For the second consecutive year, Educational Testing Service (ETS), the creator of the TOEFL(R) test, announced the launch of the TOEFL Scholarship Program in Japan. Created specifically for Japanese students, the 2012 TOEFL Scholarship Program will award five scholarships valued at a total of US$40,000. Scholarship funding can be applied to either undergraduate or graduate study for the 2012 academic year.
"ETS is pleased to announce that we will sponsor the TOEFL Scholarship Program in Japan for the second consecutive year," commented Walt MacDonald, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at ETS. "The TOEFL Scholarship Program stems from ETS's nonprofit mission of advancing education worldwide. The scholarship program seeks to recognize talented Japanese students who have excelled in the classroom and have a strong commitment to meeting their educational aspirations."
TOEFL Scholarships will be awarded to students in Japan who meet the following criteria:
-- must be currently living in Japan
-- must begin undergraduate or graduate study in 2012 at a college or
university listed in the TOEFL(R) Destinations Directory
-- must hold a grade point average (GPA) of 80 or higher on a 100-point
scale or 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale
-- must have a valid TOEFL score
-- must return a completed application form which includes a written
essay, TOEFL test scores and an official transcript in a sealed
envelope
Detailed information regarding the 2012 TOEFL Scholarship Program in Japan, including application materials and eligibility requirements, is available at www.ets.org/toefl/scholarships/overview/japan/ . Completed applications must be postmarked by April 13, 2012.
The ETS Scholarship and Recognition Program (SRP) group, which annually administers millions of dollars in new and renewable awards in the United States and abroad, is coordinating the ETS Scholarship Program in Japan. In addition to program consultation, SRP developed application materials and guidelines for the review of the applications.
More information regarding the TOEFL test, including sample questions, study tips and registration is available at www.TOEFLGoAnywhere.org .
About the TOEFL Test For nearly 50 years, the TOEFL test has been the most widely accepted English-language assessment in the world. The TOEFL test is recognized by more than 8,000 institutions in more than 130 countries including Australia, the U.K., Canada, and the United States. Globally, the TOEFL test is available at more than 4,500 testing sites in more than 165 countries. To date, more than 25 million students around the world have taken the TOEFL test.
About ETS At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually -- including the TOEFL(R) and TOEIC (R) tests, the GRE (R) tests and The Praxis Series(TM) assessments -- in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/outstanding-japanese-students-sought-for-second-annual-toeflr-scholarship-program-2011-12-15
Friday, December 16, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Study in Japan, work around the world (part 3): A proud graduate of APU becomes a happy worker at Nissan
For part three of the four-part Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) interview series, the subject is Abdoulaye Ditie from Mali in West Africa. Ditie graduated from APU in 2005 and now works for Nissan in Japan. Let us find out how he found his career path through APU.
News photo
Q: What triggered your interest in Japan, and how did you first come over?
Ditie: When I was a high school student, I learned that Japan was defeated in World War II. The people had no food, no resources, just nothing. But then, I was surprised to find out that within a few decades, the country rebuilt itself and became one of the most powerful nations in the global arena. I became very interested and wanted to learn more about the country. The more I found out about the country, the more I came to like the country. I literally fell in love with Japan.
But Mali used to be a French colony and I had done all my studies in French. There was absolutely no chance for me to study in Japan. A French university accepted me, so I originally planned to go there.
Then, another event occurred, as my older brother was transferred to Japan for work. Concurrently, APU offered me a scholarship covering most of the tuition and supporting my living expenses. On top of that, APU fulfilled my requirements almost 100 percent. Hence, I was able to enter APU in 2001.
Q: Did your impression of Japan change after you arrived?
Ditie: Actually, I came to love the country and its people even more. Japanese people are very friendly. They are hardworking, polite, respectful and always try to understand other people's feelings.
Q: What did you study at APU, and how was your campus life?
Ditie: I majored in management. The school was the ideal environment to study and interact with students from around the world. It was also very practical for not only focusing on studies, but also making us think and plan about our career and life after college. There also was a good mix of professors, some from the academic field, and others with a business background. In that way, we became both academic and practical.
I wanted to study in English, and APU provided the perfect setting for that, too. I also wanted to study Japanese. Again, APU allowed me to do so. I had a further quest to learn a third language, so I took some Spanish classes.
We didn't concentrate merely on our studies, either. We also were active in various club activities. I was especially interested in volunteer activities, and my club visited many orphanages and elderly care homes. That was another great learning opportunity for me.
All in all, I am proud of having graduated from APU.
Q: Why did you choose to find work in Japan after graduation?
Ditie: I think everybody at school asks themselves at some stage, whether they want to proceed to a graduate school or start working. I wanted to be practical, so I decided to work. But I knew that finding a job in Japan was very difficult, especially for a foreigner.
The APU Career Office was very helpful in the job-hunting process. First, it provided a lot of support. The career office held job interview rehearsals and guidance on how to write a proper resume, for example. Second, I found the career office's on-campus recruiting system exceptionally good. It held guidance sessions for leading Japanese companies seeking top students just graduating from college. At that time, around 80 companies came to APU to give presentations. I hear that figure has risen to over 400 today.
On-campus recruitment is also meaningful because it helps reduce the students' costs. It becomes pretty expensive and time-consuming if you have to travel to Tokyo or Osaka and stay there for some time during your job-hunting activities.
Q: What made you decide to work for Nissan, and how do you like it?
Ditie: I was fortunate to receive job offers from three different companies. Among them, Nissan was most specific on what I would be doing after entering the company. That perfectly matched with what I wanted to do. In addition, the company allows you to shift careers at any time.
Another point that urged me to join the company was that the Nissan Patrol (known as the Safari in Japan) was the car I liked best when I was in Mali. Hence, I felt as though it was my destiny to join Nissan.
Nissan is fantastic. Inside, you find the true greatness of the company. Everybody works very, very hard, and the workers never give up. People are friendly, and there is a good human relationship.
During my first three years, I was involved in global logistics planning. Then I wanted to be closer to the field and, upon my request, I was transferred to the Oppama plant. It is known for making the Nissan electric car Leaf. Now I am in charge of production control. We plan the vehicle production and procure high-quality parts from all over the world.
I am putting into practice what I learned at APU. You collaborate with all departments within the company, as well as numerous people around the world.
Q: What would you like to do next and in the future?
Ditie: First, I want to go to other emerging countries and start up the Nissan business from scratch. I want to use the knowledge I acquired in Japan and apply it to a different environment.
Eventually in the future, I want to work in Africa and be a role model. To be a role model, mostly you have to become either a politician or a successful businessman. I would go for the latter because I believe that if I work very hard and never give up, I can do it.
Ultimately, in whatever condition or environment, you always should be yourself, while being respectful of others. After all, everything depends on you.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/global-career-viewpoint.html?date=20111128
News photo
Q: What triggered your interest in Japan, and how did you first come over?
Ditie: When I was a high school student, I learned that Japan was defeated in World War II. The people had no food, no resources, just nothing. But then, I was surprised to find out that within a few decades, the country rebuilt itself and became one of the most powerful nations in the global arena. I became very interested and wanted to learn more about the country. The more I found out about the country, the more I came to like the country. I literally fell in love with Japan.
But Mali used to be a French colony and I had done all my studies in French. There was absolutely no chance for me to study in Japan. A French university accepted me, so I originally planned to go there.
Then, another event occurred, as my older brother was transferred to Japan for work. Concurrently, APU offered me a scholarship covering most of the tuition and supporting my living expenses. On top of that, APU fulfilled my requirements almost 100 percent. Hence, I was able to enter APU in 2001.
Q: Did your impression of Japan change after you arrived?
Ditie: Actually, I came to love the country and its people even more. Japanese people are very friendly. They are hardworking, polite, respectful and always try to understand other people's feelings.
Q: What did you study at APU, and how was your campus life?
Ditie: I majored in management. The school was the ideal environment to study and interact with students from around the world. It was also very practical for not only focusing on studies, but also making us think and plan about our career and life after college. There also was a good mix of professors, some from the academic field, and others with a business background. In that way, we became both academic and practical.
I wanted to study in English, and APU provided the perfect setting for that, too. I also wanted to study Japanese. Again, APU allowed me to do so. I had a further quest to learn a third language, so I took some Spanish classes.
We didn't concentrate merely on our studies, either. We also were active in various club activities. I was especially interested in volunteer activities, and my club visited many orphanages and elderly care homes. That was another great learning opportunity for me.
All in all, I am proud of having graduated from APU.
Q: Why did you choose to find work in Japan after graduation?
Ditie: I think everybody at school asks themselves at some stage, whether they want to proceed to a graduate school or start working. I wanted to be practical, so I decided to work. But I knew that finding a job in Japan was very difficult, especially for a foreigner.
The APU Career Office was very helpful in the job-hunting process. First, it provided a lot of support. The career office held job interview rehearsals and guidance on how to write a proper resume, for example. Second, I found the career office's on-campus recruiting system exceptionally good. It held guidance sessions for leading Japanese companies seeking top students just graduating from college. At that time, around 80 companies came to APU to give presentations. I hear that figure has risen to over 400 today.
On-campus recruitment is also meaningful because it helps reduce the students' costs. It becomes pretty expensive and time-consuming if you have to travel to Tokyo or Osaka and stay there for some time during your job-hunting activities.
Q: What made you decide to work for Nissan, and how do you like it?
Ditie: I was fortunate to receive job offers from three different companies. Among them, Nissan was most specific on what I would be doing after entering the company. That perfectly matched with what I wanted to do. In addition, the company allows you to shift careers at any time.
Another point that urged me to join the company was that the Nissan Patrol (known as the Safari in Japan) was the car I liked best when I was in Mali. Hence, I felt as though it was my destiny to join Nissan.
Nissan is fantastic. Inside, you find the true greatness of the company. Everybody works very, very hard, and the workers never give up. People are friendly, and there is a good human relationship.
During my first three years, I was involved in global logistics planning. Then I wanted to be closer to the field and, upon my request, I was transferred to the Oppama plant. It is known for making the Nissan electric car Leaf. Now I am in charge of production control. We plan the vehicle production and procure high-quality parts from all over the world.
I am putting into practice what I learned at APU. You collaborate with all departments within the company, as well as numerous people around the world.
Q: What would you like to do next and in the future?
Ditie: First, I want to go to other emerging countries and start up the Nissan business from scratch. I want to use the knowledge I acquired in Japan and apply it to a different environment.
Eventually in the future, I want to work in Africa and be a role model. To be a role model, mostly you have to become either a politician or a successful businessman. I would go for the latter because I believe that if I work very hard and never give up, I can do it.
Ultimately, in whatever condition or environment, you always should be yourself, while being respectful of others. After all, everything depends on you.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/global-career-viewpoint.html?date=20111128
Study in Japan, work around the world (part 4): APU helps to navigate uncharted waters
For the last part of the four-part Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) interview series, the subject is Md Moin from Bangladesh, who graduated from the school in 2005. Moin revealed his thoughts on APU and Japan, together with his aspirations in life and work.
News photo
Q: Why did you choose to come to Japan and study at APU?
Moin: Originally, it was my father who recommended me to come over. Working as a researcher, he had visited many countries. But he was most impressed by Japan for the kindness of its people, as well as for its safety and cleanliness, despite being the second largest economy in the world.
After becoming a university student in my country attempting to do overseas studies, I found APU posters at the Japanese Cultural Institute, as well as at the Japanese Embassy. I found the multicultural character of APU very impressive. It was very different from other universities.
In 2001, I applied as a transfer to APU, passed the exam, and obtained a scholarship to study international financing and accounting. This happened when I was in my first year at Dhaka University, and I transferred to APU as a sophomore.
Q: How was your campus life at APU?
Moin: To be honest, studies at APU were not as strict as Dhaka University. There, you had to literally immerse yourself in academic studies. I had done enough of that, so the practical, business-oriented studies offered at APU were a good match for me.
APU was wonderful for being multicultural. There were students from a total of 61 countries during my time. Out of the 900 students or so, 50 percent were from overseas. Case studies involving discussions were really exciting. In my course, there were students from 20 countries, and we had debates just as if you were in a global business setting. The school inspired you to be independent, too, and you could build a huge network of colleagues spanning the entire globe. And since I had a vision to become independent in the future, I found the setting perfect.
As for my living situation, I originally checked in at the APU House, the school's dormitory. After one year, I moved to downtown Beppu to share a flat with my mates from Tonga, Canada, Japan and Korea. In my private time, I was also a vocalist in a band. I also started up a fair trade business selling traditional ornaments, original musical instruments and so on. Over the years, I mastered Japanese and Spanish, in addition to originally speaking Bengali, Arabic, Hindi and English.
Q: You stayed on in Japan after graduating from APU. You are currently working for a prominent global company, but you are now starting up your own company. Why?
Moin: First, I wanted to be connected to my dear friends in Japan. Second, I didn't want to forget Japanese, which was a very difficult language for me to learn. I wanted to utilize the language in real life, so that I eventually could build a relationship between Japan and Bangladesh in the future. Those are the main reasons as to why I stayed on.
I got married in 2006 with my wife, who was originally my schoolmate in Bangladesh. I called her over to Japan, and we started up our family here. We now have a 1-year-old son.
I have been working for a German company at its office in Tokyo since 2007. But after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the resulting global economic crisis, I decided to further my studies and enrolled in an MBA program at Tsukuba University in 2009. Those two years were very tough, but I finally completed my studies in July this year.
While obtaining my MBA, I started a company called Pikt (Pick & Talk) in 2010 that offers one-on-one online English conversation courses at strikingly cheap prices. All the core members of Pikt are actually my close friends from APU, and I do the directing, financing and planning. Although Pikt operates in Japan, it has full-time, high-quality English tutors in the Philippines. It adopts what I define as an ﾒintellectual fair trade communicationﾓ business model. It is a ﾒsocial businessﾓ that sets its first priority on social contribution. It helps to provide full-time job opportunities to highly qualified Filipinos who graduated from the University of the Philippines, while offering top-quality English learning opportunities for the Japanese. I came up with the idea of establishing Pikt after discovering from my Filipino APU ex-pat friends that their country had an exceptionally high unemployment rate of 25 percent, even if you graduated from the very top university.
I am setting the foundations toward my future goal to establish a consulting company that will ultimately offer business consulting services that enhance the relationship between Japan and Bangladesh.
Q: How do you define the role of APU, and would you recommend the school to others?
Moin: Oh, absolutely. It is an exceptional existence. I often ask if there are three kinds of people in the world. The first is the cool, the second is the fool, and the third is the cool and the fool. Which one of the three are you? If you answer that you want to be the third kind of person, APU is the place to be.
What I mean by being ﾒcool and a foolﾓ is to be smart, but dare to be different from others by enjoying being creative and original. APU prepares you to be that kind of person.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/global-career-viewpoint.html?date=20111205
News photo
Q: Why did you choose to come to Japan and study at APU?
Moin: Originally, it was my father who recommended me to come over. Working as a researcher, he had visited many countries. But he was most impressed by Japan for the kindness of its people, as well as for its safety and cleanliness, despite being the second largest economy in the world.
After becoming a university student in my country attempting to do overseas studies, I found APU posters at the Japanese Cultural Institute, as well as at the Japanese Embassy. I found the multicultural character of APU very impressive. It was very different from other universities.
In 2001, I applied as a transfer to APU, passed the exam, and obtained a scholarship to study international financing and accounting. This happened when I was in my first year at Dhaka University, and I transferred to APU as a sophomore.
Q: How was your campus life at APU?
Moin: To be honest, studies at APU were not as strict as Dhaka University. There, you had to literally immerse yourself in academic studies. I had done enough of that, so the practical, business-oriented studies offered at APU were a good match for me.
APU was wonderful for being multicultural. There were students from a total of 61 countries during my time. Out of the 900 students or so, 50 percent were from overseas. Case studies involving discussions were really exciting. In my course, there were students from 20 countries, and we had debates just as if you were in a global business setting. The school inspired you to be independent, too, and you could build a huge network of colleagues spanning the entire globe. And since I had a vision to become independent in the future, I found the setting perfect.
As for my living situation, I originally checked in at the APU House, the school's dormitory. After one year, I moved to downtown Beppu to share a flat with my mates from Tonga, Canada, Japan and Korea. In my private time, I was also a vocalist in a band. I also started up a fair trade business selling traditional ornaments, original musical instruments and so on. Over the years, I mastered Japanese and Spanish, in addition to originally speaking Bengali, Arabic, Hindi and English.
Q: You stayed on in Japan after graduating from APU. You are currently working for a prominent global company, but you are now starting up your own company. Why?
Moin: First, I wanted to be connected to my dear friends in Japan. Second, I didn't want to forget Japanese, which was a very difficult language for me to learn. I wanted to utilize the language in real life, so that I eventually could build a relationship between Japan and Bangladesh in the future. Those are the main reasons as to why I stayed on.
I got married in 2006 with my wife, who was originally my schoolmate in Bangladesh. I called her over to Japan, and we started up our family here. We now have a 1-year-old son.
I have been working for a German company at its office in Tokyo since 2007. But after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the resulting global economic crisis, I decided to further my studies and enrolled in an MBA program at Tsukuba University in 2009. Those two years were very tough, but I finally completed my studies in July this year.
While obtaining my MBA, I started a company called Pikt (Pick & Talk) in 2010 that offers one-on-one online English conversation courses at strikingly cheap prices. All the core members of Pikt are actually my close friends from APU, and I do the directing, financing and planning. Although Pikt operates in Japan, it has full-time, high-quality English tutors in the Philippines. It adopts what I define as an ﾒintellectual fair trade communicationﾓ business model. It is a ﾒsocial businessﾓ that sets its first priority on social contribution. It helps to provide full-time job opportunities to highly qualified Filipinos who graduated from the University of the Philippines, while offering top-quality English learning opportunities for the Japanese. I came up with the idea of establishing Pikt after discovering from my Filipino APU ex-pat friends that their country had an exceptionally high unemployment rate of 25 percent, even if you graduated from the very top university.
