A Japanese university is giving away Apple Inc's trendy iPhone to students for free, but with a catch: the device will be used to check their attendance।
The project, which is being tested ahead of its formal launch in June, involves 550 first and second year students and some staff of a department at Aoyama Gakuin University, which is located just outside Tokyo in Sagamihara city।
The school's iPhones are meant to create a mobile information network between students and professors, but they are also a convenient way for the teachers to take attendance in class.
As students enter the room, instead of writing their name on a sheet, they simply type in their ID number and a specific class number into an iPhone application।
To prevent students from logging in from home or outside class, the application uses GPS location data and checks which router the students have logged in to।
"We don't want to use this to simply take attendance। Our hope is to use this to develop a classroom where students and teachers can discuss various topics," professor Yasuhiro Iijima told Reuters as he demonstrated the application.
University officials insist the project is not intended to infringe on students' privacy or track them down।
"With Japanese cellphones it's possible that the location data is automatically sent. However, with the iPhone, you must always confirm before the GPS data can be sent," Iijima said.
Many of the students testing the system said they were happy with it।
"Up until now, we've been using little slips of paper to take attendance। But with a cell phone, you don't have to spend time collecting all of those and so I think it's quite nice," 20-year-old student Yuki Maruya.
When the system goes fully online next month, the university also hopes to provide video podcasts of lectures to help students who missed classes, or just can't remember their lessons।
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE54R1NE20090528
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Scholarships on offer for students wanting to study in Japan
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology will offer scholarships to international students who wish to study in Japan, at the Professional Training College, the College of Technology or in the university। According to a press release from the Consulate General of Japan, the scholarships are for three, four and five years, beginning April 2010. At the Professional Training College, the three-year scholarship courses offered are in Civil Engineering, Architecture, Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Telecommunication, Nutrition, Infant Education, Secretarial Studies, Hotel Management, Tourism, Photography, Fashion and Dressmaking. At the College of Technology, the courses, of four years duration, relate to Mechanical Engineering, Information Communication, Networking Engineering, Architecture and Civil Engineering. Undergraduate students can apply for the five-year scholarships available in Social Sciences and Humanities, Law, Politics, Pedagogy, Sociology, Literature, History, Japanese Language, Economics, and Business Administration and others, as well as in Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Information Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture, Civil Engineering and Architecture, Chemical Engineering, Textile Engineering, Maritime Engineering, Biotechnology, Agricultural Engineering, Animal Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, Forestry, Food Sciences, Fisheries, Medicine and Dentistry। Applicants must have been born between 2 April 1988 and 1 April 1993 and completed a 12-year (plus-two or higher secondary) regular course of school education. The applicant must be willing to undergo a one-year intensive course in the Japanese language and other subjects in preparation for college and university. Applicants will have to appear for a written examination in July 2009 at the Consulate premises. This will be followed by an interview. Results will be intimated to candidates by February 2010. The prescribed application form along with the guidelines can be obtained from the Consulate-General of Japan (Culture and Information) 12/1, Cenotaph रोड
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Scholarships-on-offer-for-students-wanting-to-study-in-Japan/articleshow/4557627.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Scholarships-on-offer-for-students-wanting-to-study-in-Japan/articleshow/4557627.cms
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Odds Favor Business Schools in China and India
Asian B-schools must go a long way to match Western ones, but they are fast making giant strides
Economic power is shifting rapidly from the West to the East—especially to China and India। China appears destined to become the world's largest economy by 2025. India, trailing China by about 12 years, will rank among the world's top three or four by then. By 2025, China and India will also likely account for well over 100 of the world's 500 largest companies, up from 36 today. Where will the corporate leaders of these new economies come from? Are the leading business schools in China and India up to the task, or will the grooming of tomorrow's global leaders be done primarily at institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, and INSEAD?
Global MBA rankings would suggest that the die is already cast. According to the Financial Times' 2009 rankings, China and India account for only one school each among the top 100 MBA programs in the world, as contrasted with 56 from the U.S. Even these two (the China Europe International Business School and the Indian School of Business) are the products of Western alliances. None of the top two purely Indian MBA programs (IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore) or the top two purely Chinese MBA programs (Tsinghua University's School of Economics & Management and Beijing University's Guanghua School of Management) make it into the FT Global 100 list. And Indian B-schools are reporting disappointing job-placement numbers for their graduates as the global recession dampens demand from would-be employers.
Asian Strength
Notwithstanding the apparent dominance of Western—especially American—business schools, we argue that the odds favor the top business schools from within China and India. Here's why.
• First, student quality at the top Indian and Chinese business schools is superb and getting better। Sheer population numbers give these schools an advantage in the intellectual caliber of incoming students. Numbers dictate that it is harder to get into a top business school in India or China than into a similarly ranked school in the U.S. or Europe. Current Chinese MBA students, virtually all born after 1978, grew up in the reform era, have been learning English for years, and have been heavily exposed to the market economy. They are also much more willing to challenge the status quo, a requisite for becoming innovative.
Increasingly, Chinese students can also draw inspiration from domestic business heroes such as Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group। Faculty at U.S. business schools routinely acknowledge—but are hesitant to say so publicly—that the likelihood of MBA students transforming into stellar corporate leaders depends far more on their personal characteristics than on the caliber of the faculty, either as research scholars or in terms of pedagogical skills in the classroom.
• Second, domestic salaries received by graduates of the top MBA programs in both China and India are rising and becoming competitive with their counterparts in the West। At the top three MBA programs in both India and China, average starting salaries for domestic jobs range from $30,000 to $50,000. Adjusted for purchasing power parity, these salaries are on par with or higher than those earned by the graduates of the top Western MBA programs. As income levels in China and India continue to rise faster than in the West, it is likely that the salaries earned by the graduates of the top MBA programs will also move up at a faster pace. Attractive salaries and abundant job prospects would suggest that the indigenous MBA programs will become even more attractive to the top domestic applicants in the coming years.
Third, it is now virtually impossible for any school to maintain a competitive advantage based on the curriculum। Given the Internet, every school has real-time access to the curriculum being followed and course materials being used by every other school. Most of the top business schools in the world (including those in China and India) routinely monitor curricular innovations at other schools and revise their own curriculums every three to five years. Another factor driving toward parity in curriculum innovation is the growing number of Chinese and Indian PhD graduates who are returning to their homelands to take up faculty positions. Nearly half of the faculty at Tsinghua University's School of Economics & Management earned their PhDs from Western business schools.
• Fourth, context matters। Unlike in the U.S., state- and family-owned enterprises constitute the large majority of corporations in both China and India. In both economies, market realities too are radically different from those in the U.S. Average per capita income in China is about one-fifteenth and in India about one-fortieth of that in the U.S. Given vast rural populations, the market for almost every product or service in China and India is also far more diverse than that in the U.S.
Leading indigenous MBA programs are able to provide much greater exposure to these contextual realities than Harvard or Stanford ever could। One U.S.-trained partner at the Mumbai offices of one of the world's leading strategy consulting firms told us: "We have direct experience with MBAs from the top Indian schools as well as returnees with degrees from the top Western schools. American MBAs are better packaged. However, the Indian MBAs are much stronger analytically and have more in-depth understanding of the Indian business environment. On average, the latter tend to be more successful for us. The importance of context also shows up in that our Europe-educated MBAs tend to perform better in India than those from the U.S."
