Over 9,400 foreign students earn degrees in Japan

The number of foreign students who earned academic degrees in Japan came to 9,446 in fiscal 2006, up 86 percent from fiscal 2001, the Japan Student Services Organization said Saturday.

Of them, 6,900 earned master's degrees, with 2,637 majoring in social sciences such as political studies, economics or sociology, said the organization affiliated with the education ministry.

It said 84 percent of the master's candidates were able to obtain the degree in two years.

The remaining 2,546 students obtained Ph.Ds, half of whom were able to earn theirs in three to four years, it said. Of them, 658 students majored in engineering, it added.

Of the degree earners in fiscal 2006 through March last year, 62 percent with master's remained in Japan for jobs or further research, and 27 percent returned to their homelands, according to the organization.

Of the doctorate degree holders, 36 percent remained in Japan and 47 percent returned to their homelands to take jobs or continue research, it said.

The number of foreign students at graduate schools in Japan came to a record 31,592 in fiscal 2007.

"Graduate schools in Japan have gradually expanded their programs for foreign students since the Central Education Council proposed accepting more of them in 2003," an organization official said.
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