I am setting the foundations toward my future goal to establish a consulting company that will ultimately offer business consulting services that enhance the relationship between Japan and Bangladesh.
Q: How do you define the role of APU, and would you recommend the school to others?
Moin: Oh, absolutely. It is an exceptional existence. I often ask if there are three kinds of people in the world. The first is the cool, the second is the fool, and the third is the cool and the fool. Which one of the three are you? If you answer that you want to be the third kind of person, APU is the place to be.
What I mean by being ﾒcool and a foolﾓ is to be smart, but dare to be different from others by enjoying being creative and original. APU prepares you to be that kind of person.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/global-career-viewpoint.html?date=20111205
Study in Japan, work around the world (part 2) : There's no place like APU, a home away from home
For part two of the four-part Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) interview series, the subject is Mengmeng Cui from Beijing. After obtaining her Bachelor of Social Science in environment and society at APU in 2004, Cui went to graduate schools in Europe, worked for private companies and non-governmental organizations, started her own business, and now works in Singapore. Continuing to take steady steps forward, Cui looked back on her time at APU.
News photo
Q: You were one of the very first students at APU. Why did you decide to study in Japan?
Cui: I entered APU in 2000, when the school had just been established. But this was more by chance, so to speak.
During my high school days, I became interested in environmental science after reading a book on the environmental crisis. I was shocked and thought that should never happen, not on the globe, not in my country. So I thought of studying environmental issues at a college perhaps in Australia. But then my friend told me about APU, a new university that was just starting in Japan. It had the subjects that I wanted to study. The school also provided courses in English. Since I spoke English, that was another attractive point of the new school. The environment was there, so I came over.
Q: How was your life in Japan, especially your campus life?
Cui: On campus, the first year was very tough. For many students, including myself, English was not our native tongue. We didn't speak Japanese, either. We had to study in two foreign languages, which was a big challenge for us. As for Japanese, we had four hours of lessons, four days a week. That is how we learned the language.
The good point of APU, especially in those days, was that since there were only 600 of us in total, we knew each other almost like a big family. Everybody was open and you made great friends. There also were and still are many good professors, and I would often drop by to chat with a professor not only on the subject he taught, but also on culture, art and so on. I have studied at other colleges in different parts of the world, but the openness and frankness of APU is exceptional, and I value the distinctive character of the school very much.
Q: Would you recommend APU to others?
Cui: Yes, definitely. APU is multicultural and really international. You learn so much, and people are integrated. Other universities are often very dominating. You don't find that at all at APU.
The school is also very inviting, even for the graduates, by holding various events. That is why I keep coming back to visit the campus whenever I can.
News photo
But the school is still relatively unknown, and it is not in the mainstream. So I think it should enhance its global PR activities more on a continual basis. For example, the European Union organizes a committee for the graduates of the EU-funded universities. They pay to send the committee members to various places so that they can recruit new students in the respective countries. Perhaps that is one possible way of getting APU's name out.
Another area APU should consider seriously is the reinforcement of its information dissemination activities over the Internet.
Q: Over the years, you have accumulated much experience through your studies and work. What is your next step?
Cui: For me, things have turned out this way more by chance rather than through meticulous planning. Each time I was contemplating the next step to take, a friend or an acquaintance would come up with a suggestion or an offer. That was what happened with APU, the graduate school in Hungary, and now my job at Accenture in Singapore, which I like so much.
Toward the future, I am pondering the probability of finding a job at the United Nations. Working for the public interest and the environment on a global scale is enticing. Another possibility is to come back and teach at APU. Because I learned so much at APU, I would love to give back.
Q: What do you miss about APU?
Cui: People in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, the hometown of APU, are really very good. I have been in constant touch with my host family there, too. They are so close to my heart that they are like my real family. Even at Fukuoka Airport, people would give a nodding smile of approval when you say that you are a graduate of APU.
Honestly, there really is no place like APU.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/global-career-viewpoint.html?date=20111121
News photo
Q: You were one of the very first students at APU. Why did you decide to study in Japan?
Cui: I entered APU in 2000, when the school had just been established. But this was more by chance, so to speak.
During my high school days, I became interested in environmental science after reading a book on the environmental crisis. I was shocked and thought that should never happen, not on the globe, not in my country. So I thought of studying environmental issues at a college perhaps in Australia. But then my friend told me about APU, a new university that was just starting in Japan. It had the subjects that I wanted to study. The school also provided courses in English. Since I spoke English, that was another attractive point of the new school. The environment was there, so I came over.
Q: How was your life in Japan, especially your campus life?
Cui: On campus, the first year was very tough. For many students, including myself, English was not our native tongue. We didn't speak Japanese, either. We had to study in two foreign languages, which was a big challenge for us. As for Japanese, we had four hours of lessons, four days a week. That is how we learned the language.
The good point of APU, especially in those days, was that since there were only 600 of us in total, we knew each other almost like a big family. Everybody was open and you made great friends. There also were and still are many good professors, and I would often drop by to chat with a professor not only on the subject he taught, but also on culture, art and so on. I have studied at other colleges in different parts of the world, but the openness and frankness of APU is exceptional, and I value the distinctive character of the school very much.
Q: Would you recommend APU to others?
Cui: Yes, definitely. APU is multicultural and really international. You learn so much, and people are integrated. Other universities are often very dominating. You don't find that at all at APU.
The school is also very inviting, even for the graduates, by holding various events. That is why I keep coming back to visit the campus whenever I can.
News photo
But the school is still relatively unknown, and it is not in the mainstream. So I think it should enhance its global PR activities more on a continual basis. For example, the European Union organizes a committee for the graduates of the EU-funded universities. They pay to send the committee members to various places so that they can recruit new students in the respective countries. Perhaps that is one possible way of getting APU's name out.
Another area APU should consider seriously is the reinforcement of its information dissemination activities over the Internet.
Q: Over the years, you have accumulated much experience through your studies and work. What is your next step?
Cui: For me, things have turned out this way more by chance rather than through meticulous planning. Each time I was contemplating the next step to take, a friend or an acquaintance would come up with a suggestion or an offer. That was what happened with APU, the graduate school in Hungary, and now my job at Accenture in Singapore, which I like so much.
Toward the future, I am pondering the probability of finding a job at the United Nations. Working for the public interest and the environment on a global scale is enticing. Another possibility is to come back and teach at APU. Because I learned so much at APU, I would love to give back.
Q: What do you miss about APU?
Cui: People in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, the hometown of APU, are really very good. I have been in constant touch with my host family there, too. They are so close to my heart that they are like my real family. Even at Fukuoka Airport, people would give a nodding smile of approval when you say that you are a graduate of APU.
Honestly, there really is no place like APU.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/global-career-viewpoint.html?date=20111121
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Job-hunting students face new challenges
As the job-hunting season for university students due to graduate in spring 2013 kicked off Thursday--two months later than previous years--students and companies are struggling to find their way in this shortened recruitment season.
With more companies hiring new employees from overseas, the job market for university students--which has been described as being stuck in an "ice age" due to the protracted recession--looks set to get even tougher.
At the Ikebukuro campus of Rikkyo University, third-year students dressed in the suits they wear for job interviews packed a seminar on successful job hunting last week.
One participant, Takayuki Ida, 21, said confidently, "I've already visited five graduates from my university [to get their advice on job hunting], and today I finished sending preliminary job applications to nearly 30 companies."
Many others, however, looked anxious about their prospects.
"I've been busy working on a report for my seminar, so I'm not sure if I can make up for lost time on my job hunting in such a short period," a third-year Komazawa University student said.
Many companies are set to increase the number of recruitment briefing sessions to deal with the shortened job-hunting season.
Lawson Inc., a convenience store chain, will hold about 40 briefing sessions between now and the end of February, an increase of about 10 from last year.
Nippon Steel Corp. says it will send officials from its personnel department to university-hosted industry briefing sessions about 60 times next year, a 1.5-fold increase on the previous year.
===
Foreign rivals formidable
Meanwhile, the number of firms using online recruiting is on the rise. One of them is electronics giant Sony Corp., which will broadcast its corporate profile briefing session over the Internet. Using an online chat function, applicants will be able to ask questions and get answers directly from members of Sony's personnel department.
Many companies have set up recruitment pages on social networking sites such as Facebook.
Making the challenging job market even tougher are the growing numbers of new graduates from overseas. Japanese companies are hiring such employees to help with their plans to expand overseas.
Fast Retailing Co., the parent company that runs the Uniqlo clothing chain, plans to increase the percentage of total sales from its overseas outlets from the current 15 percent to more than 50 percent by 2015. Of about 1,200 new recruits the company will take on in 2012, 900 to 1,000 will be non-Japanese, according to Fast Retailing.
Rakuten, a major IT company, will employ about 120 non-Japanese new graduates next year, out of about 410 new recruits.
Hitachi Ltd. says it will boost the percentage of new non-Japanese recruits from 4 percent in spring 2011 to up to 6 percent of all recruits next spring.
===
More schedule changes?
Not everyone has supported the move to delay the start of the job-hunting season so students can focus more on their studies.
"The later the recruitment season starts, the more anxious students become [about job hunting]," said Hiromasa Yonekura, president of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren).
However, Mitsui & Co. Chairman Shoei Utsuda, head of the Japan Foreign Trade Council, which took the initiative in putting back the start of the job hunting season, said reform of the starting date is "still insufficient."
To enable students to concentrate on their studies longer, the starting date for job hunting should be delayed further, according to Utsuda.
He proposes that corporate briefing sessions not start until at least February or March for third-year students, and that job interviews start in August or later for seniors.
This uncertainty is causing anxiety among students preparing to enter the job market.
"It's going to be tough for us if they keep changing the date when the job-hunting season starts," a female second-year student at Meiji University said.
Yasuchika Hasegawa, chairman of the Association of Corporate Executives, has acknowledged that differences in views among business organizations and industrial groups about when to start recruitment have caused confusion among students.
(Dec. 7, 2011)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111206004548.htm
With more companies hiring new employees from overseas, the job market for university students--which has been described as being stuck in an "ice age" due to the protracted recession--looks set to get even tougher.
At the Ikebukuro campus of Rikkyo University, third-year students dressed in the suits they wear for job interviews packed a seminar on successful job hunting last week.
One participant, Takayuki Ida, 21, said confidently, "I've already visited five graduates from my university [to get their advice on job hunting], and today I finished sending preliminary job applications to nearly 30 companies."
Many others, however, looked anxious about their prospects.
"I've been busy working on a report for my seminar, so I'm not sure if I can make up for lost time on my job hunting in such a short period," a third-year Komazawa University student said.
Many companies are set to increase the number of recruitment briefing sessions to deal with the shortened job-hunting season.
Lawson Inc., a convenience store chain, will hold about 40 briefing sessions between now and the end of February, an increase of about 10 from last year.
Nippon Steel Corp. says it will send officials from its personnel department to university-hosted industry briefing sessions about 60 times next year, a 1.5-fold increase on the previous year.
===
Foreign rivals formidable
Meanwhile, the number of firms using online recruiting is on the rise. One of them is electronics giant Sony Corp., which will broadcast its corporate profile briefing session over the Internet. Using an online chat function, applicants will be able to ask questions and get answers directly from members of Sony's personnel department.
Many companies have set up recruitment pages on social networking sites such as Facebook.
Making the challenging job market even tougher are the growing numbers of new graduates from overseas. Japanese companies are hiring such employees to help with their plans to expand overseas.
Fast Retailing Co., the parent company that runs the Uniqlo clothing chain, plans to increase the percentage of total sales from its overseas outlets from the current 15 percent to more than 50 percent by 2015. Of about 1,200 new recruits the company will take on in 2012, 900 to 1,000 will be non-Japanese, according to Fast Retailing.
Rakuten, a major IT company, will employ about 120 non-Japanese new graduates next year, out of about 410 new recruits.
Hitachi Ltd. says it will boost the percentage of new non-Japanese recruits from 4 percent in spring 2011 to up to 6 percent of all recruits next spring.
===
More schedule changes?
Not everyone has supported the move to delay the start of the job-hunting season so students can focus more on their studies.
"The later the recruitment season starts, the more anxious students become [about job hunting]," said Hiromasa Yonekura, president of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren).
However, Mitsui & Co. Chairman Shoei Utsuda, head of the Japan Foreign Trade Council, which took the initiative in putting back the start of the job hunting season, said reform of the starting date is "still insufficient."
To enable students to concentrate on their studies longer, the starting date for job hunting should be delayed further, according to Utsuda.
He proposes that corporate briefing sessions not start until at least February or March for third-year students, and that job interviews start in August or later for seniors.
This uncertainty is causing anxiety among students preparing to enter the job market.
"It's going to be tough for us if they keep changing the date when the job-hunting season starts," a female second-year student at Meiji University said.
Yasuchika Hasegawa, chairman of the Association of Corporate Executives, has acknowledged that differences in views among business organizations and industrial groups about when to start recruitment have caused confusion among students.
(Dec. 7, 2011)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111206004548.htm
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Japanese ‘fever’ hits young Indonesians
Japan, once the pride of Asia, might be economically weakening due to its long economic stagnation and the rapid rise of China in recent years. But, perhaps unnoticed, Japan has been emerging as a cultural powerhouse in Asia through its soft power projection.
It has not been an easy ride, Japan faces stiff competition from China, which has a huge diaspora in many countries, and rising South Korea, whose hallyu (Korean Wave) is spreading widely in Southeast Asia. Yet it seems Japan is markedly gaining the upper hand over its rivals in Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia.
Popular cultural products like manga comics, cartoon films, food, fashion, arts, J-Pop music and finally the Japanese language have penetrated Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia.
Children at a young age are exposed to Japanese comics and cartoon films.
“I became interested in Japan through cartoon films. I like Naruto characters very much,” a teenager, who prefers to use her Japanese nickname Hitachiin, said during a Japanese education exhibition in Jakarta on Saturday.
Many people are also becoming patrons of Japanese food, which is healthy but out of reach for many. Japanese restaurants are mushrooming in Indonesia’s major cities, with long queues at expensive Japanese restaurants in Jakarta’s posher malls a common scene on weekends.
“Every week, we dine at a Japanese restaurant because our children like Japanese food. In the beginning I didn’t like it much but now it has become my favorite food,” Susi Alexandria, a housewife living in South Jakarta, said.
Another example of this growing Japanese cultural fever is its language.
“I am very happy to say that around 750,000 Indonesians are currently studying the Japanese language in Indonesia,” Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Yoshinori Katori said recently during a language debate contest in Jakarta.
According to a survey conducted by the Japan Foundation, 3.56 million people around the world are currently learning Japanese outside Japan. Surprisingly, Indonesia ranks third in the world after South Korea’s 960,000 learners and China with 830,000.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/11/28/japanese-fever-hits-young-indonesians.html
It has not been an easy ride, Japan faces stiff competition from China, which has a huge diaspora in many countries, and rising South Korea, whose hallyu (Korean Wave) is spreading widely in Southeast Asia. Yet it seems Japan is markedly gaining the upper hand over its rivals in Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia.
Popular cultural products like manga comics, cartoon films, food, fashion, arts, J-Pop music and finally the Japanese language have penetrated Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia.
Children at a young age are exposed to Japanese comics and cartoon films.
“I became interested in Japan through cartoon films. I like Naruto characters very much,” a teenager, who prefers to use her Japanese nickname Hitachiin, said during a Japanese education exhibition in Jakarta on Saturday.
Many people are also becoming patrons of Japanese food, which is healthy but out of reach for many. Japanese restaurants are mushrooming in Indonesia’s major cities, with long queues at expensive Japanese restaurants in Jakarta’s posher malls a common scene on weekends.
“Every week, we dine at a Japanese restaurant because our children like Japanese food. In the beginning I didn’t like it much but now it has become my favorite food,” Susi Alexandria, a housewife living in South Jakarta, said.
Another example of this growing Japanese cultural fever is its language.
“I am very happy to say that around 750,000 Indonesians are currently studying the Japanese language in Indonesia,” Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Yoshinori Katori said recently during a language debate contest in Jakarta.
According to a survey conducted by the Japan Foundation, 3.56 million people around the world are currently learning Japanese outside Japan. Surprisingly, Indonesia ranks third in the world after South Korea’s 960,000 learners and China with 830,000.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/11/28/japanese-fever-hits-young-indonesians.html
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Exec: Non-English speakers cannot do business in 10 years
English is an indispensable business tool for Japanese, who must compete globally as the domestic markets shrink. This especially applies to young people.
So says Tadashi Yanai, president of Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain.
"Just think about Japan in 10 years' time. People who can do their jobs only in Japan will not be able to survive," Yanai, 62, speaking in Japanese, told The Asahi Shimbun in an interview. "Japanese students must think that they are competing with students from other Asian countries."
Fast Retailing will make English its official language for business from 2012.
Yanai spoke about what he expects from students entering the job market and why he believes English is essential for their future.
Excerpts from the interview follow:
Q: What is your definition of "global personnel"?
A: My definition is simple. It's people who can do the jobs they do in Japan anywhere in the world. Japan is losing its allure as a market due to a shrinking population, and companies must compete in the world to grow. What is needed is the ability to understand the culture and thinking in a different country and communicate heart to heart with its people.
Q: Is that why English will be the official language at your company?
A: If people cannot speak English in business in the future, it will be tantamount to not having a driver's license even though they have to drive. English is the language for business not only in the United States and Europe but also in Asia. I think (English is indispensable in business) even though I am running a company in the retail sector, which is most focused on the domestic market. That thinking must be taken for granted in the manufacturing sector, and also applies to the service sectors other than retailing.