A Paucity of Diversity
Notwithstanding these advantages, even the top MBA programs in China and India suffer from two major weaknesses। One, their student body is much less diverse than at top MBA programs in the West. Harvard's annual intake of 900 students comes from over 70 countries. Stanford draws its annual pool of about 370 students from over 50 countries. Greater diversity fosters richer class discussions and a more global network of contacts. This is one area where the leading Western business schools will continue to sustain an enduring advantage.
Two, in terms of faculty research, even the best Chinese and Indian business schools pale in comparison with any of the top 25 Western business schools। Building the necessary research culture and assembling a critical mass of top scholars requires resources and even then can take years. Here too, top Western business schools are likely to sustain an enduring advantage. In terms of a business school's ability to train corporate leaders, however, the quality of faculty research may not be as critical as it may appear. Graduates of the Indian Institutes of Technology have been spectacularly successful at climbing the top rungs of Corporate America despite the fact that, until recently, the IITs have been primarily teaching rather than research institutions.
Looking ahead, it is clear that history is on the side of the top business schools from India and China। Their biggest challenge will be to turn superb teaching institutions into research powerhouses as well.
The rise of China and India also offers an opportunity to the leading Western business schools। They must commit to becoming insiders within China and India. Context matters, and the best way to develop a deeper understanding of China and India and to broaden the alumni network within these economies is to partner as well as compete with the dragons and tigers on their home turf. The fastest and most effective way to do so without running into capacity problems will be via nondegree executive education programs.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2009/gb2009057_658055_page_2.htm
Economic power is shifting rapidly from the West to the East—especially to China and India। China appears destined to become the world's largest economy by 2025. India, trailing China by about 12 years, will rank among the world's top three or four by then. By 2025, China and India will also likely account for well over 100 of the world's 500 largest companies, up from 36 today. Where will the corporate leaders of these new economies come from? Are the leading business schools in China and India up to the task, or will the grooming of tomorrow's global leaders be done primarily at institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, and INSEAD?
Global MBA rankings would suggest that the die is already cast. According to the Financial Times' 2009 rankings, China and India account for only one school each among the top 100 MBA programs in the world, as contrasted with 56 from the U.S. Even these two (the China Europe International Business School and the Indian School of Business) are the products of Western alliances. None of the top two purely Indian MBA programs (IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore) or the top two purely Chinese MBA programs (Tsinghua University's School of Economics & Management and Beijing University's Guanghua School of Management) make it into the FT Global 100 list. And Indian B-schools are reporting disappointing job-placement numbers for their graduates as the global recession dampens demand from would-be employers.
Asian Strength
Notwithstanding the apparent dominance of Western—especially American—business schools, we argue that the odds favor the top business schools from within China and India. Here's why.
• First, student quality at the top Indian and Chinese business schools is superb and getting better। Sheer population numbers give these schools an advantage in the intellectual caliber of incoming students. Numbers dictate that it is harder to get into a top business school in India or China than into a similarly ranked school in the U.S. or Europe. Current Chinese MBA students, virtually all born after 1978, grew up in the reform era, have been learning English for years, and have been heavily exposed to the market economy. They are also much more willing to challenge the status quo, a requisite for becoming innovative.
Increasingly, Chinese students can also draw inspiration from domestic business heroes such as Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group। Faculty at U.S. business schools routinely acknowledge—but are hesitant to say so publicly—that the likelihood of MBA students transforming into stellar corporate leaders depends far more on their personal characteristics than on the caliber of the faculty, either as research scholars or in terms of pedagogical skills in the classroom.
• Second, domestic salaries received by graduates of the top MBA programs in both China and India are rising and becoming competitive with their counterparts in the West। At the top three MBA programs in both India and China, average starting salaries for domestic jobs range from $30,000 to $50,000. Adjusted for purchasing power parity, these salaries are on par with or higher than those earned by the graduates of the top Western MBA programs. As income levels in China and India continue to rise faster than in the West, it is likely that the salaries earned by the graduates of the top MBA programs will also move up at a faster pace. Attractive salaries and abundant job prospects would suggest that the indigenous MBA programs will become even more attractive to the top domestic applicants in the coming years.
Third, it is now virtually impossible for any school to maintain a competitive advantage based on the curriculum। Given the Internet, every school has real-time access to the curriculum being followed and course materials being used by every other school. Most of the top business schools in the world (including those in China and India) routinely monitor curricular innovations at other schools and revise their own curriculums every three to five years. Another factor driving toward parity in curriculum innovation is the growing number of Chinese and Indian PhD graduates who are returning to their homelands to take up faculty positions. Nearly half of the faculty at Tsinghua University's School of Economics & Management earned their PhDs from Western business schools.
• Fourth, context matters। Unlike in the U.S., state- and family-owned enterprises constitute the large majority of corporations in both China and India. In both economies, market realities too are radically different from those in the U.S. Average per capita income in China is about one-fifteenth and in India about one-fortieth of that in the U.S. Given vast rural populations, the market for almost every product or service in China and India is also far more diverse than that in the U.S.
Leading indigenous MBA programs are able to provide much greater exposure to these contextual realities than Harvard or Stanford ever could। One U.S.-trained partner at the Mumbai offices of one of the world's leading strategy consulting firms told us: "We have direct experience with MBAs from the top Indian schools as well as returnees with degrees from the top Western schools. American MBAs are better packaged. However, the Indian MBAs are much stronger analytically and have more in-depth understanding of the Indian business environment. On average, the latter tend to be more successful for us. The importance of context also shows up in that our Europe-educated MBAs tend to perform better in India than those from the U.S."
A Paucity of Diversity
Notwithstanding these advantages, even the top MBA programs in China and India suffer from two major weaknesses। One, their student body is much less diverse than at top MBA programs in the West. Harvard's annual intake of 900 students comes from over 70 countries. Stanford draws its annual pool of about 370 students from over 50 countries. Greater diversity fosters richer class discussions and a more global network of contacts. This is one area where the leading Western business schools will continue to sustain an enduring advantage.
Two, in terms of faculty research, even the best Chinese and Indian business schools pale in comparison with any of the top 25 Western business schools। Building the necessary research culture and assembling a critical mass of top scholars requires resources and even then can take years. Here too, top Western business schools are likely to sustain an enduring advantage. In terms of a business school's ability to train corporate leaders, however, the quality of faculty research may not be as critical as it may appear. Graduates of the Indian Institutes of Technology have been spectacularly successful at climbing the top rungs of Corporate America despite the fact that, until recently, the IITs have been primarily teaching rather than research institutions.
Looking ahead, it is clear that history is on the side of the top business schools from India and China। Their biggest challenge will be to turn superb teaching institutions into research powerhouses as well.
The rise of China and India also offers an opportunity to the leading Western business schools। They must commit to becoming insiders within China and India. Context matters, and the best way to develop a deeper understanding of China and India and to broaden the alumni network within these economies is to partner as well as compete with the dragons and tigers on their home turf. The fastest and most effective way to do so without running into capacity problems will be via nondegree executive education programs.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2009/gb2009057_658055_page_2.htm
Japan: Slowly Warming Up to MBAs
Japan offers more business school programs than ever, but Japan Inc। remains skeptical of the value of an MBA
In Japan, it has never been easier to find an MBA program. Twenty years ago, only a few universities offered business administration courses, so most aspiring students headed to the U.S. to study. Even as business school degrees gained in popularity around the world, the number of domestic programs edged up only slowly। However, in the last five years the number of Japanese universities with business schools has more than doubled, to 55.
