Blogging in Japan. The BIG internet trend in Japan that matters to Australian exporters Several interesting facts about blogging in Japan...
Technorati's "State of the Blogosphere" reports that in April 2007, 37% of all posts to weblogs (aka "blogs") in the world are in Japanese. English language posts to blogs come in second with 36%. These statistics are based on raw numbers, not adjusted for population differences. In the blogosphere, 127 million Japanese are out-posting the entire English speaking world! If you are curious, worldwide there are about 1.5 million posts to blogs in all languages everyday.
Ubiquitous high speed mobile phone access to the internet in Japan means that a significant percentage of blogs are accessed from mobile phones. In September 2006, data from online market research firm, Impress R&D, indicated that 26% use moblogs ("mobile blogs"). Using mobile phones to talk on crowded public transport in Japan is seen as extremely anti-social.
Instead, everyone seems to be checking their own and others' blogs. Almost three-quarters (74%) of Japanese internet users surveyed by Edelman, said that they read blogs at least once a week. Comparable figures for the UK are just 23% and the USA, 27%. According to the same research, 18–24 year olds read blogs five or more days every week. Females are just as likely to read blogs as males, but when the do, they are more frequent readers of blogs compared to males. In Edelman's research, "influencers" (defined as people who are socially and politically active in their communities) are, not surprisingly, more frequent bloggers in all countries surveyed.
However, in Japan more than 90% of "influencers" also said that they read others' blogs. The comparable figures in the UK and USA are only in the 34%–35% range. The different cultural motivations of bloggers in Japan, the topics about which they post, and the degree of anonymity that they prefer, makes the Japanese version of the blogosphere quite different to the English language one. Many Japanese posts relate to everyday topics such as pets, music and childcare issues, but there are blogs for virtually everything else under the sun as well.
Typically Japanese posts read like personal diary entries rather than as being self-promotional or supporting a particular line. The number of female internet users in Japan outnumbers males for all age groups up until 40-somethings, and only then do males gain the upper-hand, 50.7% to 49.3%. In a recent study by Nikkei Research, more than half of all Japanese females in their teens and twenties acknowledge that what they read in blog helps form their purchase decisions across a broad range of products.
Types of product purchase decisions most influenced what they read in blogs relate to books, food items, and home electronics. Female consumers also read blogs for information relating to music CDs and DVDs, cosmetics, fashion and accessories. If you are an Australian exporter for whom the reputation of your product or service in the Japanese market matters to you, next time that you are talking to your distributor or reseller in Japan, why not ask what they are doing to build a profile for you in the Japanese blogosphere. If your product is ultimately more like to be purchased by female consumers, all the more urgency.
If you have Japanese language skills at your disposal, why not dive in to see what you can do for yourself. PS. In 2006, spending in Japan for traditional advertising media fell by approximately 2%. Spending on internet advertising increased by 29.3%.
Sources: Nikkei Research DataSignal, Technorati, Edelman, Impress R&D Ian Brazier,Trade Commissioner, Tokyo Japan
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Chinese schools cozy up to universities here
Chinese academic institutions have surpassed their U.S. counterparts in signing partnership pacts with Japanese universities and other educational bodies.
The education ministry noted a record 13,484 agreements aimed at facilitating exchanges of students and scholars as of Oct. 1, 2006, up about 2,100 from 2004.
The number of Japanese institutions signing pacts with Chinese academic bodies surged 25 percent to 2,565, accounting for 19 percent of the total. There were 2,298 pacts with U.S. institutions and 1,467 with South Korean entities.
China surpassed the United States for the first time on record, which the ministry has been keeping since fiscal 1992.
The education ministry believes China's efforts to boost the number of its universities and promote their activities on the back of its rapid economic growth are driving the trend.
"As relations with China are becoming increasingly important in political, economic and all other areas, ties developed by the young generation will become valuable assets for both countries in the future," an official with Keio University in Tokyo said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071002a5.html
The education ministry noted a record 13,484 agreements aimed at facilitating exchanges of students and scholars as of Oct. 1, 2006, up about 2,100 from 2004.
The number of Japanese institutions signing pacts with Chinese academic bodies surged 25 percent to 2,565, accounting for 19 percent of the total. There were 2,298 pacts with U.S. institutions and 1,467 with South Korean entities.
China surpassed the United States for the first time on record, which the ministry has been keeping since fiscal 1992.
The education ministry believes China's efforts to boost the number of its universities and promote their activities on the back of its rapid economic growth are driving the trend.
"As relations with China are becoming increasingly important in political, economic and all other areas, ties developed by the young generation will become valuable assets for both countries in the future," an official with Keio University in Tokyo said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071002a5.html
Friday, September 28, 2007
Tokai tasked with continuing education reforms
Reforming the education system, a focus of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration, remains a goal for new education minister Kisaburo Tokai.
"I was told by Prime Minister (Yasuo) Fukuda to rebuild the education system," the 59-year-old Lower House member from Hyogo Prefecture said Wednesday. "As education is a pillar supporting a nation, I support this direction." The ministerial post, which Tokai assumed on Tuesday, is the lawmaker's first in a 21-year career.
Begun under Abe, the Education Rebuilding Council has emerged as a major force behind the push to reform the public education system. Among other things, the 17-member panel has proposed increasing class hours by 10 percent at public elementary and junior high schools and augmenting ethics education. The council will continue to discuss further reform measures under Fukuda.
Tokai also said he wants to bolster the number of teachers.
"It's important for teachers to have more time to spend with students. Now teachers are burdened with paperwork. By increasing their numbers, we can create an environment where teachers concentrate on education activities," he said in an interview in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Having more teachers will also help identify signs of bullying in the classroom, he said.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry is requesting an allocation of ¥50.4 billion from the Finance Ministry over three years starting in fiscal 2008 to hire 21,362 new teachers — or about 7,000 each year.
"I'll endeavor to secure the budget," in spite of government attempts to trim fiscal spending, Tokai said.
Although a supporter of the ERC's plan to boost ethics education, Tokai is less enamored of the voucher system expected to be proposed by the panel in its third report in December. Under that plan, the government would provide coupons to help students pay for a private education. Critics say the system would intensify the already excessive competition between public and private schools.
"The government has to secure equal compulsory education opportunities for children," Tokai said. "Children in (rural) areas have little freedom to select schools (because of the scarcity of private institutions). So I'm not entirely supportive of introducing a voucher system without first solving this problem."
Tokai has taken a cautious line on the contentious subject of textbook screening.
In March, the education ministry caused a stir in Okinawa when it asked publishers of high school history textbooks to remove references to the Imperial Japanese Army's role in forcing civilians to commit mass suicide during the Battle of Okinawa in the closing days of the war.
"(Ministers) shouldn't say anything" about the screening process because the panel, which is made up of academics and schoolteachers, checks textbook drafts and judges whether the drafts have errors and inappropriate descriptions, he said at a news conference Tuesday.
