More than 40 percent of the national universities are warming to the University of Tokyo plan to shift the start of the undergraduate academic year from spring to fall, a survey found.
Major private institutions, including Waseda University, Keio University and Ritsumeikan University, have also shown willingness to ponder the move, which a University of Tokyo panel recently advocated to bring the system in sync with international norms.
The survey, conducted by Kyodo News between Monday and Wednesday, covered the presidents of all 81 national universities except the University of Tokyo and graduate schools unaffiliated with universities, as well as 12 major private universities. The response rate was 100 percent.
The University of Tokyo, known locally as Todai, has called on nine other national universities, including Kyoto University and Hokkaido University, as well as Waseda and Keio, join it in shifting the academic year and said it will set up an organ in April to facilitate coordination.
Of those 11 universities, only Kyoto did not express a willingness to participate, making it highly likely that coordination will start in April.
Kyoto University did not answer the survey questions directly and only said it would review the timing of enrollment together with ways to conduct its admission examinations.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda welcomed the University of Tokyo's initiative at a government meeting Wednesday.
"It's a praiseworthy move from the viewpoint of nurturing talent that will be competitive globally," Noda said. He said he would continue to discuss the issue with the government and the private sector.
According to the survey, 35 of the 81 national universities are ready to consider making the switch because it might help increase enrollment of international students and encourage more Japanese to study abroad.
But only 11 national universities have expressed clear approval of the idea at this point.
Many universities said they are concerned about possible discrepancies in the timing for job recruitment and entrance examinations, given that spring is traditionally the season when the new academic, business and fiscal years begin.
Observers say cooperation from both the government and the business community would be required for the transition to succeed, leaving it uncertain how widely the Todai initiative will spread.
Of the 35 universities ready to consider the move, 13 including Fukushima University and Kyushu University said a full transition to the fall is desirable.
Another 13 universities are against switching, including Miyagi University of Education, Nara University of Education, Shiga University and the University of the Ryukyus.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120127a6.html
Friday, January 27, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Japan’s Harvard Mulls Radical Calendar Change
One of Tokyo University’s self-proclaimed goals is to raise “tough students” ready to take on the world. But to do so, Asia’s highest-ranked university is becoming increasingly convinced it will have to take drastic measures – changing its academic calendar to a fall start date.
An internal preliminary report released by the university Friday found that the prestigious institution, like much of Japan Inc., must globalize to remain competitive. The national university’s position fell four spots to No. 30 in 2011 in the Times Higher Education world university rankings compared with the previous year, once again dragged down by dismal marks in “international outlook.”
The university first proposed the idea of changing its calendar last summer.
In an effort to become more globally friendly, the university wants to encourage its students to study abroad as well as make the Tokyo school an attractive destination for overseas disciples of higher learning. The problem is a timing issue, as Japan’s academic calendar is out of sync with the rest of the world. Students in Japan start their school year in April, while the back-to-school season kicks off in the fall in about 70% of 215 countries studied, according to the report. The scheduling difference has made it difficult for Japanese students to find international programs that don’t cut into the middle of their semesters back home and vice versa.
The consequence of the temporal mismatch is apparent: the report says only 0.4% of Tokyo University’s 13,250 students were studying abroad as of last May. At this rate, the report concludes, “the aim to ‘have all (Tokyo University) students experience study abroad or conduct research overseas by 2015’ is not one whose achievement is within sight.” Meanwhile, about 270,604 U.S. students studied abroad for academic credit in the 2009-2010 school year, nearly a 4% increase from the previous year, according to the Institute of International Education annual report released last November. But just 2.3% of those students opted to study in Japan – the same percentage that chose Costa Rica.
So the next figure shouldn’t come as much of a surprise: exchange students made up just 1.9% of undergraduates at the school. The panel’s report says “we cannot help but worry about whether the university can maintain its prowess and presence” in the face of stiff global competition. Tokyo University was the highest-ranked school in Asia in the aforementioned Times Higher Education annual report, but regional schools like the University of Hong Kong and the National University of Singapore are close on its heels and score much higher on the category that is Tokyo’s biggest weakness — international outlook.