Several reasons account for the increased popularity of business schools in Japan. Government deregulation, for instance, made it easier for schools to offer MBA programs. Japanese schools also have become more flexible, making their programs more accessible to local students. For instance, many schools now offer part-time study for students unable or unwilling to take time out from their current jobs. "If I had had to quit my job to study, I might've not thought about taking an MBA course," says Midori Ibuka, 40, a manager at YKK, the world's biggest zipper maker। Between 2005 and 2007, Ibuka took a course at Waseda University's business school in Tokyo, going to classes from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., five nights a week. Formerly an executive's secretary, Ibuka, who spent $30,000 in fees, has since been assigned to her current general manager position in YKK's communications division.
Seniority Trumps Education
Yet for all that, it's difficult to make the case that Japan Inc। embraces employees with MBAs. On the contrary, many big companies still prefer to hire grads fresh out of college and mold them into the type of managers they want, rather than hiring B-school grads. Meanwhile MBA holders sent to B-school by companies find it tough to put newfound skills into practice when they return to work.
Corporate Japan doesn't seem convinced of the merits of MBAs. Many companies still have a lifetime employment system with pay and promotions based on seniority. That means MBA holders can't expect rapid progression or improved compensation. Lion, a maker of household products, has sent two employees to Keio University's program every year since the late 1970s, including President Sadayoshi Fujishige, yet the company doesn't mark them out as special cases। "We don't give MBA holders any special treatment in terms of salary or promotion," says Fujishige.
Recent events may not help raise the profile of MBAs in Japan. With the current global recession blamed on the excesses of U।S.-style capitalism, Japan's MBA holders may be losing some of their luster as well. For one thing, many of the investment banks that hired MBAs are cutting back.
Meanwhile, the notion that MBAs can be bad for business, while not widespread, goes down well in Japan. Last fall, Takayuki Yasui, a columnist for the Asahi Shimbun daily, attributed some weakness of Detroit's auto industry to U.S. companies tendency to promote managers with MBAs, whereas more successful companies like Honda (HMC) for example, fill their management ranks with engineers। To illustrate the point, the paper said an unnamed U.S. Big Three executive had turned down a proposal from the president of a Japanese automaker to view a factory because he wouldn't understand it. "The American CEO has learned theory of management at business school, and he's more interested in making money than making cars," Yasui quoted the shocked Japanese auto chief as saying.
Signs of Increased Acceptance
Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that those returning to Japanese companies after receiving MBAs sometimes get frustrated and often quit companies for a new challenge।
But rather than encourage companies to use B-school grads more effectively, many companies have instead decided to stop paying for employee MBA programs. At Keio University, the first Japanese university to offer an MBA program in 1978, 65% of business degree students were sent by their companies in the late 1980s, compared with 35% today. "Many Japanese companies can't make really good use of MBA holders when they come back [to work]," says Yoshito Hori, president of Globis, a Tokyo management school. Hori left trading company Sumitomo a few years after returning from Harvard।
Still, it's not all doom and gloom, Hori, whose school tops a ranking of student satisfaction, adds that the answer may lie in tailoring courses that bridge the gap between Japanese and global business practices. Hori says the school's approach borrows heavily from Harvard in its use of detailed case studies, often drawing on examples from successful Japanese companies। Globis also places importance on programs that foster the spiritual side of business leadership. For instance, there are classes in which would-be executives study the Analects of Confucius. "Successful corporate managers all have a personal magnetism and a rich sense of humanity," he says. "This kind of education is weak at the U.S. schools."
Meanwhile, Japanese companies have internationalized their production and sales. So employees will have no choice but to find ways of communicating techniques developed in Japan। Business schools can act as a useful tool in taking principles learned in Japanese factories and offices and finding ways to package them for a global audience.
And while Japan might not reward MBA students to the same extent as the U.S., that could change in time. One hopeful sign: Japan's best-known manufacturer, Toyota (TM)—a company not renowned for MBAs in the boardroom—will appoint a B-school grad as its next president in June when family scion Akio Toyoda, who holds an MBA from Babson College near Boston, succeeds Katsuaki Watanabe। "Compared to the U.S., MBAs are not prevalent in Japan's business circles," says Kyoichi Ikeo, dean of Graduate School of Business Administration at Keio University, which was the first Japanese university to offer an MBA in 1978. "We have to constantly send out the message that an MBA education and the research done at school are meaningful for the development of companies."
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2009/gb2009057_863933_page_2.htm
In Japan, it has never been easier to find an MBA program. Twenty years ago, only a few universities offered business administration courses, so most aspiring students headed to the U.S. to study. Even as business school degrees gained in popularity around the world, the number of domestic programs edged up only slowly। However, in the last five years the number of Japanese universities with business schools has more than doubled, to 55.
Several reasons account for the increased popularity of business schools in Japan. Government deregulation, for instance, made it easier for schools to offer MBA programs. Japanese schools also have become more flexible, making their programs more accessible to local students. For instance, many schools now offer part-time study for students unable or unwilling to take time out from their current jobs. "If I had had to quit my job to study, I might've not thought about taking an MBA course," says Midori Ibuka, 40, a manager at YKK, the world's biggest zipper maker। Between 2005 and 2007, Ibuka took a course at Waseda University's business school in Tokyo, going to classes from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., five nights a week. Formerly an executive's secretary, Ibuka, who spent $30,000 in fees, has since been assigned to her current general manager position in YKK's communications division.
Seniority Trumps Education
Yet for all that, it's difficult to make the case that Japan Inc। embraces employees with MBAs. On the contrary, many big companies still prefer to hire grads fresh out of college and mold them into the type of managers they want, rather than hiring B-school grads. Meanwhile MBA holders sent to B-school by companies find it tough to put newfound skills into practice when they return to work.
Corporate Japan doesn't seem convinced of the merits of MBAs. Many companies still have a lifetime employment system with pay and promotions based on seniority. That means MBA holders can't expect rapid progression or improved compensation. Lion, a maker of household products, has sent two employees to Keio University's program every year since the late 1970s, including President Sadayoshi Fujishige, yet the company doesn't mark them out as special cases। "We don't give MBA holders any special treatment in terms of salary or promotion," says Fujishige.
Recent events may not help raise the profile of MBAs in Japan. With the current global recession blamed on the excesses of U।S.-style capitalism, Japan's MBA holders may be losing some of their luster as well. For one thing, many of the investment banks that hired MBAs are cutting back.
Meanwhile, the notion that MBAs can be bad for business, while not widespread, goes down well in Japan. Last fall, Takayuki Yasui, a columnist for the Asahi Shimbun daily, attributed some weakness of Detroit's auto industry to U.S. companies tendency to promote managers with MBAs, whereas more successful companies like Honda (HMC) for example, fill their management ranks with engineers। To illustrate the point, the paper said an unnamed U.S. Big Three executive had turned down a proposal from the president of a Japanese automaker to view a factory because he wouldn't understand it. "The American CEO has learned theory of management at business school, and he's more interested in making money than making cars," Yasui quoted the shocked Japanese auto chief as saying.