"I think (the screening) should be done more carefully in dealing with (the descriptions), taking into account the feelings of the people in Okinawa," he said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070928f1.html
"I was told by Prime Minister (Yasuo) Fukuda to rebuild the education system," the 59-year-old Lower House member from Hyogo Prefecture said Wednesday. "As education is a pillar supporting a nation, I support this direction." The ministerial post, which Tokai assumed on Tuesday, is the lawmaker's first in a 21-year career.
Begun under Abe, the Education Rebuilding Council has emerged as a major force behind the push to reform the public education system. Among other things, the 17-member panel has proposed increasing class hours by 10 percent at public elementary and junior high schools and augmenting ethics education. The council will continue to discuss further reform measures under Fukuda.
Tokai also said he wants to bolster the number of teachers.
"It's important for teachers to have more time to spend with students. Now teachers are burdened with paperwork. By increasing their numbers, we can create an environment where teachers concentrate on education activities," he said in an interview in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Having more teachers will also help identify signs of bullying in the classroom, he said.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry is requesting an allocation of ¥50.4 billion from the Finance Ministry over three years starting in fiscal 2008 to hire 21,362 new teachers — or about 7,000 each year.
"I'll endeavor to secure the budget," in spite of government attempts to trim fiscal spending, Tokai said.
Although a supporter of the ERC's plan to boost ethics education, Tokai is less enamored of the voucher system expected to be proposed by the panel in its third report in December. Under that plan, the government would provide coupons to help students pay for a private education. Critics say the system would intensify the already excessive competition between public and private schools.
"The government has to secure equal compulsory education opportunities for children," Tokai said. "Children in (rural) areas have little freedom to select schools (because of the scarcity of private institutions). So I'm not entirely supportive of introducing a voucher system without first solving this problem."
Tokai has taken a cautious line on the contentious subject of textbook screening.
In March, the education ministry caused a stir in Okinawa when it asked publishers of high school history textbooks to remove references to the Imperial Japanese Army's role in forcing civilians to commit mass suicide during the Battle of Okinawa in the closing days of the war.
"(Ministers) shouldn't say anything" about the screening process because the panel, which is made up of academics and schoolteachers, checks textbook drafts and judges whether the drafts have errors and inappropriate descriptions, he said at a news conference Tuesday.
"I think (the screening) should be done more carefully in dealing with (the descriptions), taking into account the feelings of the people in Okinawa," he said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070928f1.html
LONDON (Kyodo) In response to concerns about a lack of funding for Japanese studies at British universities, a major cash injection will be announced next month in the form of new teaching posts.
In October, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and the Nippon Foundation will announce which universities have successfully won grants from a special fund that will be used to establish 13 full-time teaching and research posts.
Over the last 10 years, several university departments have closed, leading to concerns that experts and research are at critically low levels.
The government recently stepped in to boost funding for strategically important "minority" subjects, including Japanese, but critics believe it didn't go far enough.
The foundations have decided to provide some £2.5 million (about ¥575 million) over five years. The new posts, a combination of lectureships and postdoctoral fellowships, will be up and running next year. The foundations hope to fund postgraduate study in the future.
Eager to broaden the scope of Japanese studies, the new posts will focus on aspects of contemporary Japan, covering such fields as politics, economics, international relations, culture, media and society.
This could be a reflection of a belief running through the academic community that an increasing number of young people are interested in modern-day Japan via their exposure to "manga" (comic books), design, music, fashion and the like.
"This is going to be one of the largest injections of recurrent external funding that Japanese studies in this country has ever received," said Stephen McEnally, chief executive of the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation. "We need to safeguard our next generation of Japan experts.
"The result of the cuts in funding has been a perceived decline in the number of early and midcareer academics working in Japanese studies as more and more British scholars seek research opportunities and work in countries overseas where provision for Japanese is much more generous," he said.
The foundations hope the cash injection will provide a long-term and sustainable future for Japanese studies.
Experts have said the current situation has reached a crisis and fear Britain's diplomatic and economic relations will be jeopardized if the erosion continues.
Some universities have cut back and closed down departments because they say there is not enough demand for Japanese and Japanese studies, a claim denied by academics who say the number of applications is rising.
According to one informed source, demand for places at one university course outstripped supply this year. The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation says that this year saw a 40.9 percent rise in undergraduate applications compared with 2006. And demand could well grow as 10,000 children are studying Japanese in schools.
Experts argue the cutbacks are a result of the subject being more expensive to teach per head than more popular languages, such as French and German — which have a higher number of students per teacher and are therefore more cost effective — and this is not taken into account when the government allocates funding to the universities.
Moreover, academics believe it is unfair that Japanese is classified in the same way as French and German when it comes to allocating funds for overseas study trips.
The quality of research has also suffered in Japanese departments because they generally have a small number of staff who must still carry out the same administrative responsibilities as larger departments. This has resulted in some of the Japanese departments failing to attract government funds for additional research.
McEnally expressed hope the new posts will allow the universities to mount courses that until now have been unavailable.
The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation was established in 1985 with an endowment from the Tokyo-based Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation. It gives grants to activities and projects that serve to enhance mutual understanding between Britain and Japan.
The Tokyo-based organization, now called the Nippon Foundation, is a private grant-making entity established in 1962. It funds assistance for humanitarian activities both at home and abroad, and for global maritime development.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070928f3.html
In October, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and the Nippon Foundation will announce which universities have successfully won grants from a special fund that will be used to establish 13 full-time teaching and research posts.
Over the last 10 years, several university departments have closed, leading to concerns that experts and research are at critically low levels.
The government recently stepped in to boost funding for strategically important "minority" subjects, including Japanese, but critics believe it didn't go far enough.
The foundations have decided to provide some £2.5 million (about ¥575 million) over five years. The new posts, a combination of lectureships and postdoctoral fellowships, will be up and running next year. The foundations hope to fund postgraduate study in the future.
Eager to broaden the scope of Japanese studies, the new posts will focus on aspects of contemporary Japan, covering such fields as politics, economics, international relations, culture, media and society.
This could be a reflection of a belief running through the academic community that an increasing number of young people are interested in modern-day Japan via their exposure to "manga" (comic books), design, music, fashion and the like.
"This is going to be one of the largest injections of recurrent external funding that Japanese studies in this country has ever received," said Stephen McEnally, chief executive of the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation. "We need to safeguard our next generation of Japan experts.
"The result of the cuts in funding has been a perceived decline in the number of early and midcareer academics working in Japanese studies as more and more British scholars seek research opportunities and work in countries overseas where provision for Japanese is much more generous," he said.
The foundations hope the cash injection will provide a long-term and sustainable future for Japanese studies.
Experts have said the current situation has reached a crisis and fear Britain's diplomatic and economic relations will be jeopardized if the erosion continues.
Some universities have cut back and closed down departments because they say there is not enough demand for Japanese and Japanese studies, a claim denied by academics who say the number of applications is rising.
According to one informed source, demand for places at one university course outstripped supply this year. The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation says that this year saw a 40.9 percent rise in undergraduate applications compared with 2006. And demand could well grow as 10,000 children are studying Japanese in schools.