But to move the start date would mean to jostle an entire system that’s been firmly bolted down for decades. Japan’s academic year is tied to the timing of entrance exams and, more importantly, the fixed recruitment schedule. Pushing the school year to start by about half a year later would mean fresh graduates would be in limbo for many months before suiting up for work.
The move would mark a significant change in Japan – and it is one that perhaps can be spearheaded only by Tokyo University, which has produced 15 Japanese prime ministers. The school’s name, commonly shortened to “Todai,” carries impressive weight in Japan, giving its graduates’ resumes a reverent glow during job applications and self-introductions. Todai’s proposal has spurred other universities to mull the calendar shift. Kyushu University said this week it would establish an in-house panel next month to begin deliberating the issue, according to Japanese daily Yomiuri Shinbun.
The good news is that Japanese students want to go abroad, if given the chance. A university survey cited in Todai’s report on Friday showed 35% of students said they definitely want to go abroad and another 58% said they wished they had opportunities to participate in study-abroad programs.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/01/20/japans-harvard-mulls-radical-calendar-change/
An internal preliminary report released by the university Friday found that the prestigious institution, like much of Japan Inc., must globalize to remain competitive. The national university’s position fell four spots to No. 30 in 2011 in the Times Higher Education world university rankings compared with the previous year, once again dragged down by dismal marks in “international outlook.”
The university first proposed the idea of changing its calendar last summer.
In an effort to become more globally friendly, the university wants to encourage its students to study abroad as well as make the Tokyo school an attractive destination for overseas disciples of higher learning. The problem is a timing issue, as Japan’s academic calendar is out of sync with the rest of the world. Students in Japan start their school year in April, while the back-to-school season kicks off in the fall in about 70% of 215 countries studied, according to the report. The scheduling difference has made it difficult for Japanese students to find international programs that don’t cut into the middle of their semesters back home and vice versa.
The consequence of the temporal mismatch is apparent: the report says only 0.4% of Tokyo University’s 13,250 students were studying abroad as of last May. At this rate, the report concludes, “the aim to ‘have all (Tokyo University) students experience study abroad or conduct research overseas by 2015’ is not one whose achievement is within sight.” Meanwhile, about 270,604 U.S. students studied abroad for academic credit in the 2009-2010 school year, nearly a 4% increase from the previous year, according to the Institute of International Education annual report released last November. But just 2.3% of those students opted to study in Japan – the same percentage that chose Costa Rica.
So the next figure shouldn’t come as much of a surprise: exchange students made up just 1.9% of undergraduates at the school. The panel’s report says “we cannot help but worry about whether the university can maintain its prowess and presence” in the face of stiff global competition. Tokyo University was the highest-ranked school in Asia in the aforementioned Times Higher Education annual report, but regional schools like the University of Hong Kong and the National University of Singapore are close on its heels and score much higher on the category that is Tokyo’s biggest weakness — international outlook.
But to move the start date would mean to jostle an entire system that’s been firmly bolted down for decades. Japan’s academic year is tied to the timing of entrance exams and, more importantly, the fixed recruitment schedule. Pushing the school year to start by about half a year later would mean fresh graduates would be in limbo for many months before suiting up for work.
The move would mark a significant change in Japan – and it is one that perhaps can be spearheaded only by Tokyo University, which has produced 15 Japanese prime ministers. The school’s name, commonly shortened to “Todai,” carries impressive weight in Japan, giving its graduates’ resumes a reverent glow during job applications and self-introductions. Todai’s proposal has spurred other universities to mull the calendar shift. Kyushu University said this week it would establish an in-house panel next month to begin deliberating the issue, according to Japanese daily Yomiuri Shinbun.
The good news is that Japanese students want to go abroad, if given the chance. A university survey cited in Todai’s report on Friday showed 35% of students said they definitely want to go abroad and another 58% said they wished they had opportunities to participate in study-abroad programs.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/01/20/japans-harvard-mulls-radical-calendar-change/
Friday, January 20, 2012
University of Tokyo has int'l competition in sights with shift to autumn start
The University of Tokyo's recent decision to shift the start of the school year from the spring to the autumn -- in line with most school systems in the West -- is a sure signal that Japan's most prestigious academic institution is deeply worried about being on the losing end of increasing international competition among universities. Furthermore, the move by Todai -- as the University of Tokyo is popularly known -- is putting pressure on other Japanese schools to follow suit.