Q: But was it necessary to go so far as to designate English as the official language?
A: Without officialdom, employees will not work hard. We can talk in Japanese if we have only Japanese employees. But we will employ non-Japanese people in half of the positions in the head office within three to five years. Without English, we will not be able to even hold meetings.
But I want to emphasize that English is merely a tool for business. Japanese will remain the standard language for our thinking and culture. We have no intention of assimilating our thinking to those of overseas enterprises.
Q: What if students who excel in all subjects except for English want to work for your company?
A: We don't need such students.
Q: You don't mince your words, do you?
A: Life is not a box of chocolates. Just think about Japan in 10 years' time. People who can do their jobs only in Japan will not be able to survive. Some Chinese students learn everyday Japanese conversation in half a year. Japanese students must think that they are competing with students from other Asian countries.
Q: Without working so hard, you could lead a reasonably affluent life in Japan, couldn't you?
A: If the nation becomes poor, you cannot maintain that "reasonably affluent" life. Believing in honorable poverty is dangerous.
Having said that, I can understand how you feel. When I was a student, I thought about how to make a living without working. I joined a company using someone's connections, quit the company in less than a year and crashed in a friend's apartment as a sponger. While the friend went to work, I stayed at his apartment. I lived like that for about half a year.
Q: Did you have something to gain?
A: I was wondering all the way through whether I should live a life like that. I did nothing productive. I was thinking about going abroad to study commerce, but I felt it was like a mere excuse. In the end, my father, who was operating a clothing store in my hometown, called me back, and I took over his business. Contrary to my expectations, I found I was cut out for it.
Q: In your younger days, you were not the hard worker that you are now, were you?
A: Because of my experience during that time, I want to tell young people to devote their energies to work. When you're a student, it's a time to be free and comfortable. But it is also something like a rootless wanderer. Work, on the other hand, has the power to change the world. It takes 10 years to go on your own in business. You can think about your life in many ways after that period.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/business/AJ201111250021
So says Tadashi Yanai, president of Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain.
"Just think about Japan in 10 years' time. People who can do their jobs only in Japan will not be able to survive," Yanai, 62, speaking in Japanese, told The Asahi Shimbun in an interview. "Japanese students must think that they are competing with students from other Asian countries."
Fast Retailing will make English its official language for business from 2012.
Yanai spoke about what he expects from students entering the job market and why he believes English is essential for their future.
Excerpts from the interview follow:
Q: What is your definition of "global personnel"?
A: My definition is simple. It's people who can do the jobs they do in Japan anywhere in the world. Japan is losing its allure as a market due to a shrinking population, and companies must compete in the world to grow. What is needed is the ability to understand the culture and thinking in a different country and communicate heart to heart with its people.
Q: Is that why English will be the official language at your company?
A: If people cannot speak English in business in the future, it will be tantamount to not having a driver's license even though they have to drive. English is the language for business not only in the United States and Europe but also in Asia. I think (English is indispensable in business) even though I am running a company in the retail sector, which is most focused on the domestic market. That thinking must be taken for granted in the manufacturing sector, and also applies to the service sectors other than retailing.
Q: But was it necessary to go so far as to designate English as the official language?
A: Without officialdom, employees will not work hard. We can talk in Japanese if we have only Japanese employees. But we will employ non-Japanese people in half of the positions in the head office within three to five years. Without English, we will not be able to even hold meetings.
But I want to emphasize that English is merely a tool for business. Japanese will remain the standard language for our thinking and culture. We have no intention of assimilating our thinking to those of overseas enterprises.
Q: What if students who excel in all subjects except for English want to work for your company?
A: We don't need such students.
Q: You don't mince your words, do you?
A: Life is not a box of chocolates. Just think about Japan in 10 years' time. People who can do their jobs only in Japan will not be able to survive. Some Chinese students learn everyday Japanese conversation in half a year. Japanese students must think that they are competing with students from other Asian countries.
Q: Without working so hard, you could lead a reasonably affluent life in Japan, couldn't you?
A: If the nation becomes poor, you cannot maintain that "reasonably affluent" life. Believing in honorable poverty is dangerous.
Having said that, I can understand how you feel. When I was a student, I thought about how to make a living without working. I joined a company using someone's connections, quit the company in less than a year and crashed in a friend's apartment as a sponger. While the friend went to work, I stayed at his apartment. I lived like that for about half a year.
Q: Did you have something to gain?
A: I was wondering all the way through whether I should live a life like that. I did nothing productive. I was thinking about going abroad to study commerce, but I felt it was like a mere excuse. In the end, my father, who was operating a clothing store in my hometown, called me back, and I took over his business. Contrary to my expectations, I found I was cut out for it.
Q: In your younger days, you were not the hard worker that you are now, were you?
A: Because of my experience during that time, I want to tell young people to devote their energies to work. When you're a student, it's a time to be free and comfortable. But it is also something like a rootless wanderer. Work, on the other hand, has the power to change the world. It takes 10 years to go on your own in business. You can think about your life in many ways after that period.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/business/AJ201111250021
Friday, November 25, 2011
60% of next year's college graduates secure jobs60% of next year's college graduates secure jobs
More than half of the college students who will graduate next March had found jobs as of Oct. 1, while some 171,000 graduating students are believed to still be struggling to gain employment, according to a poll by the labor and education ministries released Friday.
While those who have landed a position at 59.9 percent are up by 2.3 percentage points from the same point last year, when the figure fell to its lowest level since the survey was first conducted in 1996, the number is still low compared with the early 2000s — a period bleak enough to be dubbed the "employment ice age.".
Among students at national and prefectural universities, 67.4 percent of the former had found jobs, up 4.2 points from a year earlier, as had 57.4 percent of the latter. The poll found 61.7 percent of male students found work, up 2.2 points, and 57.7 percent of females, up 2.4 points.
The rate for students at two-year junior colleges came to 22.7 percent, up 0.2 point.
Meanwhile, 41.5 percent of high school seniors who want to work after graduation had found jobs as of the end of September.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111119a9.html
While those who have landed a position at 59.9 percent are up by 2.3 percentage points from the same point last year, when the figure fell to its lowest level since the survey was first conducted in 1996, the number is still low compared with the early 2000s — a period bleak enough to be dubbed the "employment ice age.".
Among students at national and prefectural universities, 67.4 percent of the former had found jobs, up 4.2 points from a year earlier, as had 57.4 percent of the latter. The poll found 61.7 percent of male students found work, up 2.2 points, and 57.7 percent of females, up 2.4 points.
The rate for students at two-year junior colleges came to 22.7 percent, up 0.2 point.
Meanwhile, 41.5 percent of high school seniors who want to work after graduation had found jobs as of the end of September.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111119a9.html
Saturday, November 19, 2011
EDUCATION RENAISSANCE / Universities targeting parents to attract students
The following article is a translation from The Yomiuri Shimbun's Educational Renaissance series. This installment, the third and last of three articles, focuses on universities' efforts to attract students by holding explanation sessions specially designed to win over parents.
About 120 parents gathered at Kanagawa Institute of Technology in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, on July 31 to attend an hourlong meeting for parents whose children are considering attending the university. The event was aimed at explaining various issues students will face, including those related to scholarships and job hunting.
The meeting was followed by a campus tour. About 60 parents were guided by Atsushi Kuroko, head of the planning and admissions department, and other school officials and to various facilities including a center to support supplemental study.
"Please encourage your children to visit the center if they aren't able to keep up with their classes. In the case of boys, fathers aren't good at handling sons, so mothers should take the lead," Kuroko said, making the parents laugh.
"This is the third introductory session I've attended. But I've never attended a tour specifically designed for parents before. The explanations were so easy to understand I had nothing to ask," said a pleased mother who visited the campus with her daughter.
The school launched the campus tour for parents in 2007, adding to the explanation sessions for parents it launched in 2000. In 2008, the institute had school officials who help with postgraduate employment attend the session. Thanks to university's efforts, the number of parents attending open houses--originally intended for students--reached 1,285 in the 2011 school year compared with 582 in the 2007 school year.
"A parents-only session allows us to hear parents' opinions firsthand and discuss them," Kuroko said.
At a time when universities are competing fiercely to get more students--39 percent of private universities in the country under-enrolled--schools are trying a variety of measures to appeal to parents.
Nanzan University in Aichi Prefecture has held open house events for parents in March every year since 2007. This year, in a newly built building, about 300 parents listened to university students talk about their experiences studying abroad and took a trial lesson.
Ritsumeikan University has held an event designed for parents titled, "Let's go to Kitano Tenmangu shrine to pray for entrance exam success," during their summer open house since 2009.
The university's cooperative association students give tours around the Kinugasa campus in Kyoto.
"It seems like parents enjoy the walk and the chance to talk with students," a member of the association said.
"Parents' opinions have a strong influence on a student's choice of schools. It is important to win the hearts of parents who visit schools," said Kenji Yasuda, a senior official of Daigaku Tsushin, an education information firm.
"Recently, parents want to tour campuses together with their children. I expect there'll be more events where they can take part together," Yasuda added.
It appears there is nothing to stop the battle between universities to win the hearts and minds of parents.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/T111117003665.htm
About 120 parents gathered at Kanagawa Institute of Technology in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, on July 31 to attend an hourlong meeting for parents whose children are considering attending the university. The event was aimed at explaining various issues students will face, including those related to scholarships and job hunting.
The meeting was followed by a campus tour. About 60 parents were guided by Atsushi Kuroko, head of the planning and admissions department, and other school officials and to various facilities including a center to support supplemental study.
"Please encourage your children to visit the center if they aren't able to keep up with their classes. In the case of boys, fathers aren't good at handling sons, so mothers should take the lead," Kuroko said, making the parents laugh.
"This is the third introductory session I've attended. But I've never attended a tour specifically designed for parents before. The explanations were so easy to understand I had nothing to ask," said a pleased mother who visited the campus with her daughter.
The school launched the campus tour for parents in 2007, adding to the explanation sessions for parents it launched in 2000. In 2008, the institute had school officials who help with postgraduate employment attend the session. Thanks to university's efforts, the number of parents attending open houses--originally intended for students--reached 1,285 in the 2011 school year compared with 582 in the 2007 school year.
"A parents-only session allows us to hear parents' opinions firsthand and discuss them," Kuroko said.
At a time when universities are competing fiercely to get more students--39 percent of private universities in the country under-enrolled--schools are trying a variety of measures to appeal to parents.
Nanzan University in Aichi Prefecture has held open house events for parents in March every year since 2007. This year, in a newly built building, about 300 parents listened to university students talk about their experiences studying abroad and took a trial lesson.
Ritsumeikan University has held an event designed for parents titled, "Let's go to Kitano Tenmangu shrine to pray for entrance exam success," during their summer open house since 2009.
The university's cooperative association students give tours around the Kinugasa campus in Kyoto.
"It seems like parents enjoy the walk and the chance to talk with students," a member of the association said.
"Parents' opinions have a strong influence on a student's choice of schools. It is important to win the hearts of parents who visit schools," said Kenji Yasuda, a senior official of Daigaku Tsushin, an education information firm.
"Recently, parents want to tour campuses together with their children. I expect there'll be more events where they can take part together," Yasuda added.
It appears there is nothing to stop the battle between universities to win the hearts and minds of parents.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/T111117003665.htm
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Considering How to Train Global Human Resources”symposium
Osaka Foundation of International Exchange and Osaka Prefectural Office will be holding a symposium entitled “Considering How to Train Global Human Resources” with the aim of training global human resources who will play an active role in the world. http://www.event21.jp/global/
At the symposium， a discussion will be held on what global human resources are， what global human resources must do， and from this provide a key to those who will bear the future， the young people， on how they can become global human resources.
Mr. Mineo Nakajima， President of Akita International University， a university that holds all of its classes in English and obligates its students to study 1 year overseas， will give a lecture on “Training Global Human Resources and Japanese Universities”.
Also， Ms. Mari Yamashita， Director of the Public Relations Center of the United Nations， will talk about her own experiences and give a talk entitled “Let’s Fly to the World! The World’s Expectations of Japan-from the View Point of the United Nations”， where she will talk about what the world is expecting from Japan.
Panelists for the panel discussion include Mr. Toru Nakahara， Principal of Izumi High School， who was also a lawyer in the United States for 10 years， and Mr. Tomohiko Nakayama， the Manager of the Personnel Department of the Global Company， Daikin Industries， with Mr. Takeshi Matsuda， President of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies， as moderator.
Graduates from American Universities will talk about their experience and there will also be an explanation about study in American Universities and Graduate Schools given by the Japan-US Educational Commission.
Registration is free. Please through the following homepage: http://www.event21.jp/global/
◆ Program Details
Date ：December 3， 2011 (Saturday) 13:30-17:00
Venue ：ATC Hall (Asia Pacific Trade Center) Hall C， 2-1-10 Nanko Kita， Suminoe-ku Osaka City
Target ：High school， University， Vocational school students， Educational Institution Staff，
Company personnel， etc.
Capacity：800 people (Pre-registration. Registration will close when capacity is reached.）
Fee ：Free
12:30-13:30 Opening and Registration
13:30-13:40 Opening Remarks
13:40-14:10 Keynote Lecture “Global Human Resources Training and Japanese Universities”
Mineo Nakajima President， Aichi International University
14:10-14:40 Lecture “Let’s Fly to the World! The World’s Expectations of Japan-from the View Point of the United Nations”
Mari Yamashita Director， UN Public Relations Center
14:40-15:00 “ABC’s of American Universities and Graduate Schools”
Chizuru Sasada Japan-US Educational Council（Fullbright Japan）
Press Relations Room and Overseas Study Information Service Senior Overseas Study Adviser
15:00-15:15 Break
15:15-15:45 “Experience of Graduates from American Universities and Explanation on Enrolling in the US”
ＵＳＣＡＮＪ（U.S. College Alumni Network of Japan）
Yuuki Amaki（University of California Los Angeles（UCLA）Graduate）
Kanda Institute of Foreign Languages Overseas Study Coordinator and Hybrid English Learning Program Development Center Research Staff
Yoshitaka Yamamoto （Harvard University Graduate） Tokyo University Graduate School MA Student
15:45-16:55 Panel Discussion
Panelist ：Mineo Nakajima President， Aichi International University
Mari Yamashita Director， UN Public Relations Center
Tomohiko Yamada Manager， Daikin Industries Personnel Department
Toru Nakahara President， Izumi High School
Yoshitaka Yamamoto Harvard University Graduate
（Content） What are Global Human Resources? Why are Global Human Resources wanted? What are required of Global Human Resources? How do you train human resources (what should be done?)
Moderator: Takeshi Matsuda President， Kyoto University of Foreign Studies
17:00 Closing
(For details)
http://www.event21.jp/global/
http://www.pref.osaka.jp/hodo/attach/hodo-08584_4.pdf
At the symposium， a discussion will be held on what global human resources are， what global human resources must do， and from this provide a key to those who will bear the future， the young people， on how they can become global human resources.
Mr. Mineo Nakajima， President of Akita International University， a university that holds all of its classes in English and obligates its students to study 1 year overseas， will give a lecture on “Training Global Human Resources and Japanese Universities”.
Also， Ms. Mari Yamashita， Director of the Public Relations Center of the United Nations， will talk about her own experiences and give a talk entitled “Let’s Fly to the World! The World’s Expectations of Japan-from the View Point of the United Nations”， where she will talk about what the world is expecting from Japan.
Panelists for the panel discussion include Mr. Toru Nakahara， Principal of Izumi High School， who was also a lawyer in the United States for 10 years， and Mr. Tomohiko Nakayama， the Manager of the Personnel Department of the Global Company， Daikin Industries， with Mr. Takeshi Matsuda， President of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies， as moderator.
Graduates from American Universities will talk about their experience and there will also be an explanation about study in American Universities and Graduate Schools given by the Japan-US Educational Commission.
Registration is free. Please through the following homepage: http://www.event21.jp/global/
◆ Program Details
Date ：December 3， 2011 (Saturday) 13:30-17:00
Venue ：ATC Hall (Asia Pacific Trade Center) Hall C， 2-1-10 Nanko Kita， Suminoe-ku Osaka City
Target ：High school， University， Vocational school students， Educational Institution Staff，
Company personnel， etc.
Capacity：800 people (Pre-registration. Registration will close when capacity is reached.）
Fee ：Free
12:30-13:30 Opening and Registration
13:30-13:40 Opening Remarks
13:40-14:10 Keynote Lecture “Global Human Resources Training and Japanese Universities”
Mineo Nakajima President， Aichi International University
14:10-14:40 Lecture “Let’s Fly to the World! The World’s Expectations of Japan-from the View Point of the United Nations”
Mari Yamashita Director， UN Public Relations Center
14:40-15:00 “ABC’s of American Universities and Graduate Schools”
Chizuru Sasada Japan-US Educational Council（Fullbright Japan）
Press Relations Room and Overseas Study Information Service Senior Overseas Study Adviser
15:00-15:15 Break
15:15-15:45 “Experience of Graduates from American Universities and Explanation on Enrolling in the US”
ＵＳＣＡＮＪ（U.S. College Alumni Network of Japan）
Yuuki Amaki（University of California Los Angeles（UCLA）Graduate）
Kanda Institute of Foreign Languages Overseas Study Coordinator and Hybrid English Learning Program Development Center Research Staff
Yoshitaka Yamamoto （Harvard University Graduate） Tokyo University Graduate School MA Student
15:45-16:55 Panel Discussion
Panelist ：Mineo Nakajima President， Aichi International University
Mari Yamashita Director， UN Public Relations Center
Tomohiko Yamada Manager， Daikin Industries Personnel Department
Toru Nakahara President， Izumi High School
Yoshitaka Yamamoto Harvard University Graduate
（Content） What are Global Human Resources? Why are Global Human Resources wanted? What are required of Global Human Resources? How do you train human resources (what should be done?)