Signs of Increased Acceptance
Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that those returning to Japanese companies after receiving MBAs sometimes get frustrated and often quit companies for a new challenge।
But rather than encourage companies to use B-school grads more effectively, many companies have instead decided to stop paying for employee MBA programs. At Keio University, the first Japanese university to offer an MBA program in 1978, 65% of business degree students were sent by their companies in the late 1980s, compared with 35% today. "Many Japanese companies can't make really good use of MBA holders when they come back [to work]," says Yoshito Hori, president of Globis, a Tokyo management school. Hori left trading company Sumitomo a few years after returning from Harvard।
Still, it's not all doom and gloom, Hori, whose school tops a ranking of student satisfaction, adds that the answer may lie in tailoring courses that bridge the gap between Japanese and global business practices. Hori says the school's approach borrows heavily from Harvard in its use of detailed case studies, often drawing on examples from successful Japanese companies। Globis also places importance on programs that foster the spiritual side of business leadership. For instance, there are classes in which would-be executives study the Analects of Confucius. "Successful corporate managers all have a personal magnetism and a rich sense of humanity," he says. "This kind of education is weak at the U.S. schools."
Meanwhile, Japanese companies have internationalized their production and sales. So employees will have no choice but to find ways of communicating techniques developed in Japan। Business schools can act as a useful tool in taking principles learned in Japanese factories and offices and finding ways to package them for a global audience.
And while Japan might not reward MBA students to the same extent as the U.S., that could change in time. One hopeful sign: Japan's best-known manufacturer, Toyota (TM)—a company not renowned for MBAs in the boardroom—will appoint a B-school grad as its next president in June when family scion Akio Toyoda, who holds an MBA from Babson College near Boston, succeeds Katsuaki Watanabe। "Compared to the U.S., MBAs are not prevalent in Japan's business circles," says Kyoichi Ikeo, dean of Graduate School of Business Administration at Keio University, which was the first Japanese university to offer an MBA in 1978. "We have to constantly send out the message that an MBA education and the research done at school are meaningful for the development of companies."
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2009/gb2009057_863933_page_2.htm
Asia Seeks Its Own Brand of Business Schools
To compete with Western B-schools and capitalize on Asia's growing business importance, Korean universities are partnering with schools around the region
Business major Lee Sun Kee is happy that he attended Korea University in Seoul. Lee, a senior, took four courses at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School last fall as an exchange student and feels that his university in Korea offers business programs just as good as those at Ivy League schools। "At Wharton, I met talented students and a couple of star professors whose lectures were impressive," says Lee. "But for other classes, I thought I could have learned better in Korea at one-tenth of Wharton's tuition."
Lee is one of a growing number of students appreciating a drastic makeover undertaken at business schools in Korea. Under a campaign to globalize curricula, faculty, and ways of thinking by students, top universities in the country have rebuilt their programs by modeling themselves largely on leading business schools in the U.S. "Globalization is our new mission," says Jang Hasung, dean of Korea University Business School. While Korean multinationals like Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor have been expanding worldwide for years, Jang says his school long had focused too much on national issues and Korean perspectives।
Now these Korean universities want to join other Asian B-schools in Hong Kong, Singapore, and China to compete directly with European and U।S. B-schools. That's because Asia has emerged as home for a growing number of multinational corporations that generate many highly paid jobs. "With the center of gravity in the global economy shifting to Asia, it's just natural for students from the U.S. and Europe to seek Asian experiences and networking opportunities through business schools in Asia," says Suh Kil Soo, associate dean at Yonsei University Graduate School of Business, which is developing a program emphasizing case studies of the chaebol, Korea's family-controlled conglomerates.
Intra-Asian efforts are also aiming to maximize such incentives। Last year, Korea University forged a three-nation alliance with the National University of Singapore and China's Fudan University in Shanghai to open a joint 18-month program, which requires students to study for six months at each of the three schools. The program, called "S cube" to represent the three cities of Seoul, Shanghai, and Singapore, "will let students leverage on different strengths of the three nations and benefit from extensive Asian networking," says Jang at Korea University. There are now 31 students enrolled, with the first class graduating next February.
Making Korean B-Schools More Global
Officials at Korean business schools believe they can now aim higher thanks to major reforms they have promoted at home। At the vanguard of a movement to make Korean business schools more global is Korea University. More than half of all lectures at its business school are now in English, even in undergraduate business school programs. To make its curriculum compatible with leading B-schools in the U.S. and Europe, Korea University received accreditation from the U.S.-based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business in 2005 and the Brussels-based European Foundation for Management Development in 2007. The school has also pushed to team up with foreign partners. In recent years, Korea University has concluded exchange programs with some 100 business schools in the U.S., Europe, and Asia to accept some 300 foreign students, or nearly a fifth of all B-school students, annually. Apart from 10 full-time foreign professors, more than 20 visiting foreign professors run courses throughout the year.
Korea University isn't the only school in the country seeking international recognition। A total of six universities in Korea, including Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, have been accredited by AACSB and they all run MBA courses in English. "We are latecomers but Korea is moving rapidly to emerge as a major business education center in Asia," says Song Jae Yong, associate dean of Seoul National University Business School.
In fact, globalizing business schools is a national campaign, with the government setting aside more than $20 million to help finance such efforts by universities until 2012। To catch up with Asia's B-school leaders such as the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology and the National University of Singapore, the government in 2006 began providing some $1 million annually for seven years to a handful of universities, including Korea University and Seoul National University. Under the program, universities taking the government subsidy must find corporate sponsors donating a similar amount in addition to their own budgets matching or exceeding the subsidy to be spent on developing business schools. Seoul National is using the government aid to hire 20 renowned professors from the world's top 20 business schools to run credit-earning two-week intensive programs between terms.
One strategy to attract students looking for international experience is offering dual degree programs together with overseas universities। In 2006, for example, Seoul National started a program with Duke University in the U.S. to give its MBA students a chance to get a second MBA degree from Duke if they complete a second year there after a one-year course in Seoul. Seoul National last year concluded similar arrangements with France's Essec and China's Peking University.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/asia/
Business major Lee Sun Kee is happy that he attended Korea University in Seoul. Lee, a senior, took four courses at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School last fall as an exchange student and feels that his university in Korea offers business programs just as good as those at Ivy League schools। "At Wharton, I met talented students and a couple of star professors whose lectures were impressive," says Lee. "But for other classes, I thought I could have learned better in Korea at one-tenth of Wharton's tuition."
Lee is one of a growing number of students appreciating a drastic makeover undertaken at business schools in Korea. Under a campaign to globalize curricula, faculty, and ways of thinking by students, top universities in the country have rebuilt their programs by modeling themselves largely on leading business schools in the U.S. "Globalization is our new mission," says Jang Hasung, dean of Korea University Business School. While Korean multinationals like Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor have been expanding worldwide for years, Jang says his school long had focused too much on national issues and Korean perspectives।
Now these Korean universities want to join other Asian B-schools in Hong Kong, Singapore, and China to compete directly with European and U।S. B-schools. That's because Asia has emerged as home for a growing number of multinational corporations that generate many highly paid jobs. "With the center of gravity in the global economy shifting to Asia, it's just natural for students from the U.S. and Europe to seek Asian experiences and networking opportunities through business schools in Asia," says Suh Kil Soo, associate dean at Yonsei University Graduate School of Business, which is developing a program emphasizing case studies of the chaebol, Korea's family-controlled conglomerates.