Experts argue the cutbacks are a result of the subject being more expensive to teach per head than more popular languages, such as French and German — which have a higher number of students per teacher and are therefore more cost effective — and this is not taken into account when the government allocates funding to the universities.
Moreover, academics believe it is unfair that Japanese is classified in the same way as French and German when it comes to allocating funds for overseas study trips.
The quality of research has also suffered in Japanese departments because they generally have a small number of staff who must still carry out the same administrative responsibilities as larger departments. This has resulted in some of the Japanese departments failing to attract government funds for additional research.
McEnally expressed hope the new posts will allow the universities to mount courses that until now have been unavailable.
The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation was established in 1985 with an endowment from the Tokyo-based Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation. It gives grants to activities and projects that serve to enhance mutual understanding between Britain and Japan.
The Tokyo-based organization, now called the Nippon Foundation, is a private grant-making entity established in 1962. It funds assistance for humanitarian activities both at home and abroad, and for global maritime development.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070928f3.html
Thursday, September 13, 2007
EDUCATIONAL RENAISSANCE / China magnet for foreign students
BEIJING--Students don't go to China just for language training anymore, nor is it any longer a nation that sends more students abroad than it takes in. In 2005, China for the first time saw the number of foreign students studying in the country--more than 140,000--surpass that of Chinese students heading overseas, at about 120,000.
The number of foreign students studying in China exceeded 160,000 last year, coming from 184 countries and territories. Forty percent of them came to the country for reasons other than language training. South Korea was the top source of foreign students with 57,000, followed by Japan with 18,000 and the United States with 11,000. Vietnam and Indonesia sent 7,000 and 5,000 students, respectively.
Daisuke Yamada, 21, of Waseda University's School of Political Science and Economics, was one of three Japanese students who completed a one-year course at Beijing University's School of International Studies this summer to earn "double degrees" from the two institutions.
At Waseda University's office next to Beijing University, the three students talked about the courses they took and described one course that compared political systems, in which the lecturer criticized the democratic system over and over again.
For example, one time the lecturer said: "When three candidates run for an election, one of them can win it by gaining just over 33.3 percent of the votes, but more than half of the voters cast ballots for the other two. As such, elections cannot always reflect public opinion."
The instructor usually ended up by criticizing the United States, concluding that as long as China can make the rule of law function correctly, it can rectify social misconduct--even without a "U.S.-imposed" democratic system--and achieve modernization. The Chinese Communist Party is required to control the nation, according to the lecturer's view.
"This is [a viewpoint] you can never learn in Japan," said Yamada.
The three Japanese students faced a high level of study on the courses they took. During the first semester, it was difficult for them to catch up with their Chinese classes but they were also given an assignment to summarize a 600-page Chinese-language textbook about disarmament in two weeks.
Because each room in their dormitories housed four to six people, the occupants find it difficult to study there. Therefore, the Chinese students go to the library at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. to secure seats, while also reciting English passages on the campus. Yamada and his two friends said the attitude of their Chinese counterparts made them realize what a university should be like.
On the other hand, China is now attracting more and more skilled workers, just like the United States, mainly thanks to an increase number of foreign enterprises opening up for business.
Microsoft Corp. has set up a laboratory in Zhong Guan Cun, Beijing, known as "the Silicon Valley of China." As the firm's largest lab, bigger than those in Britain, China, India and the United States, the facility has about 300 researchers.
The lab accepts 200 to 300 interns every year--mainly postgraduate students. Currently, Mizuki Oka of Tsukuba University is one such intern.
Majoring in computer science at the institution's Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering, she started a six-month internship at the lab in April.
Oka, 27, who is taking advantage of one of the world's most advanced research environments in the field of computer graphics, said, "All the researchers and Chinese interns here are top-class people, and their arguments are really exciting."
The driving force for Oka to head for Beijing was when she read a paper written by Xu Yingqing, 47, a project leader at the lab who also serves as her mentor now.
The report discussed the technology to allow harmonious color blending in computer graphics. "I was impressed to realize computer graphics can involve a type of sensitivity like coloring," she recalled.
Because Oka's performance was highly appreciated, she was chosen as one of the 10 "best interns" who were invited to a party that Microsoft founder Bill Gates held in June at his home in Seattle.
Currently, Oka is studying how graphic information can be used as passwords. "In the scientific research field, what kind of human network you have can serve as a factor to open the door for your success," she said. "I'd like to maintain the relationships I have built here and also expand them after returning to Japan."
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20070913TDY14001.htm
The number of foreign students studying in China exceeded 160,000 last year, coming from 184 countries and territories. Forty percent of them came to the country for reasons other than language training. South Korea was the top source of foreign students with 57,000, followed by Japan with 18,000 and the United States with 11,000. Vietnam and Indonesia sent 7,000 and 5,000 students, respectively.
Daisuke Yamada, 21, of Waseda University's School of Political Science and Economics, was one of three Japanese students who completed a one-year course at Beijing University's School of International Studies this summer to earn "double degrees" from the two institutions.
At Waseda University's office next to Beijing University, the three students talked about the courses they took and described one course that compared political systems, in which the lecturer criticized the democratic system over and over again.
For example, one time the lecturer said: "When three candidates run for an election, one of them can win it by gaining just over 33.3 percent of the votes, but more than half of the voters cast ballots for the other two. As such, elections cannot always reflect public opinion."
The instructor usually ended up by criticizing the United States, concluding that as long as China can make the rule of law function correctly, it can rectify social misconduct--even without a "U.S.-imposed" democratic system--and achieve modernization. The Chinese Communist Party is required to control the nation, according to the lecturer's view.
"This is [a viewpoint] you can never learn in Japan," said Yamada.
The three Japanese students faced a high level of study on the courses they took. During the first semester, it was difficult for them to catch up with their Chinese classes but they were also given an assignment to summarize a 600-page Chinese-language textbook about disarmament in two weeks.
Because each room in their dormitories housed four to six people, the occupants find it difficult to study there. Therefore, the Chinese students go to the library at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. to secure seats, while also reciting English passages on the campus. Yamada and his two friends said the attitude of their Chinese counterparts made them realize what a university should be like.
On the other hand, China is now attracting more and more skilled workers, just like the United States, mainly thanks to an increase number of foreign enterprises opening up for business.
Microsoft Corp. has set up a laboratory in Zhong Guan Cun, Beijing, known as "the Silicon Valley of China." As the firm's largest lab, bigger than those in Britain, China, India and the United States, the facility has about 300 researchers.
The lab accepts 200 to 300 interns every year--mainly postgraduate students. Currently, Mizuki Oka of Tsukuba University is one such intern.
Majoring in computer science at the institution's Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering, she started a six-month internship at the lab in April.
Oka, 27, who is taking advantage of one of the world's most advanced research environments in the field of computer graphics, said, "All the researchers and Chinese interns here are top-class people, and their arguments are really exciting."
The driving force for Oka to head for Beijing was when she read a paper written by Xu Yingqing, 47, a project leader at the lab who also serves as her mentor now.
The report discussed the technology to allow harmonious color blending in computer graphics. "I was impressed to realize computer graphics can involve a type of sensitivity like coloring," she recalled.
