231 

9,886 

13,913 

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

China Korea Taiwan Vietnam Nepal Others

Advancement Rate from language 

Schools to Universities

• Chinese：62.5% (to grad schools: 22.5％)

• Vietnamese：19.5% (to grad schools: 0.7％)

• Nepalese: 16.1% (to grad school: 0.7%)Source: Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education  (2018)

– Due to the lack of Japanese proficiency and financial resources, it’s difficult for Vietnamese and Nepalese students to be accepted by universities, compared with Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean students.

Employment of International Students in Japan

Current Trend

• Increasing the need for “globally minded HR/workforce”− International students studying in Japan

− Japanese students with study abroad experience

• Hiring international students from Asian countries as “bridging HR/workforce”, e.g. Bridging system engineers 

• Rationales − Globalizing economy and emerging markets in Asia

− Shift from a manufacturing economy to a consumer and service‐based one ⇒ communication skills are needed.

− To support the business expansion and growth outside Japan, esp. in Asia, companies needs globally minded HR/workforce and bridging HR/personnel   

Employment of Int’l 

Students: Positive Data 

• Successfully changed visa status from “student” to “work”: 7,831 (2010) ‐> 24,419 (2017)

Source: Immigration Bureau (2018)

• 35.4% of major companies hired int’l graduates (2017)

• 57.8% of major companies have a plan to hire int’l students in 2018

Source: DISCO Inc. (2017)

• 52.1 % of SME are positive in hiring int’l students in 2018                    

Source: DISCO Inc. (2017)

Employment of Int’l 

Students:Gaps 

• 63.5% of int’l students want to work in Japan (2016)

• 31.1% of int’l graduates got a job in Japan (2016)Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2018)

• 57.5% of int’l students want to get employed by large‐scale companies (more than 1,000 workers)(2018)

• 19.3% of int’l students want to get employed by SME (2018)

Source: DISCO Inc. (2017)

• 40.4% of int’l graduates got employed by SME (less than 50 workers)

Source: Japan Student Services Organization and Immigration Bureau (2017)

• STEM students are in high demand, but only 22.5% of int’l students majoring in STEM field (2017)

Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2017)

Difficulties Int’l Students 

Face While Looking for a 

Job

• Employers tend to require native‐equivalent level Japanese language ability. 

• Peculiar recruitment and employment system: time‐consuming recruiting and job‐hunting process Job‐hunting period: once a year from January to October

Detailed resume and application (entry sheet): be filled out in polished Japanese 

Aptitude test: examine academic skills and personality

Several rounds of interviews (by junior level officials to by CEO)  

Too many manners and etiquette including “recruitment suits”

27Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2018) Job Hunting Guide for International Students

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“Companies do not intend to hire students who stand out with their appearance and unique character. They are checking to see if you are well-groomed and dressed based on social common sense. There is no need to dress yourself up with expensive items.” Source: JASSO (2018) Job Hunting Guide for International Students

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Newly-hired employees of Japan Airlines pose for photos during an initiation ceremony at a hangar of Haneda airport in Tokyo on April 3. | REUTERS

Challenges and 

Opportunities

• “Unhealthy Happy Triangle”: (1) Troubled private HEIs and unethical Japanese language schools, (2) Int’l students who want to work rather than studying, (3) Companies facing labor shortage 

• Gaps between (1) concept/vision and reality, (2) policy (highly skilled workers) and practice (unskilled workers), and (3) executives and HR department.

• Companies hire int’l graduates to internationalize themselves ‐> Internationalized company can attract more int’l graduates. 

• To diversify its workforce, companies hire int’l graduates. However, in reality, they hire int’l graduates just like Japanese, looking for more Japanese than Japanese.

Challenges and 

Opportunities 

• Japanese students/employees with study abroad experience could be key personnel to solve those problems.

• Immigration: Is it possible for Japan to shift from backdoor open policy to front‐door open policy (multi‐cultural society)   Lack of long‐term, grand design for immigration

• Revisit and redefine the country of Japan. 

• PM Abe’s new plan: Welcome 500,000 foreign workers help plug labor shortage

• Allow more foreign workers in: Japan Chamber of Commerce 

• The Worst Internship Ever: Japan’s Labor Pains

Japanese Study Abroad

33 Source: MEXT (2018) Japanese Higher Education Policy for Internationalization (NAFSA Conference Presentation)

Young Ambassador Program-Tobitate!: Leap for Tomorrow-• Public-private partnership initiative for study abroad scholarships• Private sectorʼs contribution: Aim to collect 20B. yen (US$183M.) • Goal is to support 10,000 study abroad students including high school students

by 2020• # of awarded scholarships for HE students: 4,140 in total since 2014• # of awarded scholarships for HS students: 1,853 in total since 2015

Japan Revitalization Strategy (2013) • Double # of higher education study abroad students to 120,000 by 2020• Double # of high school study abroad students to 60,000 by 2020

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Increasing MEXT Study Abroad Scholarships

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“A study abroad period of six months or more is necessary in order to develop various skills including language ability, intercultural understanding, and the ability to accept a diversity of values.”“A mismatch between the increase in study abroad by

university students and corporate needs”

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (2017) Policy Evaluation of the Promotion of Global Human Resources Development

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Employers' Perceptions of Study Abroad

Thank you for your attention.

Hiroshi Ota, Ph.D. Professor

Center for Global Education and ExchangeHitotsubashi University

E‐mail: h.ota@r.hit‐u.ac.jp

http://international.hit‐u.ac.jp/jp/courses/hgp/index.html

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