Intra-Asian efforts are also aiming to maximize such incentives। Last year, Korea University forged a three-nation alliance with the National University of Singapore and China's Fudan University in Shanghai to open a joint 18-month program, which requires students to study for six months at each of the three schools. The program, called "S cube" to represent the three cities of Seoul, Shanghai, and Singapore, "will let students leverage on different strengths of the three nations and benefit from extensive Asian networking," says Jang at Korea University. There are now 31 students enrolled, with the first class graduating next February.
Making Korean B-Schools More Global
Officials at Korean business schools believe they can now aim higher thanks to major reforms they have promoted at home। At the vanguard of a movement to make Korean business schools more global is Korea University. More than half of all lectures at its business school are now in English, even in undergraduate business school programs. To make its curriculum compatible with leading B-schools in the U.S. and Europe, Korea University received accreditation from the U.S.-based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business in 2005 and the Brussels-based European Foundation for Management Development in 2007. The school has also pushed to team up with foreign partners. In recent years, Korea University has concluded exchange programs with some 100 business schools in the U.S., Europe, and Asia to accept some 300 foreign students, or nearly a fifth of all B-school students, annually. Apart from 10 full-time foreign professors, more than 20 visiting foreign professors run courses throughout the year.
Korea University isn't the only school in the country seeking international recognition। A total of six universities in Korea, including Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, have been accredited by AACSB and they all run MBA courses in English. "We are latecomers but Korea is moving rapidly to emerge as a major business education center in Asia," says Song Jae Yong, associate dean of Seoul National University Business School.
In fact, globalizing business schools is a national campaign, with the government setting aside more than $20 million to help finance such efforts by universities until 2012। To catch up with Asia's B-school leaders such as the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology and the National University of Singapore, the government in 2006 began providing some $1 million annually for seven years to a handful of universities, including Korea University and Seoul National University. Under the program, universities taking the government subsidy must find corporate sponsors donating a similar amount in addition to their own budgets matching or exceeding the subsidy to be spent on developing business schools. Seoul National is using the government aid to hire 20 renowned professors from the world's top 20 business schools to run credit-earning two-week intensive programs between terms.
One strategy to attract students looking for international experience is offering dual degree programs together with overseas universities। In 2006, for example, Seoul National started a program with Duke University in the U.S. to give its MBA students a chance to get a second MBA degree from Duke if they complete a second year there after a one-year course in Seoul. Seoul National last year concluded similar arrangements with France's Essec and China's Peking University.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/asia/
Monday, May 18, 2009
Aoyama Gakuin U. to hand out free iPhones to students
Aoyama Gakuin University is phasing out traditional methods of taking attendance at its School of Social Informatics, in favor of free GPS-enabled iPhones.
The faculty began providing Apple iPhone 3Gs to all 550 staff and students Friday, using the GPS function to determine whether they are in school or not। The university will initiate full operation of the system in the autumn. The school also has plans to expand their use to setting simple tests and questionnaires, submitting homework and reviewing class video materials.
The university is to pay the basic charges itself, ensuring no extra financial burdens will fall on students
The same day, it also announced a tie-up with iPhone provider Softbank Mobile Corp।, called "Mobile & Net Society Education and Training."
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20090516p2a00m0na001000c.html?inb=rs
The faculty began providing Apple iPhone 3Gs to all 550 staff and students Friday, using the GPS function to determine whether they are in school or not। The university will initiate full operation of the system in the autumn. The school also has plans to expand their use to setting simple tests and questionnaires, submitting homework and reviewing class video materials.
The university is to pay the basic charges itself, ensuring no extra financial burdens will fall on students
The same day, it also announced a tie-up with iPhone provider Softbank Mobile Corp।, called "Mobile & Net Society Education and Training."
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20090516p2a00m0na001000c.html?inb=rs
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
First batch of nurses, caregivers leave for Japan under JPEPA
With tears in their eyes, Vilma Balatbat, 39, and her husband tightly embraced each other, knowing it would be some time before they would be together again।
On Saturday, Balatbat and 269 other Filipino nurses and caregivers, most of them mothers, left for Japan, making up the first batch of Filipino workers deployed to the world’s second largest economy under the controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
“I’m both sad and happy,” said Balatbat, a mother of two, who will be working overseas for the first time। “I’ll certainly miss my loved ones, but this is also a new chapter for me. I’ve been waiting so long to work abroad.”
Balatbat, a registered nurse in the Philippines, will train as caregiver in a healthcare institution in Nagoya for six months while studying Japanese, a requirement for employment। The JPEPA program will entitle Balatbat to initially receive an “allowance” of P17,000 a month.
By February next year, she ought to pass the national board exams in Japan before she can be employed as caregiver and given a special visa of four years। Only then will she receive a regular wage of P75,000 a month.
The 92 nurses and 178 caregivers, including Balatbat, boarded two Japan Airlines flights that departed Manila on Saturday। Hired by 134 Japanese institutions and facilities through the Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services (JICWELS), these women will study Japanese in five designated language institutions in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Hiroshima while undergoing practical training at the same time.
Ten more are scheduled to leave on May 31। They are, however, exempted from undergoing training, having passed the prequalifying exams for proficiency of the Japanese language.
Economic agreement
Signed in 2006 but ratified by the Senate only on October 9, JPEPA is essentially an “economic” agreement that seeks to promote investments and trade of goods and services between Japan and the Philippines। But the agreement will also facilitate the entry of at least 400 Filipino nurses and 600 caregivers for Japan’s aging society.
Japan had long been the destination of Filipino entertainers, popularly known as “japayukis,” until the Japanese government passed a law in 2004 that imposed stricter immigration policies to address human trafficking।
Under the new legislation, Filipino entertainers entering Japan should have at least two years of professional training at an educational institution or experience in a country other than Japan। Job recruiters said the law disqualified up to 90 percent of Filipino entertainers that were deployed in Japan.
On January 12, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and its Japanese counterpart—Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services—signed a memorandum of understanding paving the way for the deployment of Filipino nurses so they could make it to the national licensure examination for nurses scheduled in February 2010। The exam, administered in Japanese, is held every year.
Filipino caregivers, meanwhile, need at least three years of work experience before they can take the national certification examination। Their contracts allow them to work in Japan for three years. If they pass the exam, they can continue to work in Japan. If they don’t, they have to return to the Philippines immediately.
Two sides of debate
Critics of agreement have said the arrangement, under which Filipino nurses and caregivers are treated as “candidate nurses” and “candidate caregivers” and consequently paid lower wages until they pass the national exam in Japanese, legitimizes exploitation of Filipino workers।
But the allegations of exploitation hardly bother nurses and caregivers who flew to Japan on Saturday।
Beth Apellanes, 38, left her three children in Bohol for a job that will have her caring for elderly Japanese in Nagoya। She said she considers the JPEPA requirement for her to undergo six months of language and practical training as an opportunity to learn another language and prepare her for certification.
