Japan set on luring more students from African countries

Japan has intensified its efforts to increase the number of foreign students from Africa wishing to study at its higher education institutions.

Through the Study in Japan for Africa programme, Tokyo has set ambitious targets to ensure more young Africans pursue their higher education in the Asian country.

Japan is joining Russia, which is also planning to recruit more students from Africa, while several other countries are reportedly ‘deprioritising’ the recruitment of students from African countries.

Commissioned by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the plan is currently being implemented by Akita University in collaboration with other national and local institutions in the region. The initiative seeks to recruit students to study courses in key disciplines such as robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, environmental studies, and information technology.

According to a communique from the Japanese Embassy in Nairobi in January, visiting Professor Emeritus Ritsuko Miyamoto of Akita University, who is the programme’s Sub-Saharan Africa director, visited the Japanese Ambassador to Kenya, Hiroshi Matsuura.

Miyamoto was recently tasked with increasing the number of African students studying at Japanese higher education institutions.

“She will be based in Kenya and Botswana to strengthen overseas networks and promote the Study in Japan for Africa programme among African students seeking higher education for the 2024-28 academic year,” Japanese officials said in the statement.

The officials said that they “hoped that the human exchange between Japan and African countries, including Kenya, will develop further”.

From April 2025, they said, the programme will set up a regional office for Sub-Saharan Africa in Botswana and Kenya.

Why the interest in Africa?

But why is Japan interested in [students from] Africa when, as some reports suggest, the rest of the world is reluctant and losing interest?

Miyamoto, who is also the director of the Global Network Project to promote Study in Japan for Africa, says: “Japan is the fastest-ageing country in the world, and as long as the declining birth rate is not easily halted, it is essential to open the door and accept motivated, high-potential young people from all over the world.

“Africa, in particular, is the continent with the fastest-growing young population,” she remarked, “where the number of motivated and highly qualified high school and university graduates is increasing, although still limited.”

She notes that introducing the energy of the young African scholars to Japan will contribute to the revitalisation of Japanese universities and the diversification of the country’s foreign student population, which is currently skewed towards certain Asian countries.

“Furthermore,” Miyamoto, in response to questions by University World News says: “In the future, it will be useful for revitalising human resource development in Africa.”

She says the interest of educated young Africans in Japanese culture, especially in subcultures such as comics and anime, is “very strong and has been growing stronger in recent years”.

“This is a phenomenon not seen in other developed or emerging countries, and if we can capture this well, we can increase the number of foreign students coming to Japan,” Miyamoto notes.

She says the move will increase the number of people in Africa who “understand and are friends of Japan” and in the long run help promote Japan’s national interests in academics and culture, diplomacy, and business relations.

Speaking recently at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (or JKUAT), Miyamoto was quoted as saying the initiative would provide a pathway for young Africans to acquire quality education.

Broadening a sphere of influence

According to figures published in the university’s bulletin, only 1,994 African students were enrolled at different Japanese universities in 2023.

However, Miyamoto says the goal is to increase the number of students from Africa to 2,500 by 2028.

Some say increasing the number of African students in Japan is also an avenue for Tokyo’s soft influence through cultural immersion of the programme’s beneficiaries.

According to the programme’s Sub-Saharan Africa regional office coordinator in Nairobi, Njeri Kagema, Study in Japan for Africa is keen to work with institutions like JKUAT to promote the uptake of available study opportunities for young Africans.

Professor Bernard Ikua, JKUAT’s acting vice-chancellor welcomed the idea, noting that it would open pathways for many young Africans to acquire education relevant to the development aspirations of their countries.

He noted that JKUAT has longstanding partnerships with Japanese universities with a number of staff at the university having trained in Japan.

Japanese government-funded scholarships are fully funded and foreign students can apply before enrolment in higher education institutions in Japan.

The African Business Education Initiative for Youth, or ABE Initiative, is another Japanese government-funded programme, run by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), that supports young African professionals to study and train in Japan, and eventually return home to contribute to the development of industries in Africa. It offers opportunities for African youths to study for masters courses at Japanese universities as international students and to experience internships at Japanese companies.

Japan launched the ABE initiative in 2013 at the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) to promote education in human resources through vocational training and higher education that would directly lead professionals to career opportunities.

The JICA-supported scheme targets professionals in the private sector, government officials and those who are engaged in teaching and research at colleges, universities and research institutes.

MEXT vs ABE

While both the MEXT Scholarship and the ABE initiative scholarships are funded by the Japanese government and offer opportunities to study in Japan, the key difference is that MEXT is open to international students from various countries, while the ABE Initiative specifically targets young African professionals seeking to contribute to their continent’s development through further education and internships in Japan.

MEXT also offers opportunities at doctorate level and undergraduate level (bachelor, higher diploma and diploma) as well as a programme specifically targeted towards teachers (teacher training programme).