If Todai goes ahead with the current proposal, entrance exams will continue to be held in the spring while in five years the start of classes will be moved to the autumn, opening a six-month gap between acceptance and actual entry into the university. What students are to do with this half-year is one major challenge that must be dealt with before the new system goes into effect, while the shift in the school year may also have a serious impact on both new graduate hiring by companies and on high school education.
"Amid severe international competition, we call on this school to move speedily and without hesitation to consider this recommendation and to act," reads the final proposal by a Todai panel set up to study the school year shift, the text amplifying the university's sense of crisis and fear of falling behind other top schools across the globe.
The 2011-2012 Times Higher Education World University Rankings released in October last year had MIT, Harvard, Stanford and Oxford at the pinnacle of its top 400 -- all U.S. and British schools. Todai could boast it was pegged highest among Japanese institutions, but still came in well down the list at No. 30, sandwiched between the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Todai sees any climb up the rankings ladder as dependent both on attracting more foreign students and faculty.
Furthermore, as of May 2011, there were just 53 undergraduate and 286 graduate Todai students studying overseas -- just 0.4 percent and 2.1 percent of total enrolment, respectively. The panel proposal says one reason for the low numbers is "the differences in entrance dates and school terms" between Todai and foreign host institutions. As such, the panel recommended keeping entrance exams at the same time of year as they are now, while moving the start of the school year entirely to the autumn to match the schedules of institutions outside Japan. Furthermore, the proposal recommends the "gap time" between the exams and actual entrance to the university be used by newly admitted students to get some international or volunteer experience.
Japanese universities used to begin their school years in September, but shifted to an April start in 1921 to match the fiscal year. As internationalization has proceeded apace, however, a return to a September start gained more appeal, and in 2007 a government committee on education reform recommended making a strong push to do just that. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, as of the 2009 school year there were 245 universities that allowed undergraduate students to enter at times other than April. Most of these, however, did so mainly for students returning to Japan after living or studying abroad, and no universities had moved entirely to an autumn entrance system.
Japan's major schools are, however, keeping close tabs on Todai's moves. For instance, on Jan. 18 Kyushu University President Setsuo Arikawa announced he planned to set up a committee to study shifting the school year's start to the autumn. Kyoto University has also stated it will "consider the state of school terms and entrance exams," while Waseda University has said it will "continue with discussions on how autumn entrance should be implemented."
Meanwhile Atsushi Seike, head of Keio University, told the Mainichi, "Regarding autumn entrance, the university community in Japan should consider how to proceed as a whole."
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/features/news/20120119p2a00m0na019000c.html
If Todai goes ahead with the current proposal, entrance exams will continue to be held in the spring while in five years the start of classes will be moved to the autumn, opening a six-month gap between acceptance and actual entry into the university. What students are to do with this half-year is one major challenge that must be dealt with before the new system goes into effect, while the shift in the school year may also have a serious impact on both new graduate hiring by companies and on high school education.
"Amid severe international competition, we call on this school to move speedily and without hesitation to consider this recommendation and to act," reads the final proposal by a Todai panel set up to study the school year shift, the text amplifying the university's sense of crisis and fear of falling behind other top schools across the globe.
The 2011-2012 Times Higher Education World University Rankings released in October last year had MIT, Harvard, Stanford and Oxford at the pinnacle of its top 400 -- all U.S. and British schools. Todai could boast it was pegged highest among Japanese institutions, but still came in well down the list at No. 30, sandwiched between the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Todai sees any climb up the rankings ladder as dependent both on attracting more foreign students and faculty.
Furthermore, as of May 2011, there were just 53 undergraduate and 286 graduate Todai students studying overseas -- just 0.4 percent and 2.1 percent of total enrolment, respectively. The panel proposal says one reason for the low numbers is "the differences in entrance dates and school terms" between Todai and foreign host institutions. As such, the panel recommended keeping entrance exams at the same time of year as they are now, while moving the start of the school year entirely to the autumn to match the schedules of institutions outside Japan. Furthermore, the proposal recommends the "gap time" between the exams and actual entrance to the university be used by newly admitted students to get some international or volunteer experience.