What worries her more is the uncertainty of living a new place। “I hope the Japanese are good people, and it won’t be difficult to deal with them,” Apellanes said.
During their pre-departure orientation on Friday, the Philippine government expressed optimism that the first batch of the caregivers and nurses to Japan will convince Japanese authorities to open more jobs for Filipino health workers in Japan।
“You are the face of Philippine healthcare professionals,” Hans Cacdac, POEA’s deputy administrator said। “Let us show the world, let us show the very good people of Japan that we are ready to provide necessary human and health care because that is what is what we are good at. I would think quite frankly that we are ranked if not the best, as among the best in the world to provide human and health care.”
While these health workers “do our country proud” by caring for sick or elderly Japanese, they join the growing ranks of overseas Filipino workers who have entrusted their families, including their spouses, young children and aging parents, to the care of others।
At the airport, children wailed as they bade their mothers goodbye. Elderly parents helped their sons and daughters wheel the pushcarts to the departure area. Airport guards stepped in to break up the endless hugging and kissing and to shoo off nonpassengers from restricted areas.
One of the nonpassengers was Balatbat’s husband। He moved to the far end of the departure area’s driveway to catch a good view of Japan Airlines plane bearing his wife as it taxied the runway. As if on cue, tears rolled down his cheeks when the aircraft took off.
Editor’s note: VERA Files is the work of veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues।
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/may/12/yehey/top_stories/20090512top3.html
On Saturday, Balatbat and 269 other Filipino nurses and caregivers, most of them mothers, left for Japan, making up the first batch of Filipino workers deployed to the world’s second largest economy under the controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
“I’m both sad and happy,” said Balatbat, a mother of two, who will be working overseas for the first time। “I’ll certainly miss my loved ones, but this is also a new chapter for me. I’ve been waiting so long to work abroad.”
Balatbat, a registered nurse in the Philippines, will train as caregiver in a healthcare institution in Nagoya for six months while studying Japanese, a requirement for employment। The JPEPA program will entitle Balatbat to initially receive an “allowance” of P17,000 a month.
By February next year, she ought to pass the national board exams in Japan before she can be employed as caregiver and given a special visa of four years। Only then will she receive a regular wage of P75,000 a month.
The 92 nurses and 178 caregivers, including Balatbat, boarded two Japan Airlines flights that departed Manila on Saturday। Hired by 134 Japanese institutions and facilities through the Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services (JICWELS), these women will study Japanese in five designated language institutions in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Hiroshima while undergoing practical training at the same time.
Ten more are scheduled to leave on May 31। They are, however, exempted from undergoing training, having passed the prequalifying exams for proficiency of the Japanese language.
Economic agreement
Signed in 2006 but ratified by the Senate only on October 9, JPEPA is essentially an “economic” agreement that seeks to promote investments and trade of goods and services between Japan and the Philippines। But the agreement will also facilitate the entry of at least 400 Filipino nurses and 600 caregivers for Japan’s aging society.
Japan had long been the destination of Filipino entertainers, popularly known as “japayukis,” until the Japanese government passed a law in 2004 that imposed stricter immigration policies to address human trafficking।
Under the new legislation, Filipino entertainers entering Japan should have at least two years of professional training at an educational institution or experience in a country other than Japan। Job recruiters said the law disqualified up to 90 percent of Filipino entertainers that were deployed in Japan.
On January 12, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and its Japanese counterpart—Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services—signed a memorandum of understanding paving the way for the deployment of Filipino nurses so they could make it to the national licensure examination for nurses scheduled in February 2010। The exam, administered in Japanese, is held every year.
Filipino caregivers, meanwhile, need at least three years of work experience before they can take the national certification examination। Their contracts allow them to work in Japan for three years. If they pass the exam, they can continue to work in Japan. If they don’t, they have to return to the Philippines immediately.
Two sides of debate
Critics of agreement have said the arrangement, under which Filipino nurses and caregivers are treated as “candidate nurses” and “candidate caregivers” and consequently paid lower wages until they pass the national exam in Japanese, legitimizes exploitation of Filipino workers।
But the allegations of exploitation hardly bother nurses and caregivers who flew to Japan on Saturday।
Beth Apellanes, 38, left her three children in Bohol for a job that will have her caring for elderly Japanese in Nagoya। She said she considers the JPEPA requirement for her to undergo six months of language and practical training as an opportunity to learn another language and prepare her for certification.
What worries her more is the uncertainty of living a new place। “I hope the Japanese are good people, and it won’t be difficult to deal with them,” Apellanes said.
During their pre-departure orientation on Friday, the Philippine government expressed optimism that the first batch of the caregivers and nurses to Japan will convince Japanese authorities to open more jobs for Filipino health workers in Japan।
“You are the face of Philippine healthcare professionals,” Hans Cacdac, POEA’s deputy administrator said। “Let us show the world, let us show the very good people of Japan that we are ready to provide necessary human and health care because that is what is what we are good at. I would think quite frankly that we are ranked if not the best, as among the best in the world to provide human and health care.”
While these health workers “do our country proud” by caring for sick or elderly Japanese, they join the growing ranks of overseas Filipino workers who have entrusted their families, including their spouses, young children and aging parents, to the care of others।
At the airport, children wailed as they bade their mothers goodbye. Elderly parents helped their sons and daughters wheel the pushcarts to the departure area. Airport guards stepped in to break up the endless hugging and kissing and to shoo off nonpassengers from restricted areas.
One of the nonpassengers was Balatbat’s husband। He moved to the far end of the departure area’s driveway to catch a good view of Japan Airlines plane bearing his wife as it taxied the runway. As if on cue, tears rolled down his cheeks when the aircraft took off.
Editor’s note: VERA Files is the work of veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues।
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/may/12/yehey/top_stories/20090512top3.html
Monday, May 11, 2009
Breaks provided for student loans
The education ministry will give more people extra time to repay their student loans while doubling the number of university students who can receive interest-free loans, officials said.
Starting this fiscal year, 100,000 borrowers will be allowed to postpone repayment of the loans from the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) for up to five years, 2।5 times the current 40,000, they said.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology made the decision because it expects more graduates will face difficulties repaying their debts amid the current recession, they said।
The number of students who can borrow the interest-free emergency loans from JASSO will double to 8,000। The measure will be taken, for example, to help students whose parents have lost their jobs.
During this fiscal year, JASSO will lend 947।5 billion yen to 1.15 million students, including those at two-year junior colleges.
After the students graduate, they are given grace periods to repay their debts in cases of disease, disasters and financial difficulties, such as job losses or low incomes।
About 40,000 people were granted grace periods in fiscal 2007 due to financial difficulties. The figure is expected to be almost the same for fiscal 2008, which ended in March.
In light of the economic slump, the ministry decided to increase the number of people eligible for the grace periods to 100,000।
The ministry earmarked 1 billion yen in the supplementary budget plan for this fiscal year as loans to JASSO to cover the increase in nonpayments।
For most of JASSO's loans, students apply before or immediately after entering college or university. But they can apply at any time for emergency loans, including interest-free ones.
