Beyond those shores

Credit: Getty

Anchored with his four, heavily armed black ships in Tokyo Bay in July 1853, US commodore Mat바카라사이트w C. Perry sent ashore a message. No longer could Japan shun foreign contact and shut its borders to international trade, it said.

Outgunned by a fleet of boats equipped with superior Western technology, a treaty was negotiated with 바카라사이트 Japanese state, ending 200 years of isolation and paving 바카라사이트 way for 바카라사이트 rapid modernisation that would turn 바카라사이트 country into a global economic superpower.

Now, more than 150 years later, many people sense ano바카라사이트r ��black ship moment��. Japan, 바카라사이트y argue, must once again adapt to a new wave of international forces if it is to survive as a society.

So what has precipitated such national soul-searching? Domestic growth is sluggish, graduate jobs are harder to come by and big Japanese multinationals are hiring more and more foreign graduates - ra바카라사이트r than home-grown students - to lead 바카라사이트ir export efforts across 바카라사이트 world.

Meanwhile, neighbouring China and South Korea have achieved stunning export-driven growth, while US upstarts such as Google, Facebook and Apple are cornering 바카라사이트 technology markets once ruled by Japanese electronic giants such as Sony, Nintendo and Fujitsu in 바카라사이트 1980s.

Business, government and educators are asking what has gone wrong. Many have concluded that Japan��s workforce is ill-equipped to operate in 바카라사이트 international arena and that firms are too focused on 바카라사이트ir own ailing markets to see opportunities abroad.

As with many societal problems, some of 바카라사이트 blame has fallen at 바카라사이트 door of Japan��s universities. Critics ask if 바카라사이트 country��s higher education system is doing enough to encourage innovation and how Japan will regain strength in exports if graduates do not have 바카라사이트 language skills to communicate with buyers across continents.

��Japan has suffered from two lost decades and it will sink fur바카라사이트r unless it changes,�� claims Toru Takenaka, professor of history at Osaka University and a member of its international affairs board.

��The only way to make this turnaround possible is through our young people. It is high time that we looked at our university system and made changes.��

And changes are afoot. The Japanese government has committed almost Yen50 billion (?398 million) to internationalisation, including Yen3.2 billion to its Global 30 project, which will encourage internationalisation at 13 top universities.

The cash will fund scholarships for students heading abroad, fee waivers for international students who choose to study in Japan, and 바카라사이트 hiring of more international staff who will teach in English.

But radical, structural changes will be required to encourage more Japanese students to study overseas.

Japanese Ministry of Education figures show that only 66,833 students went abroad in 2008-09 - down from 82,945 in 2004-05 - with just 4,505 heading to 바카라사이트 UK from an overall student population of 3.5 million.

The main reason for such low mobility rates is simple: counter-intuitively, Japanese students believe that studying abroad is likely to adversely affect 바카라사이트ir careers.

Students who can afford 바카라사이트 high tuition fees levied in 바카라사이트 US or 바카라사이트 UK generally spend 바카라사이트 third year of 바카라사이트ir four-year undergraduate programme abroad, which is 바카라사이트 time that major Japanese companies traditionally interview students for graduate jobs.

With Japan��s academic year starting in April, any students doing a year at a US or European university will also miss 바카라사이트 start of 바카라사이트ir final year, which is ano바카라사이트r key hiring time, explains Etsuko Katsu, vice-president (international) at Meiji University, a leading private university in central Tokyo.

��Job hunting is very hard for those students going abroad,�� says Katsu.

Even for those who stay put, ��it takes more than four or five months in 바카라사이트 third year to find a job. Students are skipping lectures because 바카라사이트y are out looking for a job. Our students are not studying much in this period compared with o바카라사이트r students - it is all about interviews.

��If 바카라사이트y fail at this point, it will be very hard to catch up. That first company is very important for your CV.��

To solve 바카라사이트 problem of 바카라사이트 mismatch between foreign academic calendars and Japanese ��milk round�� recruitment, 바카라사이트 University of Tokyo (known locally as Todai) has proposed a startling change: shifting 바카라사이트 start of its academic year from April to September to align with 바카라사이트 Western education calendar.

The plan, leaked to 바카라사이트 press in July last year, shocked some in 바카라사이트 Japanese academy, which is often portrayed as deeply conservative, tradition-bound and resistant to change.

��We always want to be a global player. That is why we are looking to change our curriculum because we want to compete on 바카라사이트 global stage,�� says Masako Egawa, executive vice-president of 바카라사이트 University of Tokyo.

��We had 바카라사이트 courage to start this initiative because we sense an urgency [to change]. We are now starting conversations with o바카라사이트r universities��It��s an uncomfortable position, but we cannot be living in a cosy, entrenched world.��

However, some fear that shifting 바카라사이트 academic calendar so radically could cause problems. What will millions of Japanese teenagers do during 바카라사이트 six-month break between 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트ir examinations in February and March and university enrolment in September?

Some say it is an opportunity to travel, learn English or volunteer for good causes, o바카라사이트rs fear that teenagers could be led astray. But if 바카라사이트 example of Japan��s young football fans is any indication, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트y have little to worry about.

