English university applications up, rise in Japanese studies

Britain's Minister for Higher Education Bill Rammell said Wednesday the number of university applications in England hit an all-time high this year, up 6 percent from last year, sparking a rise in those hoping to study Japanese.

The figures showed that applications in what were described as a number of "strategic subjects" including Japanese -- as well as physics, chemistry, biology, French and German -- had "increased significantly."

The research, conducted by the University Central Admissions Service, tabled a 37 percent year-on-year rise in applications to study Japanese in England in 2007, taking the total number of applicants for the subject to 1,058.

"The department has done a lot of work to increase the take-up of studies in the strategic subjects and this includes Japanese as a foreign language," a spokesperson for the government's Department for Education and Skills told Kyodo News.

A UCAS spokesperson added that the rise in applications to study Japanese could be partly attributed to an increased diversity of subjects offered at high school, with Japanese growing in popularity as a subject to be added to the school curriculum.

The numbers of international students applying to English universities also saw a boost between 2006 and 2007, with an increase in applicants from both the European Union and other overseas countries, including Japan.
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