The ministry, expecting soaring demand for interest-free loans, decided to increase the number of students who can receive these loans to 8,000।
Interest-free loans are financed by tax money। The ministry earmarked 1.5 billion yen in the supplementary budget plan for the increase in lending.(IHT/Asahi: May 9,2009)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200905090065.html
Starting this fiscal year, 100,000 borrowers will be allowed to postpone repayment of the loans from the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) for up to five years, 2।5 times the current 40,000, they said.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology made the decision because it expects more graduates will face difficulties repaying their debts amid the current recession, they said।
The number of students who can borrow the interest-free emergency loans from JASSO will double to 8,000। The measure will be taken, for example, to help students whose parents have lost their jobs.
During this fiscal year, JASSO will lend 947।5 billion yen to 1.15 million students, including those at two-year junior colleges.
After the students graduate, they are given grace periods to repay their debts in cases of disease, disasters and financial difficulties, such as job losses or low incomes।
About 40,000 people were granted grace periods in fiscal 2007 due to financial difficulties. The figure is expected to be almost the same for fiscal 2008, which ended in March.
In light of the economic slump, the ministry decided to increase the number of people eligible for the grace periods to 100,000।
The ministry earmarked 1 billion yen in the supplementary budget plan for this fiscal year as loans to JASSO to cover the increase in nonpayments।
For most of JASSO's loans, students apply before or immediately after entering college or university. But they can apply at any time for emergency loans, including interest-free ones.
The ministry, expecting soaring demand for interest-free loans, decided to increase the number of students who can receive these loans to 8,000।
Interest-free loans are financed by tax money। The ministry earmarked 1.5 billion yen in the supplementary budget plan for the increase in lending.(IHT/Asahi: May 9,2009)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200905090065.html
Opening the door to foreigners
Massive layoffs from the current economic crisis are falling heavily on foreign workers, many of whom are opting to leave the country to seek work back home.
But for those who stay, there remain the difficulties of adapting to Japanese society, limited educational opportunities for their children and lack of medical support। Yet a rapidly aging Japan is unlikely to long remain the world's second-largest economy without them.
"Japan's immigration policy has always been a patchwork. We need to have proper laws and regulations in place when accepting people from abroad," Susumu Ishihara, 57, president of the Japan Immigrant Information Agency, said during a recent interview with The Japan Times.
Motivated by a sense of urgency, Ishihara recently spent ¥5 million of his own money to launch a quarterly Japanese-language magazine, called Immigrants, focusing on immigration issues। The goal is to provide more information on foreigners living here to Japanese people to bridge the gap between the two sides.
The first issue of the quarterly, circulation 10,000, included messages from ambassadors of South American countries as well as interviews with immigration policy experts, including Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Taro Kono, and Shigehiko Shiramizu, a professor of global media studies at Komazawa University।
Ishihara, a former journalist for the daily Mainichi Shimbun, claims that when Japan revised the immigration law in 1989, during the bubble economy, and started accepting Japanese-Brazilians the following year, the revision was not discussed fully due to political situation at that time.
"Japanese politics was in turmoil in 1989 with the death of Emperor Showa (Hirohito), the collapse of Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita's Cabinet after the introduction of the consumption tax, and the pounding defeat of the ruling LDP led by Prime Minister Sosuke Uno in the Upper House election," he said।
"Though the revision was such an important policy shift with serious ramifications for Japan, it cleared the Diet without much debate," said Ishihara, who wrote extensively about Japanese politics as well as defense and human rights issues during his journalistic career।
By attitude if not policy, the government has tried to discourage foreigners from living here permanently, he said। But the revision triggered an influx of Japanese-Brazilians, who numbered 317,000 by 2007.
Recently, however, the government has offered to pay for laid-off Brazilians and Peruvians of Japanese descent to leave Japan, with the promise of never coming back।
Counting some 600,000 Chinese and 590,000 Koreans, Japan was home to 2.15 million foreigners as of 2007, nearly twice as many as in 1990, according to the Justice Ministry.
Many Japanese-Brazilians here must make do with low wages earned from long hours in factories, leaving little time to care for their children, the 57-year-old editor in chief of the magazine said।
Without the ability to communicate fully with Japanese children, Japanese-Brazilian kids tend to stick together। Some, alienated from society, turn to crime, he said.
"When I use the term 'immigration policy,' people may think I am urging Japan to accept more foreigners, but it's not quite true। What I'm saying is that there are already so many foreigners living here, so we have to think about them. We have already opened the door to foreigners, and companies need them, too," Ishihara said.
His views are shared by politicians in the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc। In February last year, about 80 LDP politicians, led by former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa, formed a group to promote foreign personnel exchanges.
The group submitted a proposal to educate and train foreigners who wish to come to Japan and to accept 10 million immigrants over the next 50 years. The policy proposal also called for accepting 1,000 asylum seekers annually and others who need protection on humanitarian grounds।
Separately, current Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura established a lawmakers' group to create a bill to support schools for foreigners living in Japan। In addition, the Cabinet Office set up an office especially to deal with problems facing foreigners here earlier this year.
"For a long time, the issue of foreigners here has been regarded as taboo in the political arena because working for foreigners' rights won't help politicians get elected, and it may even anger some Japanese who don't want to accept foreigners। So, I welcome such moves by politicians," said Ishihara, who is also an expert on Korean residents in Japan.
Behind such moves is the growing uncertainty about Japan's future। Ishihara notes Japan's population is expected to drop below 90 million by 2050, 30 million to 40 million less than the 2005 level.
Every industrialized nation finds itself in a similar situation and competition is heating up to attract immigrants, Ishihara said, adding, "Even other parts of Asia, including Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, have shaped their immigration policy to legally accept foreign workers."
Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and China are currently experiencing population growth and supply workers to other countries, but they, too, will see declines in population by 2030। "But Japan has done nothing to cope with the looming crisis so far," he said.
Ishihara noted many industries in Japan are already dependent on foreign workers, including convenience stores and farming, where many Chinese and other non-Japanese work। "These days, even the sumo industry is dominated by foreigners," he added with a smile.
Ishihara plans to use part of the magazine's proceeds to help foreign children get a higher education in Japan, given the current difficulties they face, including financial constraints।
"Japanese society should support these children who work hard to get into universities। They are the ones who have overcome various difficulties since arriving here, and I'm sure they will be active in bridging the gap between Japan and foreign countries," he said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nn20090430f1.html
But for those who stay, there remain the difficulties of adapting to Japanese society, limited educational opportunities for their children and lack of medical support। Yet a rapidly aging Japan is unlikely to long remain the world's second-largest economy without them.
"Japan's immigration policy has always been a patchwork. We need to have proper laws and regulations in place when accepting people from abroad," Susumu Ishihara, 57, president of the Japan Immigrant Information Agency, said during a recent interview with The Japan Times.
Motivated by a sense of urgency, Ishihara recently spent ¥5 million of his own money to launch a quarterly Japanese-language magazine, called Immigrants, focusing on immigration issues। The goal is to provide more information on foreigners living here to Japanese people to bridge the gap between the two sides.
The first issue of the quarterly, circulation 10,000, included messages from ambassadors of South American countries as well as interviews with immigration policy experts, including Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Taro Kono, and Shigehiko Shiramizu, a professor of global media studies at Komazawa University।
Ishihara, a former journalist for the daily Mainichi Shimbun, claims that when Japan revised the immigration law in 1989, during the bubble economy, and started accepting Japanese-Brazilians the following year, the revision was not discussed fully due to political situation at that time.
