Academics say Japan’s drive for foreign students is flawed

Foreign students hoping to study in Japan as part of the country’s huge drive to attract 400,000 foreign students may have to settle for third-rate rural campuses that are miles from major cities, experts have warned, writes Noah Eastwood for iNews.

In March, the Japanese government announced its intention to almost double the number of foreigners studying in the country by 2033. But academics have warned that the plan’s true purpose is to save low-ranked institutions from “financial ruin” as Japan’s declining population fails to produce enough young people to support its more than 600 universities.

Dr Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University in Chiba, a city east of Tokyo, told iNews that “Tokyo [wanting] to attract more foreign students is definitely tied to problems caused by the declining population”. Hall said: “Highly ranked universities will have no problem attracting enough domestic students, but other universities will face dropping application numbers. Filling the gap with international students can save lower-ranked universities from financial ruin.”
Full report on the iNews site