Japanese universities used to begin their school years in September, but shifted to an April start in 1921 to match the fiscal year. As internationalization has proceeded apace, however, a return to a September start gained more appeal, and in 2007 a government committee on education reform recommended making a strong push to do just that. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, as of the 2009 school year there were 245 universities that allowed undergraduate students to enter at times other than April. Most of these, however, did so mainly for students returning to Japan after living or studying abroad, and no universities had moved entirely to an autumn entrance system.
Japan's major schools are, however, keeping close tabs on Todai's moves. For instance, on Jan. 18 Kyushu University President Setsuo Arikawa announced he planned to set up a committee to study shifting the school year's start to the autumn. Kyoto University has also stated it will "consider the state of school terms and entrance exams," while Waseda University has said it will "continue with discussions on how autumn entrance should be implemented."
Meanwhile Atsushi Seike, head of Keio University, told the Mainichi, "Regarding autumn entrance, the university community in Japan should consider how to proceed as a whole."
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/features/news/20120119p2a00m0na019000c.html
Monday, January 16, 2012
Firms look to hire foreign students
Hundreds of foreign students from Japan's top universities turned up at a career forum Saturday in Tokyo, hoping to secure a job before their graduation in 2013.
Clad in dark suits, the students flocked to Tokyo Dome City in Bunkyo Ward to attend briefings by 47 firms — including First Retailing Co., Sony Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
A total of 1,560 students, mostly Asian, registered to attend the Tokyo event and a job fair in Osaka on Sunday, both organized by recruitment consultancy Fourth Valley Concierge Corp.
While only 12 companies participated in the inaugural event for foreign students in 2008, the number has quadrupled over the last four years as businesses increasingly look to expand their operations overseas, said Aki Takeda, Fourth Valley's director.
"Companies' interest (in foreign students) is rising. . . . More firms are moving to recruit top-notch students, regardless of their nationalities," Takeda said.
"They are hiring foreign students not only for their language skills but also for their business mindset and high potential. And (such talented students) tend to be foreign students," Takeda said.
Yuka Kawakami, who recruits students for Mitsubishi Electric Corp., said the firm plans to hire 10 to 20 foreign students in fiscal 2012. "We'd like to recruit more foreign students. . . . They decided to study outside their home country and that alone shows their strong will," Kawakami said.
According to a poll held last August by career consultancy DISCO Inc., only 13.1 percent of 968 firms polled said they would recruit foreign students in fiscal 2011. But 24.5 percent said they planned to hire foreign students in the next fiscal year, which starts April 1.
The rate was higher — about 46 percent — for major firms with more than 1,000 workers.
But at a time when even new Japanese graduates are finding it hard to land a job, foreign students who attended the Tokyo event said securing employment was by no means easy.
"People say more companies are recruiting foreign students now, and I think that's true. But the options we have are still far fewer than Japanese students," said Qiu Fei, a 23-year-old Chinese master's student at Kyushu University in Fukuoka.
"Other foreign students say the job-hunting environment is harsh," said Chinese doctorate student Lu Zhijiang of the University of Tsukuba. "I want to get a job at a top company, but considering the reality, I guess I would be happy if I get a job at any company."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120115a6.html
Clad in dark suits, the students flocked to Tokyo Dome City in Bunkyo Ward to attend briefings by 47 firms — including First Retailing Co., Sony Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
A total of 1,560 students, mostly Asian, registered to attend the Tokyo event and a job fair in Osaka on Sunday, both organized by recruitment consultancy Fourth Valley Concierge Corp.
While only 12 companies participated in the inaugural event for foreign students in 2008, the number has quadrupled over the last four years as businesses increasingly look to expand their operations overseas, said Aki Takeda, Fourth Valley's director.
"Companies' interest (in foreign students) is rising. . . . More firms are moving to recruit top-notch students, regardless of their nationalities," Takeda said.
"They are hiring foreign students not only for their language skills but also for their business mindset and high potential. And (such talented students) tend to be foreign students," Takeda said.
Yuka Kawakami, who recruits students for Mitsubishi Electric Corp., said the firm plans to hire 10 to 20 foreign students in fiscal 2012. "We'd like to recruit more foreign students. . . . They decided to study outside their home country and that alone shows their strong will," Kawakami said.
