Time to transform: International education experts’ view on government-led internationalization policies in Japan

• In Event: Exploring international student policies in China, Japan, and South Korea before and after 2020

Proposal

Japan has been experiencing a gradual decline in its college enrollment rate. The 18-year-old population is expected to decrease from 1.12 million in 2022 to 770,000 by 2040, a drop of 350,000. This demographic shift will soon lead to a situation in which the number of universities will exceed the number of applicants. Consequently, higher education institutions in Japan are transitioning from student selection to seduction. To remain competitive and survive as higher education institutions, they must reexamine their roles and enhance their attractiveness to both domestic and international students.

Japan wanted to increase its international student population to 300,000 by 2020, a goal that it achieved a year ahead of schedule. However, the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp decline in this population, dropping to 230,000 by 2022. In response, the Japanese government has committed to restoring the international student numbers by 2027 and further increasing the target to 400,000 by 2033.

This study aimed to investigate how international education experts reflected on the past and envisioned the future of Japan’s internationalization policies in higher education, particularly in the aftermath of 2020, a pivotal year for higher education institutions. It sheds light on the landscape of government-driven internationalization policies through the lens of Japan, and offers policymakers, practitioners, and researchers whose country/regions implement government-driven internationalization policy opportunities to reflect on their experiences and explore their future actions.

This study used a twofold approach. First, it examined the evolution of Japan’s international student policies over time to attract international students using Ashizawa’s (2013) model. Second, it explored the perspectives of international education experts on these policies post-2020. The study adopted an interpretive methodology with a phenomenological approach, which emphasized understanding personal experiences and gaining “insider perspectives.” Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 international education experts, either online or in person, between July 2023 and February 2024, with each interview lasting between one and two hours.

Historically, Japan’s government-led policies have shifted from 1) a diplomacy/international understanding and cooperation model toward 3) a highly skilled talent acquisition model based on Ashizawa’s model. While experiencing model shifts, the landscape of internationalization has broadened, and more stakeholders have been involved in internationalization policies in recent years. Different stakeholders embrace diverse stances toward internationalization policies and complicate their rationales and approaches. The interviewed international education experts expressed concerns about the current approach, highlighting issues, such as the quality, the complicated definition of international students, sustainability of internationalization efforts, and the gap between policy and practice. Reflecting on the experiences of 2020 and lessons learned from past policies and the pandemic, the experts emphasized that it is time to “transform” higher education to survive and thrive in the coming era. The pandemic has altered student mobility and reshaped learning methods, presenting new opportunities at every turn. This allows international educators to question the nature and value of higher education and reexamine the aims of its internationalization.

Author

• Yukiko Ishikura, Osaka Univeristy