Because Oka's performance was highly appreciated, she was chosen as one of the 10 "best interns" who were invited to a party that Microsoft founder Bill Gates held in June at his home in Seattle.
Currently, Oka is studying how graphic information can be used as passwords. "In the scientific research field, what kind of human network you have can serve as a factor to open the door for your success," she said. "I'd like to maintain the relationships I have built here and also expand them after returning to Japan."
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20070913TDY14001.htm
Japanese Universities Will Be Harder to Graduate From
Japanese universities will become easier to get into and harder to graduate from.
The Japanese media reported on Tuesday that the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture’s Central Advisory Council, which is preparing reforms in university education, will request universities to strengthen their requisites for graduation.
The council is planning to request universities to administer a graduation exam, and the government to draft a set of abilities university students must acquire before graduating.
According to this plan, universities will not only hold graduation exams, but also set new goals and grading standards for classes, and come up with methods to assess the achievements of their students.
The set of abilities will include knowledge to learn basic information regarding a specific field of study and to connect it to history or society, the ability to speak, read, and write in Japanese or foreign languages, the attitude required for team work and morals, and creative thinking skills to solve problems using all these aforementioned skills.
The Japanese media commented that while the number of university students is on the rise, the quality of university education has been falling. They say that the council came up with this request because it is worried that the credibility of Japanese universities will fall if no changes are made.
Due to the low birth rate and relaxing of regulations, practically all high school graduates get into universities. The number of university applicants and the number of entrants are almost the same and this will make it hard to distinguish students upon admission. The recruiters criticize that a university graduation degree is meaningless. Universities accepted 698,000 or 90.5 percent of 772,000 applicants in 2007. In 2006, some 40 percent of four-year universities could not find enough entrants and 32 percent of applicants were admitted after just handing in thesis papers and without an entrance exam or interview.
The Economic Advisory Council, as well as the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture, is voicing concerns about the need to upgrade the quality of university education, especially when facing Japan’s low birth rate.
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2007091246248
The Japanese media reported on Tuesday that the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture’s Central Advisory Council, which is preparing reforms in university education, will request universities to strengthen their requisites for graduation.
The council is planning to request universities to administer a graduation exam, and the government to draft a set of abilities university students must acquire before graduating.
According to this plan, universities will not only hold graduation exams, but also set new goals and grading standards for classes, and come up with methods to assess the achievements of their students.
The set of abilities will include knowledge to learn basic information regarding a specific field of study and to connect it to history or society, the ability to speak, read, and write in Japanese or foreign languages, the attitude required for team work and morals, and creative thinking skills to solve problems using all these aforementioned skills.
The Japanese media commented that while the number of university students is on the rise, the quality of university education has been falling. They say that the council came up with this request because it is worried that the credibility of Japanese universities will fall if no changes are made.
Due to the low birth rate and relaxing of regulations, practically all high school graduates get into universities. The number of university applicants and the number of entrants are almost the same and this will make it hard to distinguish students upon admission. The recruiters criticize that a university graduation degree is meaningless. Universities accepted 698,000 or 90.5 percent of 772,000 applicants in 2007. In 2006, some 40 percent of four-year universities could not find enough entrants and 32 percent of applicants were admitted after just handing in thesis papers and without an entrance exam or interview.
The Economic Advisory Council, as well as the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture, is voicing concerns about the need to upgrade the quality of university education, especially when facing Japan’s low birth rate.
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2007091246248
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Education panel eyes standards for graduates
A subcommittee of the Central Council for Education, an advisory panel to the education, science and technology minister, on Monday compiled a draft proposal on the minimum level of academic ability university students will be required to achieve before graduation, according to sources.
With the number of children nationwide continuing to decrease, universities are expected to start fighting each other for high school graduates, leaving aspirant students able to enter university without difficulty as long as they are not too selective in their choice of university.
In such circumstances, the council wants to maintain the quality of a bachelor's degree at a certain level, the sources said.
University authorities will be required to strictly assess students to ensure that they are not allowed to graduate unless they have met certain standards, the sources said.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070911TDY02008.htm
With the number of children nationwide continuing to decrease, universities are expected to start fighting each other for high school graduates, leaving aspirant students able to enter university without difficulty as long as they are not too selective in their choice of university.
In such circumstances, the council wants to maintain the quality of a bachelor's degree at a certain level, the sources said.
University authorities will be required to strictly assess students to ensure that they are not allowed to graduate unless they have met certain standards, the sources said.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070911TDY02008.htm
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Univ. of Air to go digital in fiscal 2011
The University of the Air, which allows students to receive university-level education programs via TV and radio at home, aims to stop using the current CS broadcasting system and shift to BS digital broadcasting in fiscal 2011, in a bid to increase opportunities for people seeking higher education, according to sources.
By switching over to BS digital broadcasting, which has grown to more than four times the level of the spread of CS services, the university intends to narrow regional disparities in education, as well as meet the various demands of people who seek lifelong learning and specific courses to obtain certifications, the sources said.
The Education, Science and Technology Ministry, which oversees the university, made a budgetary request of 50 million yen for the next fiscal year to conduct research on how to launch a system that will enable the university to use BS digital broadcasting and how to set up transmission facilities. The ministry plans to complete installing the system in fiscal 2011.
Currently, the university's students take courses through three channels: CS digital broadcasts by Sky Perfect TV, terrestrial TV and FM radio broadcasts, and cable television services. CS digital broadcasting allows students anywhere in the nation to receive the courses, while terrestrial TV and radio broadcasts are available only in limited areas of the Kanto region.
(Sep. 5, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070905TDY02010.htm
By switching over to BS digital broadcasting, which has grown to more than four times the level of the spread of CS services, the university intends to narrow regional disparities in education, as well as meet the various demands of people who seek lifelong learning and specific courses to obtain certifications, the sources said.
The Education, Science and Technology Ministry, which oversees the university, made a budgetary request of 50 million yen for the next fiscal year to conduct research on how to launch a system that will enable the university to use BS digital broadcasting and how to set up transmission facilities. The ministry plans to complete installing the system in fiscal 2011.
Currently, the university's students take courses through three channels: CS digital broadcasts by Sky Perfect TV, terrestrial TV and FM radio broadcasts, and cable television services. CS digital broadcasting allows students anywhere in the nation to receive the courses, while terrestrial TV and radio broadcasts are available only in limited areas of the Kanto region.
(Sep. 5, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070905TDY02010.htm
Mitsui to donate 50 million yen to Brazilian schools in Japan
Amid the financial difficulties faced by many Brazilian schools in Japan, Mitsui & Co., one of the nation's leading trading firms, is to provide a total of 50 million yen in school materials this year to 10 of the schools, more than doubling the funds and number of schools the firm has supported annually.
Ten schools in seven prefectures, including Escola Nectar in Aichi Prefecture, Colegio Pitagoras Brazil-Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture, and Colegio Latino de Shiga in Shiga Prefecture, were declared eligible for the 5 million yen support.