According to a poll held last August by career consultancy DISCO Inc., only 13.1 percent of 968 firms polled said they would recruit foreign students in fiscal 2011. But 24.5 percent said they planned to hire foreign students in the next fiscal year, which starts April 1.
The rate was higher — about 46 percent — for major firms with more than 1,000 workers.
But at a time when even new Japanese graduates are finding it hard to land a job, foreign students who attended the Tokyo event said securing employment was by no means easy.
"People say more companies are recruiting foreign students now, and I think that's true. But the options we have are still far fewer than Japanese students," said Qiu Fei, a 23-year-old Chinese master's student at Kyushu University in Fukuoka.
"Other foreign students say the job-hunting environment is harsh," said Chinese doctorate student Lu Zhijiang of the University of Tsukuba. "I want to get a job at a top company, but considering the reality, I guess I would be happy if I get a job at any company."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120115a6.html
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Sony Throws Away Japan Recruitment Rulebook
Attention young Japanese job seekers: Sony Corp. wants to get to know you.
Bloomberg News
University students attend a job fair in Tokyo.
The Japanese electronics giant is shaking things up in the way it will hire the incoming class of fresh entry-level suits, stepping out from the rigid recruitment system used by the country’s most elite companies for generations.
Gone are the indistinguishable black suits requisite for interviews. Gone is the formulaic interview involving a table, a chair either side and rote answers. Gone is the hiring taboo on applicants who spent the year after college studying abroad instead of jumping into the job market.
The changes, announced in late December, are the company’s attempts to distinguish the individuals from the masses. Encouraging job seekers to break out of the standard outfit may not seem like the beginning of a HR revolution elsewhere. But it’s a strong buck against tradition in Japan, where an ill-fitting dark suit and newly pruned hair is a giveaway that a dressed-up youngster is on a recruitment call.
“We want to find the individual quirks of each applicant,” said Sony spokeswoman Satsuki Shinnaka. “We want them to come at us with opinions and thoughts indicative of their individuality instead of an answer they read in a book that says ‘Sony will consider you to be a good match (with the company) if you answer like so.’”
Interview formats are getting a makeover when the recruitment process for the class of 2013 starts in April. The questions themselves won’t necessarily change, according to Ms. Shinnaka. But workshops, proposal planning and discussion groups will replace the rounds of one-on-one Q&As to facilitate real conversation and see the wheels turn.
“We want them to be themselves. Feel that it’s ok to talk to us using simple words unconstrained by formalities,” said Ms. Shinnaka. The relaxed wardrobe standard is part of setting that comfort level.
The unexpected is not the norm when it comes to Japan Inc.’s hiring practices for young college graduates, known as “shushoku katsudo” in Japanese. Thanks to the well-oiled hiring process, the soon-to-be-grads know exactly what to do, from what to wear to how to answer a question. The schedule is fixed and starts early – usually in the student’s junior year lest they wish to be at a distinct disadvantage.
To even be considered, prospective candidates’ long journey invariably begins online with a basic application and routine exam. Sony receives an annual average 10,000 entries at this first stage.
About a year and three interview rounds later the group is winnowed down to a few hundred. Ms. Shinnaka said the company hired about 250 entry-level workers for 2012, half the size of the class that joined in 2009.
Sony is also extending employment opportunities to people who have been out of college for as long as three years. The fixed system typically locks those who wouldn’t enter the company as newly minted graduates out, a worrisome situation if some failed to find a job while in school or chose to take time off to study abroad or tried to build their own start-up.
For Sony, which has somewhat lost its sheen as an innovative powerhouse in recent years, thinking outside the box on recruitment could yet be the start of a new way of doing business.
Corrections & Amplifications: About 250 workers make up the incoming class of hires starting in April. A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Sony planned to hire 250 workers for 2013.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/01/07/sony-throws-away-japan-recruitment-rulebook/
Bloomberg News
University students attend a job fair in Tokyo.
The Japanese electronics giant is shaking things up in the way it will hire the incoming class of fresh entry-level suits, stepping out from the rigid recruitment system used by the country’s most elite companies for generations.
