Crisis spurs new calls to align academic year to the West

Academics and others in Japan who have been campaigning for years to change the beginning of the university year to September from the current April say the disruption to universities caused by COVID-19 and an increase in public support for such reforms have boosted chances of a change.

Surveys have shown that many voters and most of Japan’s regional governors support a shift in the academic year, although some feel this year would not be appropriate while universities are already grappling with the financial burden of coronavirus disruption.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has now set up a working group headed by former education minister Masahiko Shibayama to make recommendations next month.

Japanese universities start the academic year in April alongside Japanese schools. Entrance ceremonies are held under cherry tree blossom – Japan’s national flower – a ritual deeply entrenched in the country. April also marks the new fiscal year in Japan when new graduates start jobs.

As a result, any change is hotly debated, with difficult financial and social hurdles needing to be scaled, academics note.

“The pandemic is the catalyst for reform. As physical classes get delayed to the fall, the prospect of a new academic year has become a possibility,” said Yumiko Hada, dean of international studies at the private Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka. Hada, an expert on Britain’s higher education, has been a long-time advocate for the change, which she explains is a key step in matching Japanese higher education with institutions in the West.

The debate in Japan is not new, and changes were seriously examined in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Study groups have been appointed by Japanese governments in the past to promote the change to facilitate the internationalisation of Japanese higher education which many feel lags behind other countries.

Enhancing student mobility

According to UNESCO statistics, more than 5.3 million students were studying abroad for over a year in 2017. China counted for 90% of that total followed by India, with Japan near the bottom of the list with just 30,000 students abroad.

Hada’s research into the September-June academic year and gap years, illustrates that shifting the start of the academic year from April to September would pave the way for foreign students to study in Japan and also encourage Japanese high school students to study overseas and take part in internships before starting at university.

It would also bring about more flexibility in the way young Japanese think and nurture the diversity that is key in world-class education.

“Such personal experiences will expand the horizons of Japanese students and enrich their university studies,” she explained.

Others, such as Takashi Inoguchi, professor of international relations at JF Oberlin University, acknowledged the heavy financial burdens involved in changing the university system but said only the shock of a crisis such as the one the COVID-19 pandemic has caused could usher in long overdue reform.

Inoguchi, who has held diverse positions in prestigious higher education institutions such as senior vice-rector at the United Nations University and president of Niigata University, said his role in university administration had exposed him to what he describes as a “nationalist vision” that guides Japanese higher education and which resists global standards.

“Japanese universities perform lower in world rankings on important issues such as global publications and catering to internationalisation of campuses.” Only a few prestigious institutions stand out in science and technology, he noted.

The move to change the academic calendar has also gained more public support. Over 20,000 people signed an online petition calling for the shift to September in a movement started on 19 April by two high school students in Osaka.

Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike also said in comments on 30 April: “Our education will follow international standards,” Japan’s Kyodo News reported. She was speaking with her counterpart in Osaka, Hirofumi Yoshimura, who has also expressed support.

Opposition remains

However, Teruyuki Hirota, president of the Japanese Educational Research Association, is among those who oppose any change. He said the burden of making the shift far outweighs the merits, particularly in the current difficult times.

“The growing clamour for change this year is out of the question. Students will be burdened financially as they will only be able to graduate next September, prolonging their tuition fees from April, the original graduation month,” he argued.

Academics who oppose the move insist that the much-touted merits of increasing the number of international students in Japan will not be realised, given the lack of English instruction in Japanese universities.

“Even the prospect of more Japanese going abroad remains to be seen. The Japanese social tradition is to enter universities soon after high school graduation and then proceed [directly] to new jobs,” explained Hirota.

Hiroshige Seko, a senior Upper House lawmaker from the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, is advocating caution, saying the financial implications are too high and citing the slide in the national economy.

Seko, who is also chairman of Kindai University in Osaka prefecture, has called for classes to be held on campuses during the summer to make up for lost time while schools and universities were closed in April and May.

According to public estimates, private universities are already facing the burden of having to reimburse at least JPY1 trillion (US$9.3 billion) to students this year for the loss of classes from April to September if the academic year is changed this year.

Inoguchi said he would like to “study various options at a time when our country faces major changes amid the virus crisis,” he is quoted in the media as saying at a meeting with opposition politicians. However, he insisted there needed to be concrete measures of support from the government and companies to help universities make the leap.

“Statements need to be backed up with financial figures. Companies need to change the recruitment system,” he pointed out.

One of the biggest hurdles in a fall or autumn start has been employer hiring practices in Japan. University students begin the search for a job in their third year and start working soon after graduation.

But as more Japanese companies globalise, they have begun to promise a change in the recruitment system. Masayoshi Fujimoto, CEO of Sojitz Corporation, a global trading conglomerate, was quoted in the Japan Times this month as saying a change in recruitment “can be actively pursued”.