Moderator: Takeshi Matsuda President， Kyoto University of Foreign Studies
17:00 Closing
(For details)
http://www.event21.jp/global/
http://www.pref.osaka.jp/hodo/attach/hodo-08584_4.pdf
Japanese look abroad to boost international appeal
JAPAN'S universities - assailed by claims they have failed to cope with globalisation - are moving to boost their international competitiveness and appeal.
Big changes are happening as campuses are offering more courses in English to boost foreign student numbers.
The government's Global 30 program, launched in 2008, aims to attract 300,000 foreign students to Japan by encouraging 13 universities - including Tokyo, Kyoto, Waseda and Sophia - to become centres for international education.
Waseda University vice-president Katsuichi Uchida said his institution launched its school of international studies in 2004 in anticipation of the direction in which things were heading and now had six faculties teaching in English.
"In that school we take 600 students. Two-thirds are Japanese, one-third are foreign," Professor Uchida said.
"All courses are taught in English and all these students are required to spend a year in another country to study.
"Nowadays this is a kind of a model for the development of undergraduate education programs at Waseda."
He said the university was turning its focus to Chinese students and students from other parts of Asia where Japanese companies increasingly were basing many of their production facilities to capitalise on cheaper labour.
Waseda now has 4000 foreign students, of which 40 per cent are Chinese and 20 per cent South Korean.
"When you are on Waseda's campus you will hear students speaking in Chinese, Korean, English and Japanese," he said.
"Through this kind of environment, Japanese students now recognise diverse cultural backgrounds and languages.
"The purpose for us in receiving international students is not just to educate those students but also Japanese students."
Tokyo University has just flagged starting a September entrance system - to be aligned with the US academic calendar - and its president has emphasised the importance of globalisation of universities in recent speeches.
Professor Uchida said the attitude was changing with universities recruiting foreign students and changing to a more global curriculum and internationally recognised teaching methods.
"We have been the forerunner, but these days the other universities recognise the importance of globalisation," he said.
"We now understand the importance of liberal arts education to nurture critical
ways of thinking. We are now developing small classes and during classes we emphasise the importance of discussion between students and faculty members."
Sophia University president Tadashi Takizawa said the university, a small institution by Japanese standards, had more than 700 foreign students and was increasingly turning its eyes from West to East with a view to attracting students from other parts of Asia.
Sophia is a Jesuit-established institution that has been at the forefront of internationalised education in Japan.
Foreign student numbers in Japan have almost tripled since 2000, with the present total standing about 142,000. However, that's still small even when compared with Australia, which has more than 200,000 foreign students enrolled in higher education courses each year.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/international-students/japanese-look-abroad-to-boost-international-appeal/story-fnahn4sk-1226196048362
Big changes are happening as campuses are offering more courses in English to boost foreign student numbers.
The government's Global 30 program, launched in 2008, aims to attract 300,000 foreign students to Japan by encouraging 13 universities - including Tokyo, Kyoto, Waseda and Sophia - to become centres for international education.
Waseda University vice-president Katsuichi Uchida said his institution launched its school of international studies in 2004 in anticipation of the direction in which things were heading and now had six faculties teaching in English.
"In that school we take 600 students. Two-thirds are Japanese, one-third are foreign," Professor Uchida said.
"All courses are taught in English and all these students are required to spend a year in another country to study.
"Nowadays this is a kind of a model for the development of undergraduate education programs at Waseda."
He said the university was turning its focus to Chinese students and students from other parts of Asia where Japanese companies increasingly were basing many of their production facilities to capitalise on cheaper labour.
Waseda now has 4000 foreign students, of which 40 per cent are Chinese and 20 per cent South Korean.
"When you are on Waseda's campus you will hear students speaking in Chinese, Korean, English and Japanese," he said.
"Through this kind of environment, Japanese students now recognise diverse cultural backgrounds and languages.
"The purpose for us in receiving international students is not just to educate those students but also Japanese students."
Tokyo University has just flagged starting a September entrance system - to be aligned with the US academic calendar - and its president has emphasised the importance of globalisation of universities in recent speeches.
Professor Uchida said the attitude was changing with universities recruiting foreign students and changing to a more global curriculum and internationally recognised teaching methods.
"We have been the forerunner, but these days the other universities recognise the importance of globalisation," he said.
"We now understand the importance of liberal arts education to nurture critical
ways of thinking. We are now developing small classes and during classes we emphasise the importance of discussion between students and faculty members."
Sophia University president Tadashi Takizawa said the university, a small institution by Japanese standards, had more than 700 foreign students and was increasingly turning its eyes from West to East with a view to attracting students from other parts of Asia.
Sophia is a Jesuit-established institution that has been at the forefront of internationalised education in Japan.
Foreign student numbers in Japan have almost tripled since 2000, with the present total standing about 142,000. However, that's still small even when compared with Australia, which has more than 200,000 foreign students enrolled in higher education courses each year.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/international-students/japanese-look-abroad-to-boost-international-appeal/story-fnahn4sk-1226196048362
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Japanese universities want more Indian students
You don't have to master Japanese to be able to study in a Japanese university. This was the most important take-home message of the day-long education fair organised last week by the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation.
Eleven Japanese universities participated in the fair, which showcased their government's 'Global 30' initiative to attract best students from across the world. Japan had kickstarted the initiative in 2009 with the ambitious target of having 300,000 foreign students by 2020.
Language being the biggest barrier for Japanese universities, one of the early decisions taken by that country's government was to relax the rule making it mandatory for all foreign students enrolling for higher studies to learn Japanese. The 11 universities that participated in the fair were among the first to impart education in English.
"This was very challenging because we had to get professors who speak in English and also have a deep understanding of Japanese culture," said Satoshi Hata, who heads the India Office of the East Asian nation's top private university, Ritsumeikan University, which has campuses in four cities, including Kyoto. "The number of international professors teaching in Japan is also increasing," Hata added.
The pride of place at the fair of course belonged to the University of Tokyo, one of the oldest in Japan, having been founded in 1877. The university with a student population of 28,000 has just 35 from India enrolled in its engineering and information science programmes.
At the neighbouring Waseda University, which has 4,000 international students, India's presence adds up 10. The sought-after programmes at this university are political science, economics and engineering. An obvious gain of studying in a Japanese university for Indian students is their employability in Japanese firms, which are expanding steadily across the country.
"We hope to increase the number of students from this country by opening an office in Bangalore in February 2012," Yoshino Hiroshi, director of the University of Tokyo's India Office said. At present, the majority of the international student are from China and Korea. Of the more than 140,000 foreign students studying in various Japanese universities, Chinese students add up to 86,173, whereas Indians total only 546.
Students from India are enrolled mostly in engineering and Japanese language and literature programmes, the latter being particularly useful for those who wish to work as translators in Japanese companies. A number of these Indian students are on scholarships.
"Last year we gave scholarships to around 50 students from India," Kei Eda, first secretary, Embassy of Japan, said. "We want more Indian students to come and study in Japan."But before you set your sights on Japan, start preparing for the Entrance to Japanese Universities Admission for International Students (EJU) exam, which is similar to the GRE. For details on the syllabus and question patterns, go to the website of the Japan Student Services Organisation (JASSO), www.jasso.go.jp.
http://m.indiatoday.in/itwapsite/story?sid=159148&secid=114
Eleven Japanese universities participated in the fair, which showcased their government's 'Global 30' initiative to attract best students from across the world. Japan had kickstarted the initiative in 2009 with the ambitious target of having 300,000 foreign students by 2020.
Language being the biggest barrier for Japanese universities, one of the early decisions taken by that country's government was to relax the rule making it mandatory for all foreign students enrolling for higher studies to learn Japanese. The 11 universities that participated in the fair were among the first to impart education in English.
"This was very challenging because we had to get professors who speak in English and also have a deep understanding of Japanese culture," said Satoshi Hata, who heads the India Office of the East Asian nation's top private university, Ritsumeikan University, which has campuses in four cities, including Kyoto. "The number of international professors teaching in Japan is also increasing," Hata added.
The pride of place at the fair of course belonged to the University of Tokyo, one of the oldest in Japan, having been founded in 1877. The university with a student population of 28,000 has just 35 from India enrolled in its engineering and information science programmes.
At the neighbouring Waseda University, which has 4,000 international students, India's presence adds up 10. The sought-after programmes at this university are political science, economics and engineering. An obvious gain of studying in a Japanese university for Indian students is their employability in Japanese firms, which are expanding steadily across the country.
"We hope to increase the number of students from this country by opening an office in Bangalore in February 2012," Yoshino Hiroshi, director of the University of Tokyo's India Office said. At present, the majority of the international student are from China and Korea. Of the more than 140,000 foreign students studying in various Japanese universities, Chinese students add up to 86,173, whereas Indians total only 546.
Students from India are enrolled mostly in engineering and Japanese language and literature programmes, the latter being particularly useful for those who wish to work as translators in Japanese companies. A number of these Indian students are on scholarships.
"Last year we gave scholarships to around 50 students from India," Kei Eda, first secretary, Embassy of Japan, said. "We want more Indian students to come and study in Japan."But before you set your sights on Japan, start preparing for the Entrance to Japanese Universities Admission for International Students (EJU) exam, which is similar to the GRE. For details on the syllabus and question patterns, go to the website of the Japan Student Services Organisation (JASSO), www.jasso.go.jp.
http://m.indiatoday.in/itwapsite/story?sid=159148&secid=114
Study in Japan, work around the world (part 1)
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, was established in April 2000. Though relatively new to the academic scene, the school is one of the most popular universities among Japan's leading corporations today, with over 400 companies visiting the campus to recruit.
What makes APU so popular? What is unique about the school? These are among the questions answered in this four-part interview series.
The first interviewee is Susumu Yamamoto, a professor at the College of International Management (APM), one of two undergraduate colleges at APU, who also serves as the dean of careers.
News photo
Q: You were working for a leading Japanese company before starting to teach at APU. Why the switch and why APU?
Yamamoto: Yes, that's true. Before taking up my current position at APU in 2006, I worked for Sony, but I also loved studying and I obtained my doctorate. Actually, I had a vague longing to eventually teach at a university. The offer from APU came at such a time and I found it appealing.
APU is very unique for giving most of its lectures in English and Japanese. This means that the students are able to choose from a lecture conducted in Japanese or English.
Q: Tell us about your students. Where do they come from? What is their attitude toward study, work and social life?
Yamamoto: About half of our students as well as professors come from overseas. It is the only school in Japan where undergraduate students come from about 80 countries. They come to APU straight after graduating from high school. Generally speaking, these students enter our school on an English basis with no command of the Japanese language. Consequently, they receive very intensive training in Japanese during their first year.
The students themselves are highly motivated and are hard workers. The same also goes for our Japanese students. Those who come to APU are enthusiasts with a clear objective, often with a rich international experience. They study in Japanese, but then receive intensive training in English. So by the time of graduation, all APU students become fluent in at least two languages, English and Japanese, regardless of nationality.
Our students are very active in after-school club activities, too. For example, our traditional Korean dance group club has become a local sensation for their fine dancing. The distinctive advantage of this club is that many members are not Korean. They learn from each other, from different cultures.
Many also take up part-time jobs during their free time. I don't know when they sleep, but their campus life is so rich and full that I often wish there was a school like APU when I was a young student.
News photo
Q: Why do you think APU has become popular among many leading companies in Japan?
Yamamoto: For one thing, because our students are fully bilingual. We also provide "practical" knowledge by having numerous professors with different business backgrounds teaching our courses. Each class is also very interactive, encouraging everybody to speak up, which in turn enhances the communication ability of each student.
Another background factor is the materialistic change of the Japanese corporations themselves. Japanese companies are seeking manpower that are global in a true sense. Also, research shows that companies plan to hire more international students next year. They are after those who can battle and survive anywhere in the world.
APU develops students with such capabilities. What I mean by "battle and survive" does not mean to fight and win one's way. It is the ability to communicate and solve the issue at hand. The outside world is filled with myriad uncertainties and you never know what may happen next. Those who excel merely in their academic studies often sit at their desks and contemplate for hours, days or even weeks to obtain the "very best solution." But when working on-site, you don't have that time to spare as things change minute by minute. Under such pressing conditions, you must go for the "second-best answer." That thought process is respected at APU, making our courses very realistic and practical.
Q: How well is APU evaluated in the global arena?
Yamamoto: Our reputation is growing rapidly. Many of our graduates go back to their hometown on their holidays as proud workers of prominent Japanese companies. Their parents boast about their children, too, saying that APU is the way to get their children into general management at good companies. Such word-of-mouth information quickly spreads around the community. The good reputation helps us obtain more high-level students from around the world.
All this encourages us. We are also happy that many graduates keep coming back to visit us whenever they have the time. They say that they've come to like APU even more after graduating.
Q: Tell us about the role of APU's career office now and toward the future.
Yamamoto: We support the students' job hunting activities in our own way, by giving guidance on resume preparation, rehearsing their interviews and so on. As the next step, we want to further improve the quality of our career support services. Since image is often different from reality, we must study the details of each company so that we can provide clearer information on what kind of work is actually conducted at a certain company.
Toward the future, we hope to extend our support to our graduates who may continue their studies and find work in other countries. Ultimately, we want our students to become happy, regardless of whatever choice they make in their life after graduating from APU.
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University is at 1-1 Jumonjibaru, Beppu, Oita. For more information, call APU at (0977) 78-1114 or visit www.apu.ac.jp.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/global-career-viewpoint.html?ymdh=2011110709
What makes APU so popular? What is unique about the school? These are among the questions answered in this four-part interview series.
The first interviewee is Susumu Yamamoto, a professor at the College of International Management (APM), one of two undergraduate colleges at APU, who also serves as the dean of careers.
News photo
Q: You were working for a leading Japanese company before starting to teach at APU. Why the switch and why APU?
Yamamoto: Yes, that's true. Before taking up my current position at APU in 2006, I worked for Sony, but I also loved studying and I obtained my doctorate. Actually, I had a vague longing to eventually teach at a university. The offer from APU came at such a time and I found it appealing.
APU is very unique for giving most of its lectures in English and Japanese. This means that the students are able to choose from a lecture conducted in Japanese or English.
Q: Tell us about your students. Where do they come from? What is their attitude toward study, work and social life?
Yamamoto: About half of our students as well as professors come from overseas. It is the only school in Japan where undergraduate students come from about 80 countries. They come to APU straight after graduating from high school. Generally speaking, these students enter our school on an English basis with no command of the Japanese language. Consequently, they receive very intensive training in Japanese during their first year.
The students themselves are highly motivated and are hard workers. The same also goes for our Japanese students. Those who come to APU are enthusiasts with a clear objective, often with a rich international experience. They study in Japanese, but then receive intensive training in English. So by the time of graduation, all APU students become fluent in at least two languages, English and Japanese, regardless of nationality.
Our students are very active in after-school club activities, too. For example, our traditional Korean dance group club has become a local sensation for their fine dancing. The distinctive advantage of this club is that many members are not Korean. They learn from each other, from different cultures.
Many also take up part-time jobs during their free time. I don't know when they sleep, but their campus life is so rich and full that I often wish there was a school like APU when I was a young student.
News photo
Q: Why do you think APU has become popular among many leading companies in Japan?
Yamamoto: For one thing, because our students are fully bilingual. We also provide "practical" knowledge by having numerous professors with different business backgrounds teaching our courses. Each class is also very interactive, encouraging everybody to speak up, which in turn enhances the communication ability of each student.
Another background factor is the materialistic change of the Japanese corporations themselves. Japanese companies are seeking manpower that are global in a true sense. Also, research shows that companies plan to hire more international students next year. They are after those who can battle and survive anywhere in the world.
APU develops students with such capabilities. What I mean by "battle and survive" does not mean to fight and win one's way. It is the ability to communicate and solve the issue at hand. The outside world is filled with myriad uncertainties and you never know what may happen next. Those who excel merely in their academic studies often sit at their desks and contemplate for hours, days or even weeks to obtain the "very best solution." But when working on-site, you don't have that time to spare as things change minute by minute. Under such pressing conditions, you must go for the "second-best answer." That thought process is respected at APU, making our courses very realistic and practical.
Q: How well is APU evaluated in the global arena?
Yamamoto: Our reputation is growing rapidly. Many of our graduates go back to their hometown on their holidays as proud workers of prominent Japanese companies. Their parents boast about their children, too, saying that APU is the way to get their children into general management at good companies. Such word-of-mouth information quickly spreads around the community. The good reputation helps us obtain more high-level students from around the world.
All this encourages us. We are also happy that many graduates keep coming back to visit us whenever they have the time. They say that they've come to like APU even more after graduating.
Q: Tell us about the role of APU's career office now and toward the future.
Yamamoto: We support the students' job hunting activities in our own way, by giving guidance on resume preparation, rehearsing their interviews and so on. As the next step, we want to further improve the quality of our career support services. Since image is often different from reality, we must study the details of each company so that we can provide clearer information on what kind of work is actually conducted at a certain company.
Toward the future, we hope to extend our support to our graduates who may continue their studies and find work in other countries. Ultimately, we want our students to become happy, regardless of whatever choice they make in their life after graduating from APU.
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University is at 1-1 Jumonjibaru, Beppu, Oita. For more information, call APU at (0977) 78-1114 or visit www.apu.ac.jp.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/global-career-viewpoint.html?ymdh=2011110709
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Korea, region to launch ‘Asian Erasmus’
300 students including Chinese and Japanese expected to join program every year
Major universities in South Korea, China and Japan will launch a joint degree program next year as part of efforts to expand academic exchanges, the Education Ministry said Sunday.
The Education Ministry and the Korean Council for University Education announced 10 South Korean colleges and universities chosen to partner with Chinese and Japanese universities under the Campus Asia program.