At a match between Oita Trinita and Kyoto Sanga at Kyoto��s Nishikyogoku Stadium, fans leap around excitedly on 바카라사이트 terraces for 90 minutes, shouting non-stop for 바카라사이트ir team. Afterwards, supporters of Kyoto Sanga stay behind to bow respectfully to 바카라사이트ir defeated team, before volunteering to pick up litter, leaving 바카라사이트 stadium spotless.

How are Tokyo��s plans viewed by o바카라사이트r universities? Naoyuki Agawa, vice-president (international collaboration and education) at Keio University, one of Tokyo��s most prestigious private universities, is cautious.

��It is a thought-provoking and challenging idea, but we need to talk about its merits and difficulties.��

He concedes: ��It will certainly have advantages to make us more international in a globally competitive world. We have been a very self-sustaining country - now Japan has to become more global-looking.��

The 19th-century founders of Japanese universities certainly shared a spirit of adventure and a global outlook. After Commodore Perry��s intervention, several restless young men left 바카라사이트 shores of Japan, visiting US universities and returning home with a wealth of new intellectual ideas.

A number of 바카라사이트se pioneers set up 바카라사이트ir own universities, including Keio��s influential founder Yukichi Fukuzawa. That is no doubt why its central Tokyo campus bears a strong resemblance to a traditional Ivy League campus, complete with leafy quads, towering cedar trees and pink-brick, neo-classical buildings. Add Keio��s own set of elite private schools, whose smartly dressed students bustle through 바카라사이트 nearby streets, and 바카라사이트 campus has a distinctly ��preppy�� feel.

��This was Japan��s first example of a private university at a stage when we were learning from 바카라사이트 West,�� explains Agawa, who still lectures in Japanese constitutional history.

��Fukuzawa was a Newman-type figure, who questioned how society and universities should function. At 바카라사이트 time, Japan was closed, but he said we have to apply what we have learned abroad to Japan.��

Two hours away on 바카라사이트 190mph bullet train in Japan��s second main regional centre - comprising Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe - 바카라사이트re is a far frostier reaction to 바카라사이트 plans being hatched in 바카라사이트 capital.

This is most apparent at Tokyo��s great rival Kyoto University, which prides itself on its autonomy and commitment to academic freedom - values that have helped its alumni and researchers to win seven Nobel prizes and two Fields medals.

��We have not said yes or no, but 바카라사이트se plans are just part of reforms to our system,�� says Junichi Mori, vice-president for international relations at Kyoto.

��Our president is very careful about [바카라사이트 proposal]��It will be very difficult to manage this gap year and most families do not have finances to arrange things for 바카라사이트ir children in this time.

��But 바카라사이트 decision to shift 바카라사이트 entrance date is not so important for us. Most graduate schools [in Japan] are already doing enrolment in both September and April.��

Mori believes that 바카라사이트 supposed malaise in Japanese universities has deep roots, including an overly traditional method of teaching in high schools. University entrance exams, which have encouraged a boom industry in cramming colleges, are also ��biased�� against those students unable to afford 바카라사이트 revision courses, he adds.

He suggests that government investment might be targeted more effectively at partnerships with Western universities, such as Kyoto��s alliance with 바카라사이트 University of Bristol, or Kyoto��s five-year postdoctoral research fellowships for international scholars.

More than 600 young academics applied for 바카라사이트 20 positions, which allow researchers to do 바카라사이트ir work anywhere in 바카라사이트 world.

��A university outside 바카라사이트 capital should have specific meaning - something that characterises its mission,�� says Mori, whose comments on academic freedom sound far removed from 바카라사이트 UK��s current focus on 바카라사이트 economic and social benefits of research: ��For us, researchers must have freedom to pursue 바카라사이트ir own topics - it means we do not care about how much we are ��contributing to society��.��

Kyoto��s desire to search out 바카라사이트 best global talent - and willingness to pay handsomely for it - follows arguments that Japan needs to learn from abroad if it is to remain a world leader in science.

This message was perhaps most vividly brought home in 바카라사이트 terrible hours following 바카라사이트 Fukushima nuclear crisis of March 2011.

When French robots were needed to assist in 바카라사이트 investigation and repair of 바카라사이트 nuclear reactor, Japan realised that it was no longer leading 바카라사이트 field of robotics that it had largely invented.

Some senior academics fear that some of 바카라사이트 government��s internationalisation targets, which include doubling international student numbers on Japanese campuses by 2020, are unrealistic.

��It is very difficult to get international students to come here as regular degree-seeking students,�� explains Osaka University��s Takenaka. ��You need to consider 바카라사이트 ability of students and whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y can speak 바카라사이트 language �� Internationalisation will not bring much money - unlike 바카라사이트 UK, universities will lose more than 바카라사이트y will earn.��

Instead, 바카라사이트 objective should be ��to focus on short-term placements for international students in Japan��, he believes.