The funds will be used to repair school facilities, set up a prefabricated library and purchase school buses, computers, books and science lab materials.
As a part of corporate social responsibility programs, Mitsui has provided books and other necessary materials worth 5 million yen each to four Brazilian schools in the nation annually since fiscal 2005.
"Visiting Brazilian schools, we became aware that we needed to fund more schools rather than just a select few for a long period because there are so many in need," said Toshio Shibasaki, Mitsui's senior philanthropy specialist.
Since establishing a subsidiary in Brazil in 1938, Mitsui has imported metals and foods. Because the firm's investments in Brazil as well as imports from the nation are expected to grow in the future, the firm decided to help the Brazilian schools struggling financially to educate the children of Brazilian workers.
(Sep. 5, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070905TDY02002.htm
Ten schools in seven prefectures, including Escola Nectar in Aichi Prefecture, Colegio Pitagoras Brazil-Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture, and Colegio Latino de Shiga in Shiga Prefecture, were declared eligible for the 5 million yen support.
The funds will be used to repair school facilities, set up a prefabricated library and purchase school buses, computers, books and science lab materials.
As a part of corporate social responsibility programs, Mitsui has provided books and other necessary materials worth 5 million yen each to four Brazilian schools in the nation annually since fiscal 2005.
"Visiting Brazilian schools, we became aware that we needed to fund more schools rather than just a select few for a long period because there are so many in need," said Toshio Shibasaki, Mitsui's senior philanthropy specialist.
Since establishing a subsidiary in Brazil in 1938, Mitsui has imported metals and foods. Because the firm's investments in Brazil as well as imports from the nation are expected to grow in the future, the firm decided to help the Brazilian schools struggling financially to educate the children of Brazilian workers.
(Sep. 5, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070905TDY02002.htm
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Vietnam students to join new Japan exchange program
Over 300 Vietnamese students will travel to Japan, study Japanese and connect with other regional youth during a new scholastic exchange program this year.
Students from several other East Asian countries will also attend the program.The Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange Students and Youths Program (JENESYS) will offer participants a chance to visit famous Japanese sites and enjoy home-stays with Japanese families, according to the cultural affairs office at the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi.
Four of the selected Vietnamese students will engage in a 12-month exchange while the 330 others will participate in 10-day programs.
The first batch of students was expected to begin the program in March of 2008, according to the office.
Initiated by the Japanese government, JENESYS receives 35 billion yen (US$284.14 million) in annual public funding.
Some 6,000 youths from East Asia Summit member countries will be invited to join the program annually over the next five years.
Reported by T.Hang – Compiled by Luu Thi Hong
http://www.thanhniennews.com/education/?catid=4&newsid=31634
Students from several other East Asian countries will also attend the program.The Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange Students and Youths Program (JENESYS) will offer participants a chance to visit famous Japanese sites and enjoy home-stays with Japanese families, according to the cultural affairs office at the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi.
Four of the selected Vietnamese students will engage in a 12-month exchange while the 330 others will participate in 10-day programs.
The first batch of students was expected to begin the program in March of 2008, according to the office.
Initiated by the Japanese government, JENESYS receives 35 billion yen (US$284.14 million) in annual public funding.
Some 6,000 youths from East Asia Summit member countries will be invited to join the program annually over the next five years.
Reported by T.Hang – Compiled by Luu Thi Hong
http://www.thanhniennews.com/education/?catid=4&newsid=31634
Monday, August 27, 2007
Foreign grads find Japan good for jobs
More foreign students graduating from Japanese universities and graduate schools are sticking around to work in Japan, immigration statistics show.
A record number of 8,272 foreign students obtained work permits in 2006 for jobs in Japan, a rise of about 40 percent from the previous year.
Of those, 96 percent were from Asian nations.
Immigration officials said the trend likely reflects the fact that Japanese businesses are expanding operations in China and aim to take advantage of their language skills and specialized training.
The foreign-student-to-worker trend is likely to continue, they said.
Work permits are granted only after foreign students are hired by companies.
The number of foreign students changing to work visas had stayed at between 2,000 and 4,000 annually since 1994, when the Justice Ministry started tracking the data.
But in 2004, that figure surged to more than 5,000, jumping to 5,878 in 2005 and reaching 8,272 in 2006.
By nationality last year, the largest group was Chinese at 6,000, up 43 percent from the previous year.
This was followed by 944 South Koreans and 200 Taiwanese.
By industry, 21 percent were employed in business and trade, while 13 percent worked in the computer industry.
Thirty-two percent said their jobs involved translation and interpretation, followed by information processing and sales.(IHT/Asahi: August 24,2007)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200708230319.html
A record number of 8,272 foreign students obtained work permits in 2006 for jobs in Japan, a rise of about 40 percent from the previous year.
Of those, 96 percent were from Asian nations.
Immigration officials said the trend likely reflects the fact that Japanese businesses are expanding operations in China and aim to take advantage of their language skills and specialized training.
The foreign-student-to-worker trend is likely to continue, they said.
Work permits are granted only after foreign students are hired by companies.
The number of foreign students changing to work visas had stayed at between 2,000 and 4,000 annually since 1994, when the Justice Ministry started tracking the data.
But in 2004, that figure surged to more than 5,000, jumping to 5,878 in 2005 and reaching 8,272 in 2006.
By nationality last year, the largest group was Chinese at 6,000, up 43 percent from the previous year.
This was followed by 944 South Koreans and 200 Taiwanese.
By industry, 21 percent were employed in business and trade, while 13 percent worked in the computer industry.
Thirty-two percent said their jobs involved translation and interpretation, followed by information processing and sales.(IHT/Asahi: August 24,2007)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200708230319.html
Friday, August 24, 2007
4 Kansai schools turning easy profit / Entrance examination system using 'center test' lines universities' pockets
Four prestigious private universities in the Kansai region earned a total of 1.28 billion yen from entrance examination fees from applicants who only submitted their results of the national unified entrance examination for the 2007 academic year.
Although the universities each have independent entrance examinations, they have adapted their systems to judge applicants solely by results achieved in the National Center Test for University Admissions. Students can choose to sit exams under either system.
The four are Kwansei Gakuin University based in Hyogo Prefecture, Kansai University in Osaka Prefecture, and Doshisha University and Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto Prefecture. The quartet is known as "Kan-kan-do-ritsu," based on the first Chinese character of the institutions' names.
This entrance examination system has encouraged many high schools to exaggerate the number of their students who achieve success in the exams.
The figure shows that the system is of huge financial benefit to the universities.
However, less then 10 percent of successful applicants who used the system have entered the four universities, indicating that the high schools might have urged many--possibly reluctant--students to sit the exams in a bid to pad the schools' purported success rate.
If an applicant has a high score in the national center test, he or she will likely be accepted by multiple universities. However, several high schools across the nation were found to have abused this system, including Osaka Gakugei High School in Osaka, which urged one student to apply to 73 of the universities' departments and faculties in 2006. The student received 50,000 yen and an expensive wristwatch from the school after passing all the exams.