The program is an Asian version of the Erasmus Mundus, which enables students to earn joint degrees from at least three different higher education institutions in EU member countries.
The 10 Korean universities include Seoul National University, Korea University, Sungkyunkwan University, POSTECH, KAIST, Dongseo University and Pusan National University.
The program is a follow-up to an agreement made by the leaders of Korea, China and Japan to increase exchanges among their universities at the end of their summit meeting on Jeju Island last May.
Since then, the ministry has formed 10 consortia consisting of three partner universities, one from each country. It expects to complete the administrative process by the end of the year before accepting students from next year, according to ministry officials.
SNU, Peking University and University of Tokyo have formed a consortium on the master’s degree level in the academic fields of public policy and international relations. They are working on ways to give students dual or multiple degrees if they complete a one-year course at each school.
In the consortium of Dongseo University in Korea, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in China and Ritsumeikan University in Japan, students will be able to take classes at the three different schools for a semester and seize internship opportunities before graduation.
A combined 300 students in Korea, China and Japan, with 100 students from each country, are expected to participate in the Campus Asia program every year.
The Education Ministry and the Korean Council for University Education will provide the chosen Korean universities with 124 million won ($112,000) in student exchanges expenses and about 100 million won in program development costs per consortium from next year to 2015.
Korean students participating in the Campus Asia program will get 800,000 won ($725) roundtrip flight tickets and a minimum in monthly living expenses of 800,000 to 900,000 for a one-year stay. They will have to pay tuition to their Korean schools alone.
With the project development fund, schools will be able to hire teaching assistants, draw up curricula or operate language programs, according to the ministry.
Eight Chinese universities participating in the program include Peking, Tsinghua, Fudan and Jilin universities. University of Tokyo, Kobe University, Ritsumeikan University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagoya University are among the 10 Japanese institutions taking part.
http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20111030000213
Major universities in South Korea, China and Japan will launch a joint degree program next year as part of efforts to expand academic exchanges, the Education Ministry said Sunday.
The Education Ministry and the Korean Council for University Education announced 10 South Korean colleges and universities chosen to partner with Chinese and Japanese universities under the Campus Asia program.
The program is an Asian version of the Erasmus Mundus, which enables students to earn joint degrees from at least three different higher education institutions in EU member countries.
The 10 Korean universities include Seoul National University, Korea University, Sungkyunkwan University, POSTECH, KAIST, Dongseo University and Pusan National University.
The program is a follow-up to an agreement made by the leaders of Korea, China and Japan to increase exchanges among their universities at the end of their summit meeting on Jeju Island last May.
Since then, the ministry has formed 10 consortia consisting of three partner universities, one from each country. It expects to complete the administrative process by the end of the year before accepting students from next year, according to ministry officials.
SNU, Peking University and University of Tokyo have formed a consortium on the master’s degree level in the academic fields of public policy and international relations. They are working on ways to give students dual or multiple degrees if they complete a one-year course at each school.
In the consortium of Dongseo University in Korea, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in China and Ritsumeikan University in Japan, students will be able to take classes at the three different schools for a semester and seize internship opportunities before graduation.
A combined 300 students in Korea, China and Japan, with 100 students from each country, are expected to participate in the Campus Asia program every year.
The Education Ministry and the Korean Council for University Education will provide the chosen Korean universities with 124 million won ($112,000) in student exchanges expenses and about 100 million won in program development costs per consortium from next year to 2015.
Korean students participating in the Campus Asia program will get 800,000 won ($725) roundtrip flight tickets and a minimum in monthly living expenses of 800,000 to 900,000 for a one-year stay. They will have to pay tuition to their Korean schools alone.
With the project development fund, schools will be able to hire teaching assistants, draw up curricula or operate language programs, according to the ministry.
Eight Chinese universities participating in the program include Peking, Tsinghua, Fudan and Jilin universities. University of Tokyo, Kobe University, Ritsumeikan University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagoya University are among the 10 Japanese institutions taking part.
http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20111030000213
Friday, October 28, 2011
Japan is moving to modernise its universities and confront globalisation head on
JAPAN's universities - assailed by claims that have failed to cope with globalisation - are moving to boost their international competitiveness and appeal.
The university sector here shrugs off industry complaints that it is not generating graduates who can be deployed outside Japan.
But nevertheless big changes are happening as campuses try to boost foreign student numbers and offer more courses in English.
Although Japan boasts some world-class universities, its top performer, the University of Tokyo, has a rank of just 30 on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
That’s arguably too low for a country that is the world’s third-largest economy and a centre of innovation responsible for more patents per capita than any other nation.
In an interview with the HES in Tokyo, the vice president of Waseda University, Katsuichi Uchida, said criticisms from industry were not new and, to an extent, were unjustified.
“Of course we understand the importance of collaboration between universities and industries, but their way of thinking, I am sorry to say, is too narrow,’’ he said.
Professor Uchida said producing globally competitive graduates was important not just to feed the hungry maws of Japan’s trading companies, but to tackle major problems including global warming and food shortages.
Japan’s tertiary education system sees students selected by universities via entrance exams and then streamed into various undergraduate courses that are heavy on theory and collaborative practical work, but light on those activities focused on developing critical faculties.
The result, according to the system’s critics, is graduates suited to niche roles in Japanese workplaces instead of linguistically and culturally competent generalists that can expand Japan’s interests abroad in the modern world.
Although Waseda, a private university, trails Japan’s big public universities on world rankings, both it and Tokyo’s Sophia University are at the forefront of the movement towards internationalisation.
Mr Uchida said that just as in Japanese society, learning in Japan has been focused on collaboratively aiming for consensus or harmony through discussion.
“This kind of system has been unique to Japan,’’ he said. “For the last 30, 40, 50 years this kind of education system has been one key factor behind the success of Japanese corporations because, as you know, Japanese corporations emphasise the importance of a group orientated management style.’’
But times have changed for Japan as the nation realises it cannot depend on domestic demand for economic survival and must once again thrust itself out into the world.
Japanese corporations are embarking on a buying spree acquiring foreign subsidiaries throughout Asia and Australia and turning to universities to provide the staff to help run them.
While the companies complain they can’t find enough of the kind of graduates they need, the situation is better than it used to be.
The government’s Global 30 program, launched in 2008, is aimed at attracting 300,000 foreign students to Japan by encouraging 13 universities – including Tokyo, Kyoto and Waseda and Sophia – to become centres for international education.
Professor Uchida says Waseda launched its school of international studies in 2004 in anticipation of the direction things were heading and now has six faculties teaching in English.
“In that school we take 600 students – two thirds are Japanese, one third are foreign. All courses are taught in English and all these students are required to spend a year in another country to study,’’ he said.
“Nowadays this is a kind of a model for the development of undergraduate education programs at Waseda.”
He said the university was turning its focus to Chinese students and students from other parts of Asia where Japanese companies are increasingly basing many of their production facilities to capitalise on cheaper labour.
Waseda now has 4000 foreign students of which 40 per cent are Chinese and 20 per cent South Korean.
“When you are on Waseda’s campus you will hear students speaking in Chinese, Korean, English and Japanese. Through this kind of environment, Japanese students now recognise diverse cultural backgrounds and languages,’’ he said.
“The purpose for us in receiving international students is not just to educate those students, but also Japanese students.”
Tokyo University has just flagged starting a September entrance system – to be aligned with the US academic calendar - and its president has emphasised the importance of globalisation of universities in recent speeches.
Professor Uchida said the attitude was changing across the sector with universities recruiting foreign students and changing to a more global curriculum and internationally recognised teaching methods.
“We have been the forerunner, but these days the other universities recognise the importance of globalisation,” he said.
“We now understand the importance of liberal arts education to nurture critical ways of thinking. We are now developing small classes and during classes we emphasise the importance of discussion between students and faculty members.
The president of Sophia University – a Jesuit established institution that has been at the forefront of internationalised education in Japan - said industry’s complaints about the sector were not necessarily valid.
President Tadashi Takizawa said universities had to teach students broad concepts and ethics as well as their core skills, and if employers wanted strictly vocationally orientated skills they could look for staff trained in technical or language colleges.
But he also acknowledged the sector could have done more in the past to forge linkages with industry.
He said Sophia, which is a small university by Japanese standards, had more than 700 foreign students and was increasingly turning its eyes from West to East with a view to attracting students from other parts of Asia.
Foreign student numbers in Japan have almost tripled since the year 2000, with the current total standing about almost 142,000. However, that’s still small even when compared to Australia, which has more than 200,000 foreign students enrolled in higher education courses each year.
Japanese inventor and academic Shuji Nakamura – the inventor of the blue laser that integral to DVD, CD and Blu-ray players – said Japanese universities still had a huge leap to make to catch up to their US counterparts.
Professor Nakamura, who abandoned Japan in disgust over the secrecy and hierarchical structure of the company where he did his research, said Japan’s education system was geared to simply preparing pupils for the university entrance exam and little else.
The University of California professor said Japan’s students needed to be taught how to conduct presentations, construct and write papers, particularly in English, and universities needed to allow students to challenge and debate their teachers.
“In American universities, there is no strict hierarchical relationship. At our meetings we can’t even see who is the professor and who is the student,’’ he said.
“Whereas at a Japanese university, the professor is the emperor and the rest are like slaves. The atmosphere is so different.”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/rise-of-the-dragon/japan-is-moving-to-modernise-its-universities-and-confront-globalisation-head-on/story-fnama19w-1226175474637
The university sector here shrugs off industry complaints that it is not generating graduates who can be deployed outside Japan.
But nevertheless big changes are happening as campuses try to boost foreign student numbers and offer more courses in English.
Although Japan boasts some world-class universities, its top performer, the University of Tokyo, has a rank of just 30 on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
That’s arguably too low for a country that is the world’s third-largest economy and a centre of innovation responsible for more patents per capita than any other nation.
In an interview with the HES in Tokyo, the vice president of Waseda University, Katsuichi Uchida, said criticisms from industry were not new and, to an extent, were unjustified.
“Of course we understand the importance of collaboration between universities and industries, but their way of thinking, I am sorry to say, is too narrow,’’ he said.
Professor Uchida said producing globally competitive graduates was important not just to feed the hungry maws of Japan’s trading companies, but to tackle major problems including global warming and food shortages.
Japan’s tertiary education system sees students selected by universities via entrance exams and then streamed into various undergraduate courses that are heavy on theory and collaborative practical work, but light on those activities focused on developing critical faculties.
The result, according to the system’s critics, is graduates suited to niche roles in Japanese workplaces instead of linguistically and culturally competent generalists that can expand Japan’s interests abroad in the modern world.
Although Waseda, a private university, trails Japan’s big public universities on world rankings, both it and Tokyo’s Sophia University are at the forefront of the movement towards internationalisation.
Mr Uchida said that just as in Japanese society, learning in Japan has been focused on collaboratively aiming for consensus or harmony through discussion.
“This kind of system has been unique to Japan,’’ he said. “For the last 30, 40, 50 years this kind of education system has been one key factor behind the success of Japanese corporations because, as you know, Japanese corporations emphasise the importance of a group orientated management style.’’
But times have changed for Japan as the nation realises it cannot depend on domestic demand for economic survival and must once again thrust itself out into the world.
Japanese corporations are embarking on a buying spree acquiring foreign subsidiaries throughout Asia and Australia and turning to universities to provide the staff to help run them.
While the companies complain they can’t find enough of the kind of graduates they need, the situation is better than it used to be.
The government’s Global 30 program, launched in 2008, is aimed at attracting 300,000 foreign students to Japan by encouraging 13 universities – including Tokyo, Kyoto and Waseda and Sophia – to become centres for international education.
Professor Uchida says Waseda launched its school of international studies in 2004 in anticipation of the direction things were heading and now has six faculties teaching in English.
“In that school we take 600 students – two thirds are Japanese, one third are foreign. All courses are taught in English and all these students are required to spend a year in another country to study,’’ he said.
“Nowadays this is a kind of a model for the development of undergraduate education programs at Waseda.”
He said the university was turning its focus to Chinese students and students from other parts of Asia where Japanese companies are increasingly basing many of their production facilities to capitalise on cheaper labour.
Waseda now has 4000 foreign students of which 40 per cent are Chinese and 20 per cent South Korean.
“When you are on Waseda’s campus you will hear students speaking in Chinese, Korean, English and Japanese. Through this kind of environment, Japanese students now recognise diverse cultural backgrounds and languages,’’ he said.
“The purpose for us in receiving international students is not just to educate those students, but also Japanese students.”
Tokyo University has just flagged starting a September entrance system – to be aligned with the US academic calendar - and its president has emphasised the importance of globalisation of universities in recent speeches.
Professor Uchida said the attitude was changing across the sector with universities recruiting foreign students and changing to a more global curriculum and internationally recognised teaching methods.
“We have been the forerunner, but these days the other universities recognise the importance of globalisation,” he said.
“We now understand the importance of liberal arts education to nurture critical ways of thinking. We are now developing small classes and during classes we emphasise the importance of discussion between students and faculty members.
The president of Sophia University – a Jesuit established institution that has been at the forefront of internationalised education in Japan - said industry’s complaints about the sector were not necessarily valid.
President Tadashi Takizawa said universities had to teach students broad concepts and ethics as well as their core skills, and if employers wanted strictly vocationally orientated skills they could look for staff trained in technical or language colleges.
But he also acknowledged the sector could have done more in the past to forge linkages with industry.
He said Sophia, which is a small university by Japanese standards, had more than 700 foreign students and was increasingly turning its eyes from West to East with a view to attracting students from other parts of Asia.
Foreign student numbers in Japan have almost tripled since the year 2000, with the current total standing about almost 142,000. However, that’s still small even when compared to Australia, which has more than 200,000 foreign students enrolled in higher education courses each year.
Japanese inventor and academic Shuji Nakamura – the inventor of the blue laser that integral to DVD, CD and Blu-ray players – said Japanese universities still had a huge leap to make to catch up to their US counterparts.
Professor Nakamura, who abandoned Japan in disgust over the secrecy and hierarchical structure of the company where he did his research, said Japan’s education system was geared to simply preparing pupils for the university entrance exam and little else.
The University of California professor said Japan’s students needed to be taught how to conduct presentations, construct and write papers, particularly in English, and universities needed to allow students to challenge and debate their teachers.
“In American universities, there is no strict hierarchical relationship. At our meetings we can’t even see who is the professor and who is the student,’’ he said.
“Whereas at a Japanese university, the professor is the emperor and the rest are like slaves. The atmosphere is so different.”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/rise-of-the-dragon/japan-is-moving-to-modernise-its-universities-and-confront-globalisation-head-on/story-fnama19w-1226175474637
Friday, October 14, 2011
Free trip aims to reassure intl students
The education ministry plans to invite 150 foreign university students who are interested in studying in Japan to join free "trial study trips" to this nation, it was learned Wednesday.
The about-two-week trips, which will include visits to areas hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake, were conceived as a response to the trend of foreign students canceling plans to study in Japan since the March 11 disaster.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry plans to invite 150 students from resource-rich countries--including some in the Middle East--as well as the United States and European countries, where interest in nuclear power issues is high, according to ministry sources.
According to the ministry, of 5,600 foreign students who were scheduled to study in Japan this year, 600 canceled their plans.
The ministry has allocated 100 million yen to the program in a third fiscal 2011 supplementary budget, which is to be submitted to the next extraordinary Diet session. After the budget is passed by the Diet, the program will be implemented.
The program will enable the foreign students to converse with local government officials involved in reconstruction efforts in disaster-hit areas, shop owners, and members and officials of fishery cooperatives and nonprofit organizations. The program will also likely include exchanges with Japanese university students, the sources said.
The ministry hopes the foreign students who take part in the program will see that progress is being made toward bringing the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant under control, and that studying in Japan thus involves no safety concerns, the sources explained.
The ministry expects that after the students return home, they will provide others in their countries with accurate information by reporting on what they saw and heard in Japan, the sources said.
(Oct. 13, 2011)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111012006453.htm
The about-two-week trips, which will include visits to areas hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake, were conceived as a response to the trend of foreign students canceling plans to study in Japan since the March 11 disaster.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry plans to invite 150 students from resource-rich countries--including some in the Middle East--as well as the United States and European countries, where interest in nuclear power issues is high, according to ministry sources.
According to the ministry, of 5,600 foreign students who were scheduled to study in Japan this year, 600 canceled their plans.
The ministry has allocated 100 million yen to the program in a third fiscal 2011 supplementary budget, which is to be submitted to the next extraordinary Diet session. After the budget is passed by the Diet, the program will be implemented.
The program will enable the foreign students to converse with local government officials involved in reconstruction efforts in disaster-hit areas, shop owners, and members and officials of fishery cooperatives and nonprofit organizations. The program will also likely include exchanges with Japanese university students, the sources said.
The ministry hopes the foreign students who take part in the program will see that progress is being made toward bringing the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant under control, and that studying in Japan thus involves no safety concerns, the sources explained.
The ministry expects that after the students return home, they will provide others in their countries with accurate information by reporting on what they saw and heard in Japan, the sources said.
(Oct. 13, 2011)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111012006453.htm
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Universities sign up Japan's new wave of leaders
THE University of Queensland is poised to capitalise on Japanese companies' sudden expansion into foreign markets by boosting its numbers of students from the country.
Together with the University of NSW, UQ's Institute of Continuing and TESOL Education has signed a memorandum of understanding with leading Japanese personnel company DISCO to train Japan's next generation of corporate leaders.
With a shrinking domestic market surrounded by buoyant emerging economies Japanese firms have belatedly realised their best prospects lie abroad.
But expansion is being hamstrung by the fact few of their employees are globally and culturally savvy or fluent enough in English to do business in the West or other parts of Asia.