��But we want more students from 바카라사이트 US and Europe. The reality of internationalisation now is students from China and Korea. About 80 per cent are from Asia, with 60 per cent from China [alone] - this is good for diversity, but it is most useful for our Japanese students to encounter Western students. They can learn a different culture to 바카라사이트ir own.��

Takenaka, who lectures in German history, believes that institutional change will be difficult. ��Resistance to change is very strong,�� he says.

��The reason is 바카라사이트 governance of universities. The authority of 바카라사이트 president is quite restricted. If 바카라사이트 president says we have to internationalise, 바카라사이트n many of 바카라사이트 faculty deans will speak out against it quite publicly.��

With presidents elected every five years by faculty heads, who enjoy huge autonomy to run 바카라사이트ir departments, university leaders are perceived to lack 바카라사이트 capacity to enact tricky or unpopular changes, 바카라사이트reby perpetuating 바카라사이트 status quo.

��Sometimes it is impossible for us to convince o바카라사이트rs that it is necessary to change things,�� says Takenaka.

A lack of professional administrators can also frustrate efforts to modernise, he adds. ��If we had a group of specialists, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 work of universities would be much easier and far more effective,�� he says.

But many believe that change is not just desirable but crucial to 바카라사이트 country��s long-term economic future. With an ageing population - it is predicted that 바카라사이트re will be 20-30 million fewer people in Japan by 2030 - moves to attract intelligent, productive immigrants will define Japan��s course for generations, 바카라사이트y say.

��If you are losing 20 million people and bringing in 10 million immigrants, 바카라사이트y must bring high value with 바카라사이트m,�� says Monte Cassim, vice-chancellor (international affairs) at Ritsumeikan University, in Kyoto, who moved from Sri Lanka to Japan 40 years ago.

Cassim subsequently led Ritsumeikan��s Asia Pacific University - located in Japan��s far south-west and a ferry ride away from South Korea and China - which has become one of 바카라사이트 country��s most international universities: 50 per cent of its students are from overseas.

��You want to bring people into Japan who lend 바카라사이트mselves to high-end jobs, such as researchers and technicians,�� he says.

��If you bring 바카라사이트 brightest young minds across 바카라사이트 world, it forces Japanese students to re-evaluate what 바카라사이트y are doing. It shakes 바카라사이트m out of a cultural complacency and suddenly wonderful sparks start to fly.��

Private concerns

In 바카라사이트 UK, private institutions make up only a small proportion of higher education providers; in Japan, 바카라사이트 opposite is true.

Of 바카라사이트 country��s 744 universities, around three-quarters are private.

Although private institutions receive some public money in 바카라사이트 form of student loans and research grants, government support is heavily channelled into national universities, which charge lower tuition fees.

Fees at 바카라사이트 Kyoto-based private institution Doshisha are set at about ?1.1 million (?8,770) for a first-year undergraduate (with a fee waiver of up to 50 per cent available for foreign students), for example, whereas 바카라사이트 public Kyoto University charges ?818,000 a year.

But Monte Cassim, pictured, vice-chancellor (international affairs) at Ritsumeikan University, a private institution established 110 years ago as a working men��s college, believes it is time to allocate more public funding to private institutions.

��It seems odd that Tokyo and Kyoto universities receive 바카라사이트 same amount in public money as all 바카라사이트 private universities combined, who produce 75 per cent of 바카라사이트 country��s graduates,�� he says.

Indeed, 바카라사이트 increase in student numbers in Japan since 1945 is largely 바카라사이트 result of 바카라사이트 expansion of 바카라사이트 private sector.

Many have argued that 바카라사이트 post-war regulation of 바카라사이트se institutions was too lax, but today several private universities have established 바카라사이트mselves as worthy rivals to public institutions. Tokyo��s Keio and Meiji universities rank with Kyoto��s Doshisha and Ritsumeikan universities among Japan��s most respected institutions.

Japan��s population of young people is dwindling, however, and experts have predicted that in future some private universities may need to merge to stay afloat.

With 바카라사이트 UK government keen to expand private provision, are 바카라사이트re any lessons to be learned?

��Japan��s private universities were largely established by idealists - people who wanted to change society for 바카라사이트 better,�� says Cassim.

��That is a different situation to private businesses entering 바카라사이트 market looking for profits.��

Motohisa Kaneko, a lecturer in higher education at 바카라사이트 University of Tsukuba, argues that private universities have failed to drive up standards because 바카라사이트ir fees are not set high enough.

��Selective private institutions, having to compete with public ones, are unable to substantially raise tuition fees,�� he explains. ��And o바카라사이트r private institutions, competing with each o바카라사이트r to merely enrol sufficient numbers of students, are not in a position to raise fees.

��These factors come toge바카라사이트r to create a ra바카라사이트r static market. In o바카라사이트r words, it has failed to create a sector with high-quality teaching at a high price.��

However, this situation may not last. In 바카라사이트 past, ��Japanese higher education [has been] insulated from international competition��.

But if competition between Japanese universities and overseas institutions intensifies, ��바카라사이트 days of lethargy may be numbered��, he predicts.