For the 2007 exams, the four universities received 74,845 applications for 2,572 places. Although the universities approved 22,827 applications, only 2,082 students actually entered the universities--an entry rate of 9.1 percent.
Ritsumeikan University received the most applications, with 33,742 applications for 1,565 places. The university approved 12,286 students, but only 1,250 entered the educational establishment.
Kansai University received 19,653 applications, Kwansei Gakuin University, 16,766, and Doshisha University, 4,684. Entry rates were 5.7 percent, 10.6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.
Students who take exams at the four universities likely also sit examinations for national and public universities, and other famous private universities. Judging from independent examination figures, many students decline acceptance offers, but the entry rate is steady at more than 20 percent.
Under the national test system, students benefit from being able to apply to multiple universities by sitting only one test. Universities also benefit by securing students without incurring costs associated with organizing tests and marking scores.
Moreover, large profits are derived from the examination fees: The four universities collected between 15,000 yen to 18,000 yen from each student, totaling a hefty 1.28 billion yen.
However, the universities are obliged to pay commission to the National Center for University Entrance Examinations, which conducts the national test, of just 570 yen per student--totaling 42.6 million yen. The universities thus pocket a profit of more than 1.2 billion yen.
(Aug. 24, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070824TDY02011.htm
Although the universities each have independent entrance examinations, they have adapted their systems to judge applicants solely by results achieved in the National Center Test for University Admissions. Students can choose to sit exams under either system.
The four are Kwansei Gakuin University based in Hyogo Prefecture, Kansai University in Osaka Prefecture, and Doshisha University and Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto Prefecture. The quartet is known as "Kan-kan-do-ritsu," based on the first Chinese character of the institutions' names.
This entrance examination system has encouraged many high schools to exaggerate the number of their students who achieve success in the exams.
The figure shows that the system is of huge financial benefit to the universities.
However, less then 10 percent of successful applicants who used the system have entered the four universities, indicating that the high schools might have urged many--possibly reluctant--students to sit the exams in a bid to pad the schools' purported success rate.
If an applicant has a high score in the national center test, he or she will likely be accepted by multiple universities. However, several high schools across the nation were found to have abused this system, including Osaka Gakugei High School in Osaka, which urged one student to apply to 73 of the universities' departments and faculties in 2006. The student received 50,000 yen and an expensive wristwatch from the school after passing all the exams.
For the 2007 exams, the four universities received 74,845 applications for 2,572 places. Although the universities approved 22,827 applications, only 2,082 students actually entered the universities--an entry rate of 9.1 percent.
Ritsumeikan University received the most applications, with 33,742 applications for 1,565 places. The university approved 12,286 students, but only 1,250 entered the educational establishment.
Kansai University received 19,653 applications, Kwansei Gakuin University, 16,766, and Doshisha University, 4,684. Entry rates were 5.7 percent, 10.6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.
Students who take exams at the four universities likely also sit examinations for national and public universities, and other famous private universities. Judging from independent examination figures, many students decline acceptance offers, but the entry rate is steady at more than 20 percent.
Under the national test system, students benefit from being able to apply to multiple universities by sitting only one test. Universities also benefit by securing students without incurring costs associated with organizing tests and marking scores.
Moreover, large profits are derived from the examination fees: The four universities collected between 15,000 yen to 18,000 yen from each student, totaling a hefty 1.28 billion yen.
However, the universities are obliged to pay commission to the National Center for University Entrance Examinations, which conducts the national test, of just 570 yen per student--totaling 42.6 million yen. The universities thus pocket a profit of more than 1.2 billion yen.
(Aug. 24, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070824TDY02011.htm
Thursday, August 23, 2007
India, Japan push ties among academia
Twelve major universities of Japan had a dialogue with the top brass of Indian universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) here Tuesday to strengthen educational linkages between the two countries.
The meeting, coinciding with the high-profile visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe here, was called to identify common research interests and to work towards increasing the volume of faculty and student exchanges by the two sides.Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, who attended the event along with Abe, sought Tokyo's assistance towards setting up a new IIT in India. He also called for regular interactions among the academia of the two countries.
Abe, who arrived on a three-day visit to India with a 200-plus business team of top corporate leaders and a delegation of senior representatives of Japanese universities, emphasised on greater people-to-people contact.
The relations and contacts between the institutions of higher learning in the two countries must be stepped up, the Japanese prime minister said.
Minister of State for Commerce Ashwani Kumar received Abe, who arrived here from Indonesia with his wife Akie. He will be given a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan Wednesday after which he is scheduled to address a joint session of parliament, hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh and interact with business leaders of the two sides.He is scheduled to visit Kolkata Thursday.
http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/275503
The meeting, coinciding with the high-profile visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe here, was called to identify common research interests and to work towards increasing the volume of faculty and student exchanges by the two sides.Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, who attended the event along with Abe, sought Tokyo's assistance towards setting up a new IIT in India. He also called for regular interactions among the academia of the two countries.
Abe, who arrived on a three-day visit to India with a 200-plus business team of top corporate leaders and a delegation of senior representatives of Japanese universities, emphasised on greater people-to-people contact.
The relations and contacts between the institutions of higher learning in the two countries must be stepped up, the Japanese prime minister said.
Minister of State for Commerce Ashwani Kumar received Abe, who arrived here from Indonesia with his wife Akie. He will be given a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan Wednesday after which he is scheduled to address a joint session of parliament, hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh and interact with business leaders of the two sides.He is scheduled to visit Kolkata Thursday.
http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/275503
Monday, August 20, 2007
China-Japan Student Conference opens in Beijing
BEIJING -- Fifty-five college students from China and Japan gathered here on Friday to discuss China-Japan relations, protection of intellectual property rights and catering culture through the weekend.
The 30 Chinese and 25 Japanese students from 24 universities, including the Peking University, Tsinghua University, the University of Tokyo and Waseda University, were attending the annual China-Japan Student Conference.
They were grouped into five teams to study bilateral relations, enterprises, international issues, education and culture of the two countries, and were required to submit research papers.
"Similarities connect the friendship of Chinese and Japanese students," said Michigami Hisashi, cultural attache of the Japanese Embassy in China, adding a badminton match between students of the two countries would be held on the sidelines as part of the 2007 Japan-China Cultural and Sports Exchange Year.
"The conference has proved to be an effective platform for students to conduct face-to-face communication, understand traditions and culture of the two countries, and promote an active China-Japan non-governmental exchange," Yang Xiaofang, head of the Chinese student delegation, told Xinhua.
Yang Xiao, one of the chief organizers of the conference, said participants, who were also opinion leaders of the future, expressed hope that the final report of their research during the conference could be a real advisor of the development of the two societies.
Initiated in 1987 by Japanese student volunteers and jointly sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomatic association, the China-Japan Student Conference has been held 25 times both in China and Japan over the past two decades.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/18/content_6032614.htm
The 30 Chinese and 25 Japanese students from 24 universities, including the Peking University, Tsinghua University, the University of Tokyo and Waseda University, were attending the annual China-Japan Student Conference.
They were grouped into five teams to study bilateral relations, enterprises, international issues, education and culture of the two countries, and were required to submit research papers.