David Nelson, deputy director of ICTE-UQ, said the institute was offering short courses that went beyond just English and included cultural awareness, change management and doing business in Asia.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
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"Japan has a very high graduate unemployment rate at the moment of 30 per cent. Part of that is economy-related, but it's also quite clear they have a skills gap," he said.
"They are basically being forced to globalise because their domestic market is contracting. At this stage they just don't have the people to do it, but there seems to be a new move to send graduates offshore."
Although up to 15 per cent of ICTE-UQ's foreign students come from Japan, numbers of Japanese students in Australia as a whole have been dropping with China, India, South Korea and the Middle East and Latin America making up the shortfall.
Tom Okumura, DISCO's deputy director, global education and training, hopes to convince students and graduate employers that Australia is the best place for Japanese students to study business-related courses in English.
"We are explaining to them that Australia is not just a sightseeing destination any more," he said.
"The first big challenge is to brand Australia and to get an understanding of Australia as an ideal destination to study, far better than the US or the UK. Australia has much stronger connection with Asia."
Mr Okumura said along with quality courses, Australia also offered students the chance to network and familiarise themselves with other students, most of whom were from other countries in Asia.
His biggest task was persuading conservative human resource managers to send students to UQ or the University of NSW -- both of which ranked in the global top 50 universities (on QS World University Rankings) -- rather than British or US universities.
Queensland's Tokyo-based trade commissioner Tak Adachi, who helped broker the MoU, said the state had kept up its strong ties with Japan and was a logical destination for students.
"Both ICTE-UQ and DISCO have recognised the advantages of studying in Queensland and as Japan faces greater pressure to compete in the global economy, relationships like this will be vital."
Former ICTE-UQ student Naoya Egawa did a professional year program at the university after doing his undergraduate degree at Griffith University and wound up with a job working in UQ's finance department.
Mr Egawa, who is from Nagoya, said studying in Australia -- as opposed to the US or Europe -- gave students a more Asian international experience and he would recommend it to fellow Japanese.
"A lot of people in Japan are close-minded, they don't think very globally. It's very important for young people to get out and see the world," he said. "I'd say come over for at least a few months because if you just stay in Japan it's going to be very difficult."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/unis-sign-up-japans-new-wave-of-leaders/story-e6frgcjx-1226158334451
Together with the University of NSW, UQ's Institute of Continuing and TESOL Education has signed a memorandum of understanding with leading Japanese personnel company DISCO to train Japan's next generation of corporate leaders.
With a shrinking domestic market surrounded by buoyant emerging economies Japanese firms have belatedly realised their best prospects lie abroad.
But expansion is being hamstrung by the fact few of their employees are globally and culturally savvy or fluent enough in English to do business in the West or other parts of Asia.
David Nelson, deputy director of ICTE-UQ, said the institute was offering short courses that went beyond just English and included cultural awareness, change management and doing business in Asia.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
"Japan has a very high graduate unemployment rate at the moment of 30 per cent. Part of that is economy-related, but it's also quite clear they have a skills gap," he said.
"They are basically being forced to globalise because their domestic market is contracting. At this stage they just don't have the people to do it, but there seems to be a new move to send graduates offshore."
Although up to 15 per cent of ICTE-UQ's foreign students come from Japan, numbers of Japanese students in Australia as a whole have been dropping with China, India, South Korea and the Middle East and Latin America making up the shortfall.
Tom Okumura, DISCO's deputy director, global education and training, hopes to convince students and graduate employers that Australia is the best place for Japanese students to study business-related courses in English.
"We are explaining to them that Australia is not just a sightseeing destination any more," he said.
"The first big challenge is to brand Australia and to get an understanding of Australia as an ideal destination to study, far better than the US or the UK. Australia has much stronger connection with Asia."
Mr Okumura said along with quality courses, Australia also offered students the chance to network and familiarise themselves with other students, most of whom were from other countries in Asia.
His biggest task was persuading conservative human resource managers to send students to UQ or the University of NSW -- both of which ranked in the global top 50 universities (on QS World University Rankings) -- rather than British or US universities.
Queensland's Tokyo-based trade commissioner Tak Adachi, who helped broker the MoU, said the state had kept up its strong ties with Japan and was a logical destination for students.
"Both ICTE-UQ and DISCO have recognised the advantages of studying in Queensland and as Japan faces greater pressure to compete in the global economy, relationships like this will be vital."
Former ICTE-UQ student Naoya Egawa did a professional year program at the university after doing his undergraduate degree at Griffith University and wound up with a job working in UQ's finance department.
Mr Egawa, who is from Nagoya, said studying in Australia -- as opposed to the US or Europe -- gave students a more Asian international experience and he would recommend it to fellow Japanese.
"A lot of people in Japan are close-minded, they don't think very globally. It's very important for young people to get out and see the world," he said. "I'd say come over for at least a few months because if you just stay in Japan it's going to be very difficult."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/unis-sign-up-japans-new-wave-of-leaders/story-e6frgcjx-1226158334451
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Japan needs to open its doors wider for foreign workers
With its population aging rapidly, Japan will see an increased need for more nursing and health care professionals in the years ahead.
Japan could find itself in serious trouble if it erects barriers too high for foreign workers wishing to work here.
Japan and Vietnam are now holding talks to establish a system that will allow young Vietnamese to work as nurses and nursing care workers in Japan. The negotiations are based on a bilateral economic partnership agreement.
Japan already has programs to accept such health care workers from Indonesia and the Philippines under bilateral economic partnership agreements with these countries. But these programs have turned out to be riddled with problems.
These problems need to be fixed if Japan is to establish a better program with Vietnam.
Under existing programs, trainees receive about half a year of training before coming to Japan and then work for three years at Japanese hospitals as they prepare for state examinations to qualify as a health care professional. Nearly 600 candidates from Indonesia and the Philippines have taken part in the programs since fiscal 2008.
Of the 254 foreign trainees who took the nursing license exam last year, however, only three were successful. The number of successful applicants for the exam held in March this year was larger at 16, but the pass rate was still as low as 4 percent.
In order to prevent the unsuccessful candidates from returning home en masse, the government decided to allow the first group of Indonesian trainees to stay in Japan for one more year.
But many of the young Indonesians who failed to qualify have given up on working in Japan and have returned home.
The government should not allow a similar situation where the young Vietnamese who come to Japan with hopes of working here return home disappointed.
The biggest factor behind the low ratios of successful applicants is clearly the language barrier.
It is apparently an overwhelming challenge for these trainees to learn enough Japanese while working.
In addition, the need to learn many technical terms further increases the difficulty of passing the license examination. As a result, trainees whose work was rated highly by the hospitals did not necessarily pass the exam.
In its current state, the system appears as if it was designed to reject rather than accept foreign nationals wishing to work as health care professionals in Japan.
It is necessary to give the trainees one year or so of Japanese language training so that they can acquire at least sufficient skills for everyday conversation. The state license exam also needs to be improved.
Under the economic partnership agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines, two or three years of experience in the profession are required to be eligible for the programs. But it is doubtful whether such lengthy experience is really necessary.
Some Japanese experts say it is easier for younger trainees to get acclimated to the working practices and conditions at Japanese medical institutions.
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, many Indonesian and Philippine trainees remained at hospitals and facilities in affected areas to help victims. The ways they contributed to disaster relief efforts were reported and much talked about back in their home countries.
We should value young foreigners who have come to have affection for Japan.
Competition for human resources in Asia is getting stronger.
Japan needs to create an open and attractive system to get more qualified and talented foreign workers.
The new administration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda should reconsider the government's policy of accepting foreign workers so as to open the nation's door wider to human resources from around the world.
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201109060242.html
Japan could find itself in serious trouble if it erects barriers too high for foreign workers wishing to work here.
Japan and Vietnam are now holding talks to establish a system that will allow young Vietnamese to work as nurses and nursing care workers in Japan. The negotiations are based on a bilateral economic partnership agreement.
Japan already has programs to accept such health care workers from Indonesia and the Philippines under bilateral economic partnership agreements with these countries. But these programs have turned out to be riddled with problems.
These problems need to be fixed if Japan is to establish a better program with Vietnam.
Under existing programs, trainees receive about half a year of training before coming to Japan and then work for three years at Japanese hospitals as they prepare for state examinations to qualify as a health care professional. Nearly 600 candidates from Indonesia and the Philippines have taken part in the programs since fiscal 2008.
Of the 254 foreign trainees who took the nursing license exam last year, however, only three were successful. The number of successful applicants for the exam held in March this year was larger at 16, but the pass rate was still as low as 4 percent.
In order to prevent the unsuccessful candidates from returning home en masse, the government decided to allow the first group of Indonesian trainees to stay in Japan for one more year.
But many of the young Indonesians who failed to qualify have given up on working in Japan and have returned home.
The government should not allow a similar situation where the young Vietnamese who come to Japan with hopes of working here return home disappointed.
The biggest factor behind the low ratios of successful applicants is clearly the language barrier.
It is apparently an overwhelming challenge for these trainees to learn enough Japanese while working.
In addition, the need to learn many technical terms further increases the difficulty of passing the license examination. As a result, trainees whose work was rated highly by the hospitals did not necessarily pass the exam.
In its current state, the system appears as if it was designed to reject rather than accept foreign nationals wishing to work as health care professionals in Japan.
It is necessary to give the trainees one year or so of Japanese language training so that they can acquire at least sufficient skills for everyday conversation. The state license exam also needs to be improved.
Under the economic partnership agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines, two or three years of experience in the profession are required to be eligible for the programs. But it is doubtful whether such lengthy experience is really necessary.
Some Japanese experts say it is easier for younger trainees to get acclimated to the working practices and conditions at Japanese medical institutions.
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, many Indonesian and Philippine trainees remained at hospitals and facilities in affected areas to help victims. The ways they contributed to disaster relief efforts were reported and much talked about back in their home countries.
We should value young foreigners who have come to have affection for Japan.
Competition for human resources in Asia is getting stronger.
Japan needs to create an open and attractive system to get more qualified and talented foreign workers.
The new administration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda should reconsider the government's policy of accepting foreign workers so as to open the nation's door wider to human resources from around the world.
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201109060242.html
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Todai plans English-only course
The University of Tokyo said Friday it will launch a course whose classes are all in English from fiscal 2012 as part of efforts to promote internationalization.
The entrance exam for the course to be set up in the College of Arts and Science will also be conducted in English as it mainly targets foreign students. Known as Todai, the prestigious university is seeking to "gather competitive students from across the world," it said.
The university will recruit a small number of students from January to March for the course starting from October 2012. Applicants are required to have been educated in languages other than Japanese for 10 years or more before graduating from high school. While applicants will have to submit short essays, written exams will not be held.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110723b1.html
The entrance exam for the course to be set up in the College of Arts and Science will also be conducted in English as it mainly targets foreign students. Known as Todai, the prestigious university is seeking to "gather competitive students from across the world," it said.
The university will recruit a small number of students from January to March for the course starting from October 2012. Applicants are required to have been educated in languages other than Japanese for 10 years or more before graduating from high school. While applicants will have to submit short essays, written exams will not be held.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110723b1.html
Friday, July 22, 2011
Meiji Univ Most Popular Among High School Seniors In Tokyo Area
Meiji University is the most desirable school among college-bound high school seniors in the Kanto region, a Recruit Co. survey released Thursday shows.
Meiji is known for its ability to help graduating students find jobs.
For the 2011 school year, the university received roughly 114,000 general applications, among the most at four-year universities in Japan.
Waseda University, Rikkyo University and Nihon University were also popular in the region, which includes the greater Tokyo area.
In the Kansai region, Kansai University was the most popular. Public universities gained in popularity, with Kobe University, Osaka City University and Osaka University moving up to third, fifth and sixth.
In the Tokai region, Nagoya University was the most popular. Schools within the region took up 18 of the top 20 positions. Waseda at 18th and Ritsumeikan University at 19th were the only schools located outside the area to make the top 20.
Recruit believes that public universities and local schools are becoming popular for cost reasons amid the economic slump and the worsening job market.
The fourth annual survey was conducted in April. This year's results are based on answers from 10,450 high school seniors.
(The Nikkei July 22 morning edition)
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110721D21JFN04.htm
Meiji is known for its ability to help graduating students find jobs.
For the 2011 school year, the university received roughly 114,000 general applications, among the most at four-year universities in Japan.
Waseda University, Rikkyo University and Nihon University were also popular in the region, which includes the greater Tokyo area.
In the Kansai region, Kansai University was the most popular. Public universities gained in popularity, with Kobe University, Osaka City University and Osaka University moving up to third, fifth and sixth.
In the Tokai region, Nagoya University was the most popular. Schools within the region took up 18 of the top 20 positions. Waseda at 18th and Ritsumeikan University at 19th were the only schools located outside the area to make the top 20.
Recruit believes that public universities and local schools are becoming popular for cost reasons amid the economic slump and the worsening job market.
The fourth annual survey was conducted in April. This year's results are based on answers from 10,450 high school seniors.
(The Nikkei July 22 morning edition)
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110721D21JFN04.htm
Friday, July 15, 2011
Panel targets English proficiency
An education ministry panel proposed Wednesday that local governments hire 600 foreigners and Japanese with excellent English-language skills nationwide as regular schoolteachers by the end of fiscal 2016 to enhance students' English-language proficiency.
The 12-member panel suggested the state and local boards of education double the number of 18-year-old students who have studied or stayed abroad to around 30,000.
It also proposed that assistant language teachers participate in club and other activities to improve students' English proficiency.
"To nurture Japanese who can truly use English, it is necessary to review once again the obstacles and policies on our nation's English education," the panel said in its proposal.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110714b2.html?
The 12-member panel suggested the state and local boards of education double the number of 18-year-old students who have studied or stayed abroad to around 30,000.
It also proposed that assistant language teachers participate in club and other activities to improve students' English proficiency.
"To nurture Japanese who can truly use English, it is necessary to review once again the obstacles and policies on our nation's English education," the panel said in its proposal.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110714b2.html?
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Foreign students back but numbers look likely to fall
They're back. Worries that foreign students would abandon Japan following the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and accompanying fiasco at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant have proven to be largely unfounded.
According to Ministry of Justice figures, 70,170 foreign students left Japan between March 12 and April 8. No one knows how many more living in the Tohoku and Kanto regions suddenly decided to spend their spring breaks in Kansai or Kyushu.
With 40 percent of the 175,000 foreign students studying in Japan leaving the country within four weeks, the Japanese government and school officials quickly introduced a number of countermeasures to encourage their return.
The Ministry of Justice simplified application procedures for international students who left without obtaining the required re-entry permit. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology offered to pay return-fare costs for government scholarship students living in disaster areas who had evacuated to their home country after the earthquake. It also provided emergency funds to 1,000 foreigners studying at universities in disaster areas.
University administrators throughout Japan did their best to dispel fears about radiation levels by posting information on their Web pages and giving explanatory lectures. Several universities, including Chuo University in Tokyo and Joshibi University of Art and Design in Kanagawa, sent representatives to China and South Korea to give lectures on the situation in Japan.
At International University of Japan in Niigata Prefecture, where 300 students from about 50 countries take graduate classes in English, the school used technology to reach out to students. According to an IUJ public relations officer, the school set up an English Web page to provide daily updates on the earthquake, tsunami and radiation levels. Students who remained on campus posted messages on the university homepage explaining how the situation in Niigata was safe. IUJ's president also personally sent email messages to students each morning providing them with the latest information and words of encouragement.
Efforts by government and university officials paid off. A ministry of education survey of 135 schools with 33,867 foreign students found that 96 percent, including 86.5 percent in the Tohoku region, had returned to Japan by May 20, a notable improvement from a month earlier, when only 35 percent of foreign students in Tohoku had returned before the delayed start to the school year.
Anecdotal evidence supports the education ministry's data. At IUJ, only two students failed to return. Student numbers for the start of the new school year in September also remain strong and IUJ expects 190 to 196 new students, an increase over last year's 188 freshmen.
At Tohoku University, where 1,504 international students are enrolled, an exchange student division spokesperson reports that only about 10 students withdrew or took a leave of absence.
"I wasn't afraid the students wouldn't come back", says Bruce Stronach, the dean of Temple University, Japan Campus, in Tokyo. "I was only concerned about when that would occur."
Immediately after the earthquake, the university began benchmarking similar disasters. "Generally it takes about a year or a little over a year for business to return to normal," says Stronach. TUJ predicts that foreign student numbers will return to pre-March 11 levels in 12 to 16 months.
While the overall picture remains positive, worrisome trends in the numbers of two categories of foreign students continue to threaten the Ministry of Education's stated goal of increasing their number to 300,000 by 2020.
While the four-year degree students have returned, numbers of short-term study-abroad students coming to Japan have dropped. According to the Japan Student Services Organization's figures, in 2010 there were 11,824 short-term international students studying in Japan. It remains to be seen how many will come in 2011 but the number of programs canceled this spring isn't encouraging.
Hirosaki Gakuin University in Aomori Prefecture had to cancel a four-week summer program usually held in May and June for students from sister schools in the United States. "The reason that we canceled our program is that the U.S. State Department had issued a warning suggesting American citizens stay away from northern Japan," explains Edo Forsythe, an English lecturer at Hirosaki Gakuin.
By the April deadline only one student had expressed an interest in attending. Two other students who backed out weren't afraid of radiation or aftershocks. "Their hesitation was, they didn't want to come here and enjoy themselves studying while a couple hundred kilometers away there were people whose lives had been devastated," says Forsythe. "They just didn't feel comfortable doing that."
U.S. State Department warnings also forced the cancelation of Temple University Japan's spring-term study-abroad program, affecting 69 students. A TUJ spokesperson says the university expects approximately one-third of the study-abroad students for this year's autumn semester compared to the same time last year.
At International University of Japan, half of the exchange students who submitted applications for the autumn semester starting in September canceled. Instead of the usual 15 to 18 exchange students, the school expects only three.
