Shanghai deviates from university norm

When Naoya Karita finished high school in March 2005, he felt he had two choices -- one was to attend a popular university near his hometown and the other was to go to a school in Shanghai.

Takamasa Nakagawa studies Chinese at the International Cultural Exchange School at Fudan University on Dec. 22.

Carefully weighing the two options, including the then soured relations between Japan and China on his campus life, Karita nonetheless picked Shanghai.

"Having studied Chinese, I wanted to do something that could help enhance communication between people in Japan and China," Karita, 20, said. "I didn't want to find myself engaging in things many dull people at Japanese universities do, such as club activities, part-time jobs and parties."

Karita, a native of Hofu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is among 32 students taking part in a five-year academic program jointly begun by Japanese and Chinese educational institutions in 2005.

The program, designed to provide students from Japan a good command of the Chinese language to enhance their job opportunities, is sponsored by the International Cultural Exchange School of Fudan University in Shanghai and an affiliate of Oshu Corp., a Hiroshima-based educational corporation that runs various cram schools as well as a junior high school.

Under the program, students first study basic Chinese in Hiroshima for four months starting in April. In September, they move to Fudan University, where they will spend at least three years obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Oshu dispatched 14 students in 2006. The first batch will graduate from the Shanghai school in 2010.

Zhu Yongsheng, dean of the school, said, "Through learning the Chinese language, we hope to promote mutual understanding between Chinese people and Japanese people, which is, to me, more important than learning how to speak Chinese."

Katsumi Kuwabara, who heads AIC New Zealand Ltd., an affiliate of Oshu, hopes more young Japanese will be interested in the program and become experts in Chinese.

"If you go to a handful of prestigious universities (in Japan), that means a lot. But what good are the others, especially when you major in humanities? You could get nothing" that helps you land a good job, Kuwabara said, adding that high school students and their parents are increasingly concerned about this apparent drawback.

Shuji Makiya, one of the 32 students, found it difficult to determine what he really wanted to do when he was attending an Oshu cram school as a high school senior.

He thought he might be interested in the humanities but was unsure of which specific branch and had no clue about which university to attend.

Makiya, 20, decided to go to the Shanghai school mainly because he "wanted to do something different from what others are doing."

Takamasa Nakagawa, 19, joined the program last year after thinking it would mean little if he were to attend a Japanese university like so many others.

Consultants on youth education say some Japanese teenagers study abroad for academic reasons, but many are trying to escape what they perceive as a lackluster life in Japan.

But the situation was different for students Karita, Makiya and Nakagawa, all of whom passed entrance exams for well-known universities -- Hiroshima University, Doshisha University and Meiji University. Despite that, they opted to pursue their studies abroad.

A researcher on youth employment said students in Japan are under strong pressure to "arm" themselves with unique skills to give them an advantage in the job hunt.

Chinese-language ability seems to be a bankable asset now that corporations are showing signs of improvement and looking to hire, said Reiko Kosugi, research director of the Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training.

Unlike companies in many other countries, major Japanese firms usually hire a large number of full-term employees straight out of school only once a year, mostly in April. "If (fresh graduates) miss the opportunity . . . it can have a large effect on their lifetime income," Kosugi said.

But many institutions of higher learning in Japan focus too much attention on teaching academic subjects and refrain from practical education, causing students to worry about their chances of landing good careers, Kosugi said.

Akihisa Yamazoe, who heads the overseas studies department at Mainichi Communications Inc., said it is a reasonable choice for Japanese who study Chinese to go to a Shanghai school.

Mainichi Communications has played a leading role in helping young Japanese find study opportunities in China.

"About half of Japanese students going to China choose Beijing," Yamazoe said. "Many do so for academic reasons. But if you want to find a job after studying at a Chinese university, there are more opportunities in Shanghai" due to the many Japanese companies operating there.

The number of Japanese studying in China with student visas has increased overall in recent years, according to tallies by both governments.

Although the number dropped slightly in 2005 to 18,874 from 19,059 the previous year, the level was much higher than the 12,765 in 2003.

"Having Chinese-language ability helps increase your job options in many cases, though figures that can confirm the trend are hard to come by," said Keisuke Nemoto of Pasona Inc., a major Tokyo-based manpower agency.

Students Karita and Makiya went to Shanghai during a time of bilateral diplomatic strains.

A series of anti-Japan rallies took place in Beijing, Shanghai and many other cities in April 2005 as demonstrators protested in part over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine and Japan's bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.

In Shanghai, some demonstrators threw stones and other objects at Japanese restaurants and the consulate general.

Nakagawa's mother, Yoshie, 49, said she is proud her son is doing what he wants to do in China.

But she confessed, "At first, I didn't want my son to go to China, as we had seen various (anti-Japan) incidents."

Nakagawa said he sometimes has unpleasant experiences off campus. "When my friends and I were having a good time in a club, somebody who found out that I was Japanese suddenly said to me, 'I don't want to be with you,' " he said.

He said he identifies himself as a South Korean if asked his nationality by a taxi driver for fear that he might not get a ride.

"Despite that, I'm enjoying myself every day. I feel I made the right decision compared with going to a Japanese university and simply doing what everybody else is doing," Nakagawa said.

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