"Japanese politics was in turmoil in 1989 with the death of Emperor Showa (Hirohito), the collapse of Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita's Cabinet after the introduction of the consumption tax, and the pounding defeat of the ruling LDP led by Prime Minister Sosuke Uno in the Upper House election," he said।
"Though the revision was such an important policy shift with serious ramifications for Japan, it cleared the Diet without much debate," said Ishihara, who wrote extensively about Japanese politics as well as defense and human rights issues during his journalistic career।
By attitude if not policy, the government has tried to discourage foreigners from living here permanently, he said। But the revision triggered an influx of Japanese-Brazilians, who numbered 317,000 by 2007.
Recently, however, the government has offered to pay for laid-off Brazilians and Peruvians of Japanese descent to leave Japan, with the promise of never coming back।
Counting some 600,000 Chinese and 590,000 Koreans, Japan was home to 2.15 million foreigners as of 2007, nearly twice as many as in 1990, according to the Justice Ministry.
Many Japanese-Brazilians here must make do with low wages earned from long hours in factories, leaving little time to care for their children, the 57-year-old editor in chief of the magazine said।
Without the ability to communicate fully with Japanese children, Japanese-Brazilian kids tend to stick together। Some, alienated from society, turn to crime, he said.
"When I use the term 'immigration policy,' people may think I am urging Japan to accept more foreigners, but it's not quite true। What I'm saying is that there are already so many foreigners living here, so we have to think about them. We have already opened the door to foreigners, and companies need them, too," Ishihara said.
His views are shared by politicians in the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc। In February last year, about 80 LDP politicians, led by former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa, formed a group to promote foreign personnel exchanges.
The group submitted a proposal to educate and train foreigners who wish to come to Japan and to accept 10 million immigrants over the next 50 years. The policy proposal also called for accepting 1,000 asylum seekers annually and others who need protection on humanitarian grounds।
Separately, current Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura established a lawmakers' group to create a bill to support schools for foreigners living in Japan। In addition, the Cabinet Office set up an office especially to deal with problems facing foreigners here earlier this year.
"For a long time, the issue of foreigners here has been regarded as taboo in the political arena because working for foreigners' rights won't help politicians get elected, and it may even anger some Japanese who don't want to accept foreigners। So, I welcome such moves by politicians," said Ishihara, who is also an expert on Korean residents in Japan.
Behind such moves is the growing uncertainty about Japan's future। Ishihara notes Japan's population is expected to drop below 90 million by 2050, 30 million to 40 million less than the 2005 level.
Every industrialized nation finds itself in a similar situation and competition is heating up to attract immigrants, Ishihara said, adding, "Even other parts of Asia, including Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, have shaped their immigration policy to legally accept foreign workers."
Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and China are currently experiencing population growth and supply workers to other countries, but they, too, will see declines in population by 2030। "But Japan has done nothing to cope with the looming crisis so far," he said.
Ishihara noted many industries in Japan are already dependent on foreign workers, including convenience stores and farming, where many Chinese and other non-Japanese work। "These days, even the sumo industry is dominated by foreigners," he added with a smile.
Ishihara plans to use part of the magazine's proceeds to help foreign children get a higher education in Japan, given the current difficulties they face, including financial constraints।
"Japanese society should support these children who work hard to get into universities। They are the ones who have overcome various difficulties since arriving here, and I'm sure they will be active in bridging the gap between Japan and foreign countries," he said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nn20090430f1.html
Jochi Gakuin, Seibo plan April 2011 merger
Academic organizations Jochi Gakuin and Seibo Nursing School announced Tuesday they would start negotiations over a possible merger in April 2011.
Jochi Gakuin operates Sophia University in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, which comprises eight faculties and a graduate school, a junior college and Sophia School of Social Welfare. Seibo Nursing School operates Seibo College of Nursing in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, and some other entities.
According to the two schools, their future goals coincide, with Jochi Gakuin wishing to expand its educational and research expertise in the field of nursing, and Seibo wanting to put greater emphasis on international medical treatments.
(Apr। 29, 2009)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20090429TDY02305.htm
Jochi Gakuin operates Sophia University in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, which comprises eight faculties and a graduate school, a junior college and Sophia School of Social Welfare. Seibo Nursing School operates Seibo College of Nursing in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, and some other entities.
According to the two schools, their future goals coincide, with Jochi Gakuin wishing to expand its educational and research expertise in the field of nursing, and Seibo wanting to put greater emphasis on international medical treatments.
(Apr। 29, 2009)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20090429TDY02305.htm
Govt to pay for 2,500 research supporters at universities
The Education, Science and Technology Ministry will for the first time help universities hire research supporters, who assist with the research activities of teachers and doctoral students, by covering their employment costs।
Starting by paying for 2,500 research supporters at 50 universities throughout the nation this fiscal year, the ministry aims to improve the employment situation for young postdoctoral researchers, who often have trouble finding stable jobs after receiving their PhDs, and to improve the nation's research environments।
The government incorporated 30 billion yen into an additional economic stimulus package for fiscal 2009, assuming required costs to be 4 million yen per person। But it will be left up to each university's discretion how to disburse the allocated funds, and any surpluses may be used for administrative and public relations costs.
After the supplementary budget bills pass the Diet, the ministry will invite applications from national, public and private universities, and select those deserving of assistance by considering their research performance and enrollment levels in doctoral courses। Research supporters are tasked with duties that include maintaining observation instruments used for experiments, applying for research funds and generating data for external evaluation, cooperating with universities abroad and companies, helping with the hosting of international conferences.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20090425TDY02307.htm
Starting by paying for 2,500 research supporters at 50 universities throughout the nation this fiscal year, the ministry aims to improve the employment situation for young postdoctoral researchers, who often have trouble finding stable jobs after receiving their PhDs, and to improve the nation's research environments।
The government incorporated 30 billion yen into an additional economic stimulus package for fiscal 2009, assuming required costs to be 4 million yen per person। But it will be left up to each university's discretion how to disburse the allocated funds, and any surpluses may be used for administrative and public relations costs.
After the supplementary budget bills pass the Diet, the ministry will invite applications from national, public and private universities, and select those deserving of assistance by considering their research performance and enrollment levels in doctoral courses। Research supporters are tasked with duties that include maintaining observation instruments used for experiments, applying for research funds and generating data for external evaluation, cooperating with universities abroad and companies, helping with the hosting of international conferences.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20090425TDY02307.htm
Young researchers to get govt help to study abroad
The government plans to support young researchers who hope to study abroad by covering their travel and accommodation expenses, government sources said.
Under a five-year program, 15,000 to 30,000 young researchers and graduate students will attend universities and research institutes overseas for several months to one year.
To fund the program, the government plans to incorporate 30 billion yen into a supplementary budget for fiscal 2009.
While studying abroad in unfamiliar surroundings is usually a valuable and galvanizing experience for young researchers, there is a strong tendency for them to stay in the nation as there is no guarantee that they can obtain stable employment after returning to Japan, and the comfortable research environments here offer a powerful inducement for them to stay put.
The number of researchers staying abroad for more than one month has been on the decline after peaking at 7,674 in fiscal 2000.
(Apr। 20, 2009)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