"Similarities connect the friendship of Chinese and Japanese students," said Michigami Hisashi, cultural attache of the Japanese Embassy in China, adding a badminton match between students of the two countries would be held on the sidelines as part of the 2007 Japan-China Cultural and Sports Exchange Year.
"The conference has proved to be an effective platform for students to conduct face-to-face communication, understand traditions and culture of the two countries, and promote an active China-Japan non-governmental exchange," Yang Xiaofang, head of the Chinese student delegation, told Xinhua.
Yang Xiao, one of the chief organizers of the conference, said participants, who were also opinion leaders of the future, expressed hope that the final report of their research during the conference could be a real advisor of the development of the two societies.
Initiated in 1987 by Japanese student volunteers and jointly sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomatic association, the China-Japan Student Conference has been held 25 times both in China and Japan over the past two decades.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/18/content_6032614.htm
Friday, August 17, 2007
Rural universities feel pinch of lower enrollments
Hagi International University in Yamaguchi Prefecture filed for court protection from creditors in June 2005, owing ¥3.7 billion after the number of freshmen enrollments and students declined sharply.
"There was no other choice" than to initiate bankruptcy procedures, said Masanori Hatachi, 69, president of the institution now renamed Yamaguchi University of Human Welfare and Culture.
Hagi International, formerly a two-year college, had difficulty attracting enough students after it changed to a four-year university in 1999.
In its first year as a four-year school, only around 200 freshmen enrolled — far short of its annual quota of 300. After freshmen enrollment dropped to some 100 the following year, the school started to recruit students from China, only to learn, to its discredit, that many of those who came on student visas jumped ship to go after illegal jobs.
The enrollment number continued to decrease, and in April 2006 only three new students joined the university.
Hagi International's case is part of a situation that few developed countries have so far experienced. Japanese universities, especially in rural areas, are making desperate efforts to attract students amid the decline in the youth population brought on by the falling birthrate.
Some are going bust, while others are restructuring, or seeking mergers to survive.
Japan's 18-year-old population, which peaked at 2.05 million in fiscal 1992, dropped to only 1.37 million in fiscal 2005, and is projected to fall to 1.24 million in fiscal 2008. Meanwhile, a policy of deregulation since the 1990s has allowed more colleges and departments to start up, with the number of private universities rising from 379 in fiscal 1992 to 559 this year, a 147 percent increase.
Such a loss of students has resulted in serious cash flow woes for private universities, 70 percent of whose total revenues come from tuition fees.
Observers said Hagi International lacked attractive programs. Its remote location was also a major disadvantage as many local high school graduates leave the region for urban institutions.
Universities in Tokyo enjoy relatively high enrollment-to-quota ratios, at 117.65 percent, as do those in Osaka-Kyoto, at 112.03 percent. In other words, they enroll more students than the original places allocated.
But the ratio in the Chugoku region, which includes Yamaguchi Prefecture, is only 88.71 percent, according to a survey by the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan, an organization that monitors the management of private colleges and related issues.
In April, Hagi International made a fresh start under its new name and with financial support from Hiroshima Prefecture-based construction firm Shiomi Holdings Corp.
"In the aging Japanese society, demand for care for the elderly is growing," Hatachi, its president, said of the prospects for the school's welfare-focused programs. All the same, only 24 new students enrolled this year — far below the quota of 140.
Hagi International is one of three universities in Japan that went bust in recent years due to falls in the number of students enrolled.
In January 2003, Risshikan University in Hiroshima Prefecture became the first to fail since World War II. Tohwa University, a private engineering college in Fukuoka Prefecture, is scheduled to shut down at the end of fiscal 2009.
In response to these developments, the central government and university groups are mapping out guidelines under which they will regularly check the financial health of academic institutions and advise them or encourage mergers if necessary.
"It is a sick industry, because the youth population in Japan is declining," said Susumu Hiruma, a spokesman for the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan.
According to the organization, 221 of the 559 operators of private four-year universities in Japan saw their freshmen enrollment fall below their quotas for fiscal 2007, a situation roughly unchanged from the previous year. It also said 138 of the operators were in the red in 2005.
Hiruma pointed out that universities, if they want to keep up enrollment, need to offer programs that students want. "Their success depends on customer satisfaction," he said.
But Hiruma, who compiles data on college finances, also noted that "cost-cutting is everything," because Japan's declining population will inevitably erode the revenues of the nation's universities. An obvious "polarization of universities" between winners and losers has emerged, he added.
Makiko Yoshimura, a credit analyst at Standard & Poor's in Tokyo who covers college finance, said the "shakeout of four-year universities and colleges is unavoidable and more schools, especially in rural areas, may go under."
"Universities rich in cash can invest in teaching staff and facilities, while cash-strapped ones are forced to cut expenses, which erodes their academic research programs," she said.
Yoshimura pointed out that some universities are making efforts to diversify their income sources and raise funds, for example by renting part of their property in Tokyo and its neighborhoods where land prices have been picking up in recent years.
She also suggested that some universities may be able to hike tuition fees, while offering financial help for excellent students.
Other universities are merging to remain competitive.
Keio University, one of Japan's top institutions, and Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy have agreed to merge in 2008, which will result in Keio adding a new pharmacy department.
"Their marriage is a success," Standard & Poor's Yoshimura said. "Keio has had medical and nursing programs except for pharmacy — one of the areas with growing demand amid the graying of Japan's population. Now Keio has a rich portfolio in the health-care field."
However, Yoshimura warned that not all university mergers will be ideal ones like Keio and Kyoritsu's, as the number of such tieups increase.
"The key is brand values the universities have nurtured for a long time," she said, noting that talks for a merger that might end up in ruining the brand image of the institutions are doomed to end in failure.
Japanese universities also have to compete with overseas institutions as more Japanese look for academic opportunities outside the country.
Yuichiro Anzai, president of Keio University, expressed concern that Japanese universities may not be able to remain Asia's top institutions for much longer because of insufficient funding from corporations and the government.
"Japanese universities still stand at the top level in Asia in terms of academic research, educational quality and their cutting edge in medical fields. However, China and South Korea are catching up with help from the government and companies," he said.
In 2003, the most recent data available for an international comparison, Japan's public expenditures on education stood at a mere 0.5 percent of gross domestic product.
The figure is less than a half the average of 1.1 percent among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The ratio stands at 1.2 percent in the U.S., 1.1 percent in France and 0.6 percent in South Korea.
Last year, Keio set up an international public relations section to promote the research programs of the university in its bid to attract students and scholars from overseas.
Some say that universities should look at potential new demand at home.
"The Japanese educational market is very large and attractive," said Kirk R. Patterson, dean of the Japan campus of Temple University, adding that there are huge untapped educational needs among people like the so-called freeters and others hoping to upgrade their skills and move into new careers, as well as women who want to re-enter the labor market after raising children.
While Japanese universities have traditionally defined their markets as people in the 18-22 age bracket, they can start to consider corporations as new customers, because the companies need customized training programs to help their employees upgrade skills, Patterson said.