Gone are the indistinguishable black suits requisite for interviews. Gone is the formulaic interview involving a table, a chair either side and rote answers. Gone is the hiring taboo on applicants who spent the year after college studying abroad instead of jumping into the job market.
The changes, announced in late December, are the company’s attempts to distinguish the individuals from the masses. Encouraging job seekers to break out of the standard outfit may not seem like the beginning of a HR revolution elsewhere. But it’s a strong buck against tradition in Japan, where an ill-fitting dark suit and newly pruned hair is a giveaway that a dressed-up youngster is on a recruitment call.
“We want to find the individual quirks of each applicant,” said Sony spokeswoman Satsuki Shinnaka. “We want them to come at us with opinions and thoughts indicative of their individuality instead of an answer they read in a book that says ‘Sony will consider you to be a good match (with the company) if you answer like so.’”
Interview formats are getting a makeover when the recruitment process for the class of 2013 starts in April. The questions themselves won’t necessarily change, according to Ms. Shinnaka. But workshops, proposal planning and discussion groups will replace the rounds of one-on-one Q&As to facilitate real conversation and see the wheels turn.
“We want them to be themselves. Feel that it’s ok to talk to us using simple words unconstrained by formalities,” said Ms. Shinnaka. The relaxed wardrobe standard is part of setting that comfort level.
The unexpected is not the norm when it comes to Japan Inc.’s hiring practices for young college graduates, known as “shushoku katsudo” in Japanese. Thanks to the well-oiled hiring process, the soon-to-be-grads know exactly what to do, from what to wear to how to answer a question. The schedule is fixed and starts early – usually in the student’s junior year lest they wish to be at a distinct disadvantage.
To even be considered, prospective candidates’ long journey invariably begins online with a basic application and routine exam. Sony receives an annual average 10,000 entries at this first stage.
About a year and three interview rounds later the group is winnowed down to a few hundred. Ms. Shinnaka said the company hired about 250 entry-level workers for 2012, half the size of the class that joined in 2009.
Sony is also extending employment opportunities to people who have been out of college for as long as three years. The fixed system typically locks those who wouldn’t enter the company as newly minted graduates out, a worrisome situation if some failed to find a job while in school or chose to take time off to study abroad or tried to build their own start-up.
For Sony, which has somewhat lost its sheen as an innovative powerhouse in recent years, thinking outside the box on recruitment could yet be the start of a new way of doing business.
Corrections & Amplifications: About 250 workers make up the incoming class of hires starting in April. A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Sony planned to hire 250 workers for 2013.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/01/07/sony-throws-away-japan-recruitment-rulebook/
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Tokyo to help 10,000 youths study abroad
The Tokyo metropolitan government has announced a project to help 10,000 young people study abroad over eight years starting in fiscal 2012 to rectify their increasingly inward-looking mind-sets.
"Through studying abroad, we'd like to help young people toughen up so they can serve as leaders in the future," a Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education official said.
Announced last week, the project will send not only high school and university students, but also young craftspeople overseas in the eight years from fiscal 2012 to 2020.
The main pillar of the project is a next-generation leader training program, which will focus on students at metropolitan government-operated high schools.
Starting in the summer of their freshman year of high school, students will take eight months of extra lessons featuring lectures from businesspeople, athletes, artists and other guest speakers who have also lived abroad. They also will learn how to make presentations and write essays in English.
Their freshman year will end with a monthlong study abroad in March. Students will also start a yearlong overseas homestay in autumn so they can attend local schools.
(Dec. 30, 2011)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111229004438.htm
"Through studying abroad, we'd like to help young people toughen up so they can serve as leaders in the future," a Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education official said.
Announced last week, the project will send not only high school and university students, but also young craftspeople overseas in the eight years from fiscal 2012 to 2020.
The main pillar of the project is a next-generation leader training program, which will focus on students at metropolitan government-operated high schools.
Starting in the summer of their freshman year of high school, students will take eight months of extra lessons featuring lectures from businesspeople, athletes, artists and other guest speakers who have also lived abroad. They also will learn how to make presentations and write essays in English.
Their freshman year will end with a monthlong study abroad in March. Students will also start a yearlong overseas homestay in autumn so they can attend local schools.
(Dec. 30, 2011)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111229004438.htm
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