Further north at Tohoku University, 26 out of 44 study-abroad students expected for the spring semester withdrew and another nine students postponed their arrival. Encouragingly though, numbers for study-abroad students are only down about 8 percent for October's autumn semester.
A dramatic decline in the number of foreign students applying to study at Japanese language schools poses a potentially greater problem. At a May 9 press conference, Michio Hori, a representative of the Japanese School Earthquake Reconstruction Council, described the crisis facing Japanese language schools.
Hori explained that 43,000 foreigners study at Japanese language schools but that in April, 10 to 30 percent of continuing students (depending on the school and the region) and 30 to 50 percent of new students were absent.
Apart from the obvious financial headache, these absences also gave schools an administrative migraine. Since the Ministry of Justice requires attendance in at least 90 percent of classes for visa renewals, many schools had to delay the start of the semester to avoid threatening their students' future visa status.
A May 24 survey of 446 Japanese language schools by the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education showed the situation was improving but still serious. At the end of May, eight percent of continuing students had quit and 16 percent of incoming students had withdrawn. A further 11 percent said they would arrive after June or hadn't decided whether to come at all.
More alarming for Japanese language schools are the reduced application numbers for October's autumn semester. With visa applications due at the Ministry of Justice in early May, Hori reported that applications were down 70 percent compared to October last year.
In response, the Ministry of Justice extended the deadline to June 20. However, even that may not have been long enough to reassure prospective students. June interviews with spokespeople from four Tokyo-area Japanese language schools revealed that October applications were down between 40 and 70 percent compared to last year.
"Those who have never been to Japan won't come," explains Hori. Most foreign students who have experience living in Japan and know friends in the country understand how safe it is, he says. The problem is convincing new students.
"The most important point for the management of most Japanese language schools is next April's recruitment," says Youngjin Arai, managing director at Akamonkai Japanese Language School. "I think the operation of schools that can't do it well will be in danger."
Most Japanese schools are using similar strategies to dispel rumors and encourage students to come to Japan. Spokespeople at Tokyo Central Japanese Language School and Akamonkai Japanese Language School, also in Tokyo, both describe how they are using Facebook, blogs and school homepages to give accurate information about how Tokyo is functioning normally. Both schools also sent staff to China and South Korea, where 75 percent of Japan's international students come from, to hold explanatory sessions and meet directly with students and parents and help allay their fears.
Nine Tokyo-area schools formed the Japanese School Earthquake Reconstruction Council on April 15. The council is lobbying the government and working with the media to convey accurate information about the situation in Japan, and plans to operate until December.
"When the recovery will take place is difficult to say," said a spokesperson for the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education, but right now Japan needs to launch a campaign informing foreigners that the nuclear plant hasn't had an effect on people's daily lives in Tokyo. The need for the campaign is all the more urgent considering how difficult it is to change peoples' minds after they have heard so much bad news, he added.
Recent changes to work visa rules should help student numbers at Japanese language schools recover. Foreigners were, in principle, required to have a bachelor's degree to get a work visa. The Justice Ministry relaxed those requirements at the end of June to allow foreign graduates of Japanese vocational schools to work in Japan after completing their studies.
Because of the decline in students at Japanese language schools, the full impact of the March 11 disaster on Japanese higher education may not be felt for another year or two. Since 70 percent of Japanese language school students continue studying at postsecondary institutions here, a drop in the number coming to study Japanese will mean fewer students are eligible to enter Japanese universities and colleges in the near future.
The decline in Japanese language students is just the latest tremor to hit the government's plan to attract 300,000 foreign students. The plan had already been shaken last year by cuts to scholarships and the budget for the Global 30, a program to fund international recruitment efforts at up to 30 elite universities.
According to Temple University Japan dean Stronach, "Foreign students are essential for Japanese universities these days: educationally, financially and particularly for graduate education and research in Japan."
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20110712zg.html?
According to Ministry of Justice figures, 70,170 foreign students left Japan between March 12 and April 8. No one knows how many more living in the Tohoku and Kanto regions suddenly decided to spend their spring breaks in Kansai or Kyushu.
With 40 percent of the 175,000 foreign students studying in Japan leaving the country within four weeks, the Japanese government and school officials quickly introduced a number of countermeasures to encourage their return.
The Ministry of Justice simplified application procedures for international students who left without obtaining the required re-entry permit. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology offered to pay return-fare costs for government scholarship students living in disaster areas who had evacuated to their home country after the earthquake. It also provided emergency funds to 1,000 foreigners studying at universities in disaster areas.
University administrators throughout Japan did their best to dispel fears about radiation levels by posting information on their Web pages and giving explanatory lectures. Several universities, including Chuo University in Tokyo and Joshibi University of Art and Design in Kanagawa, sent representatives to China and South Korea to give lectures on the situation in Japan.
At International University of Japan in Niigata Prefecture, where 300 students from about 50 countries take graduate classes in English, the school used technology to reach out to students. According to an IUJ public relations officer, the school set up an English Web page to provide daily updates on the earthquake, tsunami and radiation levels. Students who remained on campus posted messages on the university homepage explaining how the situation in Niigata was safe. IUJ's president also personally sent email messages to students each morning providing them with the latest information and words of encouragement.
Efforts by government and university officials paid off. A ministry of education survey of 135 schools with 33,867 foreign students found that 96 percent, including 86.5 percent in the Tohoku region, had returned to Japan by May 20, a notable improvement from a month earlier, when only 35 percent of foreign students in Tohoku had returned before the delayed start to the school year.
Anecdotal evidence supports the education ministry's data. At IUJ, only two students failed to return. Student numbers for the start of the new school year in September also remain strong and IUJ expects 190 to 196 new students, an increase over last year's 188 freshmen.
At Tohoku University, where 1,504 international students are enrolled, an exchange student division spokesperson reports that only about 10 students withdrew or took a leave of absence.
"I wasn't afraid the students wouldn't come back", says Bruce Stronach, the dean of Temple University, Japan Campus, in Tokyo. "I was only concerned about when that would occur."
Immediately after the earthquake, the university began benchmarking similar disasters. "Generally it takes about a year or a little over a year for business to return to normal," says Stronach. TUJ predicts that foreign student numbers will return to pre-March 11 levels in 12 to 16 months.
While the overall picture remains positive, worrisome trends in the numbers of two categories of foreign students continue to threaten the Ministry of Education's stated goal of increasing their number to 300,000 by 2020.
While the four-year degree students have returned, numbers of short-term study-abroad students coming to Japan have dropped. According to the Japan Student Services Organization's figures, in 2010 there were 11,824 short-term international students studying in Japan. It remains to be seen how many will come in 2011 but the number of programs canceled this spring isn't encouraging.
Hirosaki Gakuin University in Aomori Prefecture had to cancel a four-week summer program usually held in May and June for students from sister schools in the United States. "The reason that we canceled our program is that the U.S. State Department had issued a warning suggesting American citizens stay away from northern Japan," explains Edo Forsythe, an English lecturer at Hirosaki Gakuin.
By the April deadline only one student had expressed an interest in attending. Two other students who backed out weren't afraid of radiation or aftershocks. "Their hesitation was, they didn't want to come here and enjoy themselves studying while a couple hundred kilometers away there were people whose lives had been devastated," says Forsythe. "They just didn't feel comfortable doing that."
U.S. State Department warnings also forced the cancelation of Temple University Japan's spring-term study-abroad program, affecting 69 students. A TUJ spokesperson says the university expects approximately one-third of the study-abroad students for this year's autumn semester compared to the same time last year.
At International University of Japan, half of the exchange students who submitted applications for the autumn semester starting in September canceled. Instead of the usual 15 to 18 exchange students, the school expects only three.
Further north at Tohoku University, 26 out of 44 study-abroad students expected for the spring semester withdrew and another nine students postponed their arrival. Encouragingly though, numbers for study-abroad students are only down about 8 percent for October's autumn semester.
A dramatic decline in the number of foreign students applying to study at Japanese language schools poses a potentially greater problem. At a May 9 press conference, Michio Hori, a representative of the Japanese School Earthquake Reconstruction Council, described the crisis facing Japanese language schools.
Hori explained that 43,000 foreigners study at Japanese language schools but that in April, 10 to 30 percent of continuing students (depending on the school and the region) and 30 to 50 percent of new students were absent.
Apart from the obvious financial headache, these absences also gave schools an administrative migraine. Since the Ministry of Justice requires attendance in at least 90 percent of classes for visa renewals, many schools had to delay the start of the semester to avoid threatening their students' future visa status.
A May 24 survey of 446 Japanese language schools by the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education showed the situation was improving but still serious. At the end of May, eight percent of continuing students had quit and 16 percent of incoming students had withdrawn. A further 11 percent said they would arrive after June or hadn't decided whether to come at all.
More alarming for Japanese language schools are the reduced application numbers for October's autumn semester. With visa applications due at the Ministry of Justice in early May, Hori reported that applications were down 70 percent compared to October last year.
In response, the Ministry of Justice extended the deadline to June 20. However, even that may not have been long enough to reassure prospective students. June interviews with spokespeople from four Tokyo-area Japanese language schools revealed that October applications were down between 40 and 70 percent compared to last year.
"Those who have never been to Japan won't come," explains Hori. Most foreign students who have experience living in Japan and know friends in the country understand how safe it is, he says. The problem is convincing new students.
"The most important point for the management of most Japanese language schools is next April's recruitment," says Youngjin Arai, managing director at Akamonkai Japanese Language School. "I think the operation of schools that can't do it well will be in danger."
Most Japanese schools are using similar strategies to dispel rumors and encourage students to come to Japan. Spokespeople at Tokyo Central Japanese Language School and Akamonkai Japanese Language School, also in Tokyo, both describe how they are using Facebook, blogs and school homepages to give accurate information about how Tokyo is functioning normally. Both schools also sent staff to China and South Korea, where 75 percent of Japan's international students come from, to hold explanatory sessions and meet directly with students and parents and help allay their fears.
Nine Tokyo-area schools formed the Japanese School Earthquake Reconstruction Council on April 15. The council is lobbying the government and working with the media to convey accurate information about the situation in Japan, and plans to operate until December.
"When the recovery will take place is difficult to say," said a spokesperson for the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education, but right now Japan needs to launch a campaign informing foreigners that the nuclear plant hasn't had an effect on people's daily lives in Tokyo. The need for the campaign is all the more urgent considering how difficult it is to change peoples' minds after they have heard so much bad news, he added.
Recent changes to work visa rules should help student numbers at Japanese language schools recover. Foreigners were, in principle, required to have a bachelor's degree to get a work visa. The Justice Ministry relaxed those requirements at the end of June to allow foreign graduates of Japanese vocational schools to work in Japan after completing their studies.
Because of the decline in students at Japanese language schools, the full impact of the March 11 disaster on Japanese higher education may not be felt for another year or two. Since 70 percent of Japanese language school students continue studying at postsecondary institutions here, a drop in the number coming to study Japanese will mean fewer students are eligible to enter Japanese universities and colleges in the near future.
The decline in Japanese language students is just the latest tremor to hit the government's plan to attract 300,000 foreign students. The plan had already been shaken last year by cuts to scholarships and the budget for the Global 30, a program to fund international recruitment efforts at up to 30 elite universities.
According to Temple University Japan dean Stronach, "Foreign students are essential for Japanese universities these days: educationally, financially and particularly for graduate education and research in Japan."
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20110712zg.html?
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Foreign vocational grads get break
The Justice Ministry on Friday eased the educational requirements for foreign residents who wish to re-enter Japan for employment, allowing graduates of Japanese vocational schools to do so without a college degree.
The move is part of a new growth strategy and is aimed at providing career support to such graduates so Japan can attract more foreign students.
It is also aimed at luring back vocational school students who want to work in Japan but decided to leave after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, officials said.
Before the revision, only college-educated foreign residents were allowed to re-enter Japan for employment if they had returned to their home countries because the ministry deemed it necessary for foreigners to have "a certain level of expertise."
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110702b2.html?
The move is part of a new growth strategy and is aimed at providing career support to such graduates so Japan can attract more foreign students.
It is also aimed at luring back vocational school students who want to work in Japan but decided to leave after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, officials said.
Before the revision, only college-educated foreign residents were allowed to re-enter Japan for employment if they had returned to their home countries because the ministry deemed it necessary for foreigners to have "a certain level of expertise."
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110702b2.html?
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Push to attract Japanese students here
AUSTRALIA'S trade and tourism agencies are making a renewed push to boost the number of Japanese visiting the country to study English or vocational courses and for work experience.
The number of Japanese visitors to Australia has dwindled in recent years and the country has fallen behind India, China and South Korea as a source of foreign students.
Austrade's Tokyo office and Tourism Australia have begun a campaign to capitalise on the failure of Japan's universities and corporations to produce globally savvy staff capable of competing in the international economy.
The Step Up in Australia campaign is designed to get Japanese university students to undertake some study here and young graduates to pursue further study and internships.
The head of Tourism Australia in Japan, Kaz Hori, said the program allowed Australia to present the full range of study abroad options to lure Japanese students.
"Australia is the pre-eminent destination for school excursions from Japan and attracts a large number of short-term language students each year," he said. "What this initiative outlines is the next step in the career development of young Japanese, providing them with a step-up opportunity to compete in a globalised world."
Today's generation of young Japanese is more reluctant to travel and work overseas than their parents' generation, resulting in more insular and less sophisticated employees.
And the university sector in Japan is under fire for failing to produce graduates with the ability to speak English at high enough level to compete with their counterparts from rising Asian powers such as China, South Korea and India.
A recent report from Austrade on developing Japan's human capital found the country faced a critical skills deficiency. As Japanese companies are increasingly looking to bolster their presence overseas, there is a widespread realisation that Japan lacks globally literate people capable of negotiating the challenges of international business.
The Japanese government is aware of these faults and is working on reforms, while a growing number of university campuses are offering courses delivered in English amid efforts to make universities more multicultural.
Japan also wants to increase the number of foreign students in the country from the present level of 100,000 to 300,000.
But, meantime, the federal government believes there is an opportunity for Australia, which is in almost the same time zone as Japan, to help bridge this gap.
Austrade has begun approaching Japanese corporations to explain the merits of sending employees to Australia to further their skills in English, or do short courses in global or Asian business studies.
The best performing Japanese companies are increasingly shifting their focus to the rest of Asia as the domestic market shrinks amid ongoing economic stagnation.
The Japanese branch of KFC is the only example so far of how the scheme may work. The company sends employees to Adelaide to study English, then brings them to Sydney to meet the Australian management of the chain and for work experience.
To launch the campaign, the Australian government offered two scholarships - one for a university student and one for an employee - to do a Step Up program at the University of NSW.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/push-to-attract-japanese-students-here/story-e6frgcjx-1226079461717
The number of Japanese visitors to Australia has dwindled in recent years and the country has fallen behind India, China and South Korea as a source of foreign students.
Austrade's Tokyo office and Tourism Australia have begun a campaign to capitalise on the failure of Japan's universities and corporations to produce globally savvy staff capable of competing in the international economy.
The Step Up in Australia campaign is designed to get Japanese university students to undertake some study here and young graduates to pursue further study and internships.
The head of Tourism Australia in Japan, Kaz Hori, said the program allowed Australia to present the full range of study abroad options to lure Japanese students.
"Australia is the pre-eminent destination for school excursions from Japan and attracts a large number of short-term language students each year," he said. "What this initiative outlines is the next step in the career development of young Japanese, providing them with a step-up opportunity to compete in a globalised world."
Today's generation of young Japanese is more reluctant to travel and work overseas than their parents' generation, resulting in more insular and less sophisticated employees.
And the university sector in Japan is under fire for failing to produce graduates with the ability to speak English at high enough level to compete with their counterparts from rising Asian powers such as China, South Korea and India.
A recent report from Austrade on developing Japan's human capital found the country faced a critical skills deficiency. As Japanese companies are increasingly looking to bolster their presence overseas, there is a widespread realisation that Japan lacks globally literate people capable of negotiating the challenges of international business.
The Japanese government is aware of these faults and is working on reforms, while a growing number of university campuses are offering courses delivered in English amid efforts to make universities more multicultural.
Japan also wants to increase the number of foreign students in the country from the present level of 100,000 to 300,000.
But, meantime, the federal government believes there is an opportunity for Australia, which is in almost the same time zone as Japan, to help bridge this gap.
Austrade has begun approaching Japanese corporations to explain the merits of sending employees to Australia to further their skills in English, or do short courses in global or Asian business studies.
The best performing Japanese companies are increasingly shifting their focus to the rest of Asia as the domestic market shrinks amid ongoing economic stagnation.
The Japanese branch of KFC is the only example so far of how the scheme may work. The company sends employees to Adelaide to study English, then brings them to Sydney to meet the Australian management of the chain and for work experience.
To launch the campaign, the Australian government offered two scholarships - one for a university student and one for an employee - to do a Step Up program at the University of NSW.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/push-to-attract-japanese-students-here/story-e6frgcjx-1226079461717
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Keidanren to launch scholarships for students studying abroad
The Japan Business Federation said Monday it will launch scholarships next year to support students studying abroad, given that young Japanese people are said to have grown reluctant to study or work overseas.
The nation's largest business lobby, known as Keidanren, plans to provide annual scholarships of 1 million yen each to 30 students from 13 universities, including Tohoku University and Doshisha University, who will study at foreign colleges for one year on exchange programs.
The number of universities covered by the scholarships will be gradually increased.
The federation will also support their efforts to find jobs after they return home as students are often concerned that studying abroad would affect their ability to secure employment.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9NQVU500&show_article=1
The nation's largest business lobby, known as Keidanren, plans to provide annual scholarships of 1 million yen each to 30 students from 13 universities, including Tohoku University and Doshisha University, who will study at foreign colleges for one year on exchange programs.
