JAPANESE SCHOOLS MUST ATTRACT FOREIGN TALENT

As the world's best and brightest minds become a global commodity, U.S. and European universities are vying for the top students from abroad.
Universities in the United States are the most popular destination for elite students from China and other Asian countries. For Japanese universities to catch up with their U.S. and European counterparts, a drastic reexamination of policies on foreign students is necessary.
The government has outlined measures to increase the number of students from abroad from the current 120,000 to 300,000 a year by 2020.
If undergraduate and graduate schools are increasingly globalized and, consequently, research at those institutions is further invigorated, it will help advance the nation's science and technology as well as make Japanese industry more competitive in the global marketplace.
Among Western countries, the United States accommodates about 580,000 students from overseas, while France and Germany, both non-English speaking nations, accept about 250,000. The figures far surpass Japan's 120,000 foreign students.
The number of students accepted from abroad can be judged as a barometer of the attractiveness of universities of each country.
Under the measures to increase the number of students from overseas to 300,000, the government will select 30 universities as the hub of globalization of the nation's higher education system. These schools will award diplomas for courses with classes basically taught only in English and heighten educational standards by hiring more non-Japanese faculty.
Last year, the government began an educational program under the government-initiated Career Development Program for Foreign Students from Asia.
Under the program, universities and participating companies offer specialized educational classes that meet corporate needs, including business Japanese classes and practical training at companies, and students who take the classes are generally hired by the participating companies.
We believe further strengthening such industry-university cooperation also is necessary.
Another important part of the government's measures include promotion of Japanese language education overseas and centralization of international contacts for those who wish to study in Japan.
Deeper discussions should be held immediately to bring such ideas to fruition।
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