The number of universities covered by the scholarships will be gradually increased.
The federation will also support their efforts to find jobs after they return home as students are often concerned that studying abroad would affect their ability to secure employment.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9NQVU500&show_article=1
Monday, June 13, 2011
University in Kyoto to offer doctoral course on 'manga'
Kyoto Seika University will offer a doctoral course on studies of Japanese "manga" comics in fiscal 2012, the private university in the city of Kyoto said Tuesday.
The university will be the first Japanese university to offer a doctorate in the subject, during which students will study the theory of manga making and actually produce manga, the university said, adding the course will allow for enrollment of four students.
German art scholar Jaqueline Berndt, manga artist Keiko Takemiya and other active authors and editors will give lectures as part of the planned doctoral course.
The university opened the manga department in 2000, the first of its kind in the country, and established a master's degree program in 2010.
The university decided to offer a doctoral program after receiving requests for such a program from its students, it said. It also took into consideration foreign students who asked for a valid degree in the subject.
The university will accept applications for the course between next Jan. 6 and 20. An entrance examination is slated for Feb. 7, the university said.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9NMTJN01&show_article=1
The university will be the first Japanese university to offer a doctorate in the subject, during which students will study the theory of manga making and actually produce manga, the university said, adding the course will allow for enrollment of four students.
German art scholar Jaqueline Berndt, manga artist Keiko Takemiya and other active authors and editors will give lectures as part of the planned doctoral course.
The university opened the manga department in 2000, the first of its kind in the country, and established a master's degree program in 2010.
The university decided to offer a doctoral program after receiving requests for such a program from its students, it said. It also took into consideration foreign students who asked for a valid degree in the subject.
The university will accept applications for the course between next Jan. 6 and 20. An entrance examination is slated for Feb. 7, the university said.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9NMTJN01&show_article=1
Visa perks eyed to lure foreigners
The government on Thursday outlined plans to give preferential treatment to foreigners with specialized skills to encourage them to work in Japan.
According to the Justice Ministry, the preferential treatment will be based on a point system that will allow visas of up to three years to be extended to five years. It will go into effect by the end of the year amid increasing international competition for competent human resources, especially engineers.
The points will be determined by checking annual income, work experience and other factors, with visa extensions or other preferential treatment given to those with a certain level of points.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110610a9.html
According to the Justice Ministry, the preferential treatment will be based on a point system that will allow visas of up to three years to be extended to five years. It will go into effect by the end of the year amid increasing international competition for competent human resources, especially engineers.
The points will be determined by checking annual income, work experience and other factors, with visa extensions or other preferential treatment given to those with a certain level of points.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110610a9.html
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Govt to ease visa rules to lure students
The government plans to ease the academic requirements for obtaining work visas, thereby making it easier for foreign graduates of Japanese vocational schools to work in this country, sources said Monday.
The move is aimed at attracting more foreigners to study in Japan, the sources said.
The Justice Ministry plans to revise the relevant ordinance shortly, with the new policy to be implemented in late June at the earliest.
Currently, work visas are in principle issued only to foreign nationals who hold a bachelor degree or higher.
Exceptions can be made for foreign students who stay in Japan and find jobs after graduating from Japanese vocational schools, but not if the students return to their home countries after graduation.
In 2009, the ministry conducted a survey of the employment histories of foreign students attending Japanese vocational schools, and found that about 70 percent of them would likely be able to find jobs in this nation.
Many foreigners attending Japanese vocational schools are believed to have returned home since the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, without applying for reentry permits. Relaxing the academic requirements for work visas could encourage such students to return to this country, the observers said.
According to a survey by the Japan Student Services Organization, there were 27,872 foreign students at Japanese vocational schools as of May last year.
It is hoped that relaxing the academic requirements could boost the number of foreign students who obtain work visas by more than 10,000 per year, the sources said.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110530004016.htm
The move is aimed at attracting more foreigners to study in Japan, the sources said.
The Justice Ministry plans to revise the relevant ordinance shortly, with the new policy to be implemented in late June at the earliest.
Currently, work visas are in principle issued only to foreign nationals who hold a bachelor degree or higher.
Exceptions can be made for foreign students who stay in Japan and find jobs after graduating from Japanese vocational schools, but not if the students return to their home countries after graduation.
In 2009, the ministry conducted a survey of the employment histories of foreign students attending Japanese vocational schools, and found that about 70 percent of them would likely be able to find jobs in this nation.
Many foreigners attending Japanese vocational schools are believed to have returned home since the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake, without applying for reentry permits. Relaxing the academic requirements for work visas could encourage such students to return to this country, the observers said.
According to a survey by the Japan Student Services Organization, there were 27,872 foreign students at Japanese vocational schools as of May last year.
It is hoped that relaxing the academic requirements could boost the number of foreign students who obtain work visas by more than 10,000 per year, the sources said.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110530004016.htm
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Foreign students targeted for tours
The Japan Tourism Agency will send some 1,100 foreign students in Japan to tourist spots across the country starting in July to check out the facilities, including hotels and inns, and find new attractions as it tries to lure back tourists scared off by the March 11 catastrophes.
The agency said Friday that it hopes the students will spread word online about the sites to ease concerns about the aftermath of the magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami and the radiation-spewing nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture for people abroad looking to visit Japan.
Travel, lodging and other expenses will be jointly shouldered by the government and any facilities that agree to accept the students. The agency plans to send 160 students to the disaster-hit Tohoku region.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110522b2.html
The agency said Friday that it hopes the students will spread word online about the sites to ease concerns about the aftermath of the magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami and the radiation-spewing nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture for people abroad looking to visit Japan.
Travel, lodging and other expenses will be jointly shouldered by the government and any facilities that agree to accept the students. The agency plans to send 160 students to the disaster-hit Tohoku region.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110522b2.html
Sunday, March 06, 2011
English big business, and growing
When it comes to preparing for the April launch of compulsory English classes in elementary schools, the private sector appears to have a clear lead over public school teachers.
"We kicked off our preliminary research group in the beginning of 2007," Mina Funabashi, who heads the English content management division for elementary school products at Benesse Corp., told The Japan Times.
The publishing giant offers monthly correspondence courses to a whopping 1.77 million children, or 1 out of every 4 elementary school students in Japan. Yet despite having supplied English textbooks for preteens since 1989, their syllabus needed an overhaul since the lessons were designed for introduction to junior high school English courses.
With the government setting a new objective to nurture English communication skills among fifth- and sixth-graders, Benesse gathered a number of university professors, English education experts and teachers from both private and public schools to come up with the perfect textbook. Their goal was simple but hard to achieve: to develop a syllabus that would improve English communication skills while cultivating basic language knowledge.
Whereas the previous textbooks were designed for junior high and required that students learn sentences by repeating them out loud five times, a completely different approach was needed to reach the new goal.
Nurturing children's interest in overseas cultures was also deemed "crucial for students to continue wanting to learn the language," Funabashi explained.
What Funabashi's team came up with is exquisite — a textbook that essentially bridges the gap between what interests elementary school children and what they need to learn, instilling in them not only a larger vocabulary but also cultural understanding and weaving the experience into a fabric of their English knowledge.
One chapter of the new textbook, for example, shows an American girl visiting Japan and trying wasabi-flavored potato chips. A Japanese boy warns that the chips are spicy, but the girl takes a bite anyway and is surprised by the zesty taste.
The story is accompanied by colorful manga of the scenes, but does not include any Japanese translations. On the next page, there are illustrations of cookies, chocolate, gum and popcorn to further augment vocabulary.
According to Funabashi, a trial edition of the textbook received mixed reviews from parents. They were worried that the vocabulary was too undemanding, and some were taken aback that the book didn't have the Japanese version of the conversation.
But that was exactly Benesse's goal — to grab kids' attention and implant new knowledge.
"It is said that there are approximately 1,200 (English terms) frequently used by an elementary school student in Japan" whose meanings are understood, Funabashi explained, such as potato chips, chocolate and popcorn. Those terms were used in the textbook on purpose to work as a "bridge," or to stand out and get a student to pay attention to English dialogue.
Because potato chips is an English phrase they are already familiar with, students are more likely to be able to connect the dots into a sentence. The conversation becomes comprehensible as they pick up the words they know and digest them, Funabashi said.
"They don't need to have a translation," Funabashi said, adding that in the long run, this nurtures the students' ability to absorb vast amounts of English and ultimately enable them to converse.
Benesse's new English textbooks have been in use by fifth-graders since April 2009. A survey by the company revealed that the number of pupils interested in the course is on the rise, even among those who score lower in school. Calls from mothers inquiring about English studies are also growing, Funabashi said.
"We tell them there is nothing to worry about with the upcoming change in English teaching. We are ready to answer the needs of our customers," said Kaori Sakamoto, a manager at Benesse's corporate communications department.
All systems are also go at ECC Junior, where approximately 200,000 elementary school pupils — more than any other language school — are enrolled. The chain operates about 10,000 classrooms across the country, and has expertise in teaching English to youngsters, some only 2 years old.
Kuniko Tsukada, deputy general division manager of ECC Junior, said tutors in the company have already undergone training to learn the new curriculum at public elementary schools.
Offering enjoyable classes with quizzes and story-reading has been and will remain a core part of the program, but ECC will push for what it calls teaching "global-standard English skills," or the required level of English for studying and working abroad by the time a student graduates from high school, she said.
"What stands out in our new program is the volume of reading and writing that a student goes through," Tsukada told The Japan Times. The company went this route after examining what interests most preteen elementary school children, ECC Junior said in a statement, explaining the idea behind its super-learning programs, which include extensive reading and writing.
The shift was an effort to maximize a student's exposure to new English expressions.
"Dancing and singing could work, but only for younger kids," Tsukada said. Instead, the sense of being able to communicate beyond illustrative sentences such as "I like apples" and "this is a pen" is what appeared to be most stimulating for the older students. ECC Junior concluded that it becomes essential for fifth- and sixth-graders to push themselves harder to acquire basic English skills, including learning more words and phrases.
That is how the Vocathlon program was developed in 2004. It has been effective in maximizing students' capabilities, ECC Junior said.
While previous vocabulary lessons involved teachers holding a drawing and students reciting the name of the item shown, the new method is operated in a completely different manner.
In the Vocathlon program, each student opens a page in a textbook where random items are illustrated, and then repeats the corresponding English term.
"Some fifth- and sixth-graders can go beyond 160 items, which is amazing because even an adult would have difficulty doing that," Tsukada said, adding that speed training and a rich vocabulary ultimately enhance English communication.
Many students surprise the teachers by going beyond their expectations, learning quickly once they are led in the right direction, she said.
"The new compulsory English classes will boost the number of people interested in learning English. In fact, we've been receiving a number of calls from mothers about our lessons," Tsukada said.
"I believe we are in the final stage of creating a system that can answer their needs."
Meanwhile, a growing number of children are taking the Eiken (Test in Practical English Proficiency) — Japan's most widely used English-language testing program.
More than 100,000 elementary school pupils took the tests in 1999 and the number rose to about 160,000 in 2009, according to the Society for Testing English Proficiency Inc., a nonprofit foundation in Tokyo that administers the tests.
Eiken's junior version — Jido Eiken — which stresses listening comprehension skills designed for young children, attracts around 90,000 takers a year, STEP said.
Many children start learning English at a young age, according to an October STEP survey of 215 Jido Eiken takers and 114 guardians. More than half of the takers started learning English before entering elementary school.
STEP said most elementary schools have already introduced foreign-language lessons, which may have prompted children to learn the language from an early stage.
STEP is also planning to publish free papers from May for elementary school teachers. The papers will offer content the teachers can use as reference, including what games to play and songs to sing in their English lessons.
"We hope these publications help foreign-language activities get conducted smoothly," said Mayuko Hamada, a STEP official. "And it will be good if students can graduate (from elementary school) and start junior high schools liking English."
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110302f1.html?
"We kicked off our preliminary research group in the beginning of 2007," Mina Funabashi, who heads the English content management division for elementary school products at Benesse Corp., told The Japan Times.
The publishing giant offers monthly correspondence courses to a whopping 1.77 million children, or 1 out of every 4 elementary school students in Japan. Yet despite having supplied English textbooks for preteens since 1989, their syllabus needed an overhaul since the lessons were designed for introduction to junior high school English courses.
With the government setting a new objective to nurture English communication skills among fifth- and sixth-graders, Benesse gathered a number of university professors, English education experts and teachers from both private and public schools to come up with the perfect textbook. Their goal was simple but hard to achieve: to develop a syllabus that would improve English communication skills while cultivating basic language knowledge.
Whereas the previous textbooks were designed for junior high and required that students learn sentences by repeating them out loud five times, a completely different approach was needed to reach the new goal.
Nurturing children's interest in overseas cultures was also deemed "crucial for students to continue wanting to learn the language," Funabashi explained.
What Funabashi's team came up with is exquisite — a textbook that essentially bridges the gap between what interests elementary school children and what they need to learn, instilling in them not only a larger vocabulary but also cultural understanding and weaving the experience into a fabric of their English knowledge.
One chapter of the new textbook, for example, shows an American girl visiting Japan and trying wasabi-flavored potato chips. A Japanese boy warns that the chips are spicy, but the girl takes a bite anyway and is surprised by the zesty taste.
The story is accompanied by colorful manga of the scenes, but does not include any Japanese translations. On the next page, there are illustrations of cookies, chocolate, gum and popcorn to further augment vocabulary.
According to Funabashi, a trial edition of the textbook received mixed reviews from parents. They were worried that the vocabulary was too undemanding, and some were taken aback that the book didn't have the Japanese version of the conversation.
But that was exactly Benesse's goal — to grab kids' attention and implant new knowledge.
"It is said that there are approximately 1,200 (English terms) frequently used by an elementary school student in Japan" whose meanings are understood, Funabashi explained, such as potato chips, chocolate and popcorn. Those terms were used in the textbook on purpose to work as a "bridge," or to stand out and get a student to pay attention to English dialogue.
Because potato chips is an English phrase they are already familiar with, students are more likely to be able to connect the dots into a sentence. The conversation becomes comprehensible as they pick up the words they know and digest them, Funabashi said.
"They don't need to have a translation," Funabashi said, adding that in the long run, this nurtures the students' ability to absorb vast amounts of English and ultimately enable them to converse.
Benesse's new English textbooks have been in use by fifth-graders since April 2009. A survey by the company revealed that the number of pupils interested in the course is on the rise, even among those who score lower in school. Calls from mothers inquiring about English studies are also growing, Funabashi said.
"We tell them there is nothing to worry about with the upcoming change in English teaching. We are ready to answer the needs of our customers," said Kaori Sakamoto, a manager at Benesse's corporate communications department.
All systems are also go at ECC Junior, where approximately 200,000 elementary school pupils — more than any other language school — are enrolled. The chain operates about 10,000 classrooms across the country, and has expertise in teaching English to youngsters, some only 2 years old.
Kuniko Tsukada, deputy general division manager of ECC Junior, said tutors in the company have already undergone training to learn the new curriculum at public elementary schools.
Offering enjoyable classes with quizzes and story-reading has been and will remain a core part of the program, but ECC will push for what it calls teaching "global-standard English skills," or the required level of English for studying and working abroad by the time a student graduates from high school, she said.
"What stands out in our new program is the volume of reading and writing that a student goes through," Tsukada told The Japan Times. The company went this route after examining what interests most preteen elementary school children, ECC Junior said in a statement, explaining the idea behind its super-learning programs, which include extensive reading and writing.
The shift was an effort to maximize a student's exposure to new English expressions.
"Dancing and singing could work, but only for younger kids," Tsukada said. Instead, the sense of being able to communicate beyond illustrative sentences such as "I like apples" and "this is a pen" is what appeared to be most stimulating for the older students. ECC Junior concluded that it becomes essential for fifth- and sixth-graders to push themselves harder to acquire basic English skills, including learning more words and phrases.
That is how the Vocathlon program was developed in 2004. It has been effective in maximizing students' capabilities, ECC Junior said.
While previous vocabulary lessons involved teachers holding a drawing and students reciting the name of the item shown, the new method is operated in a completely different manner.
In the Vocathlon program, each student opens a page in a textbook where random items are illustrated, and then repeats the corresponding English term.
"Some fifth- and sixth-graders can go beyond 160 items, which is amazing because even an adult would have difficulty doing that," Tsukada said, adding that speed training and a rich vocabulary ultimately enhance English communication.
Many students surprise the teachers by going beyond their expectations, learning quickly once they are led in the right direction, she said.
"The new compulsory English classes will boost the number of people interested in learning English. In fact, we've been receiving a number of calls from mothers about our lessons," Tsukada said.
"I believe we are in the final stage of creating a system that can answer their needs."
Meanwhile, a growing number of children are taking the Eiken (Test in Practical English Proficiency) — Japan's most widely used English-language testing program.
More than 100,000 elementary school pupils took the tests in 1999 and the number rose to about 160,000 in 2009, according to the Society for Testing English Proficiency Inc., a nonprofit foundation in Tokyo that administers the tests.
Eiken's junior version — Jido Eiken — which stresses listening comprehension skills designed for young children, attracts around 90,000 takers a year, STEP said.
Many children start learning English at a young age, according to an October STEP survey of 215 Jido Eiken takers and 114 guardians. More than half of the takers started learning English before entering elementary school.
STEP said most elementary schools have already introduced foreign-language lessons, which may have prompted children to learn the language from an early stage.
STEP is also planning to publish free papers from May for elementary school teachers. The papers will offer content the teachers can use as reference, including what games to play and songs to sing in their English lessons.
"We hope these publications help foreign-language activities get conducted smoothly," said Mayuko Hamada, a STEP official. "And it will be good if students can graduate (from elementary school) and start junior high schools liking English."
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110302f1.html?
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