"Each university needs to have a clear sense of its mission and to clearly identify its comparative advantage and its market niche. Universities can no longer try to meet the needs of all students," he said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20070817a2.html
"There was no other choice" than to initiate bankruptcy procedures, said Masanori Hatachi, 69, president of the institution now renamed Yamaguchi University of Human Welfare and Culture.
Hagi International, formerly a two-year college, had difficulty attracting enough students after it changed to a four-year university in 1999.
In its first year as a four-year school, only around 200 freshmen enrolled — far short of its annual quota of 300. After freshmen enrollment dropped to some 100 the following year, the school started to recruit students from China, only to learn, to its discredit, that many of those who came on student visas jumped ship to go after illegal jobs.
The enrollment number continued to decrease, and in April 2006 only three new students joined the university.
Hagi International's case is part of a situation that few developed countries have so far experienced. Japanese universities, especially in rural areas, are making desperate efforts to attract students amid the decline in the youth population brought on by the falling birthrate.
Some are going bust, while others are restructuring, or seeking mergers to survive.
Japan's 18-year-old population, which peaked at 2.05 million in fiscal 1992, dropped to only 1.37 million in fiscal 2005, and is projected to fall to 1.24 million in fiscal 2008. Meanwhile, a policy of deregulation since the 1990s has allowed more colleges and departments to start up, with the number of private universities rising from 379 in fiscal 1992 to 559 this year, a 147 percent increase.
Such a loss of students has resulted in serious cash flow woes for private universities, 70 percent of whose total revenues come from tuition fees.
Observers said Hagi International lacked attractive programs. Its remote location was also a major disadvantage as many local high school graduates leave the region for urban institutions.
Universities in Tokyo enjoy relatively high enrollment-to-quota ratios, at 117.65 percent, as do those in Osaka-Kyoto, at 112.03 percent. In other words, they enroll more students than the original places allocated.
But the ratio in the Chugoku region, which includes Yamaguchi Prefecture, is only 88.71 percent, according to a survey by the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan, an organization that monitors the management of private colleges and related issues.
In April, Hagi International made a fresh start under its new name and with financial support from Hiroshima Prefecture-based construction firm Shiomi Holdings Corp.
"In the aging Japanese society, demand for care for the elderly is growing," Hatachi, its president, said of the prospects for the school's welfare-focused programs. All the same, only 24 new students enrolled this year — far below the quota of 140.
Hagi International is one of three universities in Japan that went bust in recent years due to falls in the number of students enrolled.
In January 2003, Risshikan University in Hiroshima Prefecture became the first to fail since World War II. Tohwa University, a private engineering college in Fukuoka Prefecture, is scheduled to shut down at the end of fiscal 2009.
In response to these developments, the central government and university groups are mapping out guidelines under which they will regularly check the financial health of academic institutions and advise them or encourage mergers if necessary.
"It is a sick industry, because the youth population in Japan is declining," said Susumu Hiruma, a spokesman for the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan.
According to the organization, 221 of the 559 operators of private four-year universities in Japan saw their freshmen enrollment fall below their quotas for fiscal 2007, a situation roughly unchanged from the previous year. It also said 138 of the operators were in the red in 2005.
Hiruma pointed out that universities, if they want to keep up enrollment, need to offer programs that students want. "Their success depends on customer satisfaction," he said.
But Hiruma, who compiles data on college finances, also noted that "cost-cutting is everything," because Japan's declining population will inevitably erode the revenues of the nation's universities. An obvious "polarization of universities" between winners and losers has emerged, he added.
Makiko Yoshimura, a credit analyst at Standard & Poor's in Tokyo who covers college finance, said the "shakeout of four-year universities and colleges is unavoidable and more schools, especially in rural areas, may go under."
"Universities rich in cash can invest in teaching staff and facilities, while cash-strapped ones are forced to cut expenses, which erodes their academic research programs," she said.
Yoshimura pointed out that some universities are making efforts to diversify their income sources and raise funds, for example by renting part of their property in Tokyo and its neighborhoods where land prices have been picking up in recent years.
She also suggested that some universities may be able to hike tuition fees, while offering financial help for excellent students.
Other universities are merging to remain competitive.
Keio University, one of Japan's top institutions, and Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy have agreed to merge in 2008, which will result in Keio adding a new pharmacy department.
"Their marriage is a success," Standard & Poor's Yoshimura said. "Keio has had medical and nursing programs except for pharmacy — one of the areas with growing demand amid the graying of Japan's population. Now Keio has a rich portfolio in the health-care field."
However, Yoshimura warned that not all university mergers will be ideal ones like Keio and Kyoritsu's, as the number of such tieups increase.
"The key is brand values the universities have nurtured for a long time," she said, noting that talks for a merger that might end up in ruining the brand image of the institutions are doomed to end in failure.
Japanese universities also have to compete with overseas institutions as more Japanese look for academic opportunities outside the country.
Yuichiro Anzai, president of Keio University, expressed concern that Japanese universities may not be able to remain Asia's top institutions for much longer because of insufficient funding from corporations and the government.
"Japanese universities still stand at the top level in Asia in terms of academic research, educational quality and their cutting edge in medical fields. However, China and South Korea are catching up with help from the government and companies," he said.
In 2003, the most recent data available for an international comparison, Japan's public expenditures on education stood at a mere 0.5 percent of gross domestic product.
The figure is less than a half the average of 1.1 percent among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The ratio stands at 1.2 percent in the U.S., 1.1 percent in France and 0.6 percent in South Korea.
Last year, Keio set up an international public relations section to promote the research programs of the university in its bid to attract students and scholars from overseas.
Some say that universities should look at potential new demand at home.
"The Japanese educational market is very large and attractive," said Kirk R. Patterson, dean of the Japan campus of Temple University, adding that there are huge untapped educational needs among people like the so-called freeters and others hoping to upgrade their skills and move into new careers, as well as women who want to re-enter the labor market after raising children.
While Japanese universities have traditionally defined their markets as people in the 18-22 age bracket, they can start to consider corporations as new customers, because the companies need customized training programs to help their employees upgrade skills, Patterson said.
"Each university needs to have a clear sense of its mission and to clearly identify its comparative advantage and its market niche. Universities can no longer try to meet the needs of all students," he said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20070817a2.html
Japan to enhance language education for non-Japanese
Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs has decided to strengthen measures to help foreign residents learn Japanese, and plans to boost the number of language coordinators in local communities, agency officials said Wednesday.
The agency has begun studying concrete measures at the Japanese language education subcommittee set up within its Council for Cultural Affairs, eyeing to implement them in fiscal 2009, starting in April 2009.
An increase in foreign residents in Japan has heightened conflicts between some foreigners and local Japanese people, primarily due to the lack of language skills among foreign residents, according to the officials.
Foreign residents tend to become isolated or fail to follow the rules set out by local municipalities such as rules on garbage disposal, they said.
Against this backdrop, a group consisting of 22 municipalities, such as Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, where foreign residents account for a considerable portion of the local population, has called on the government to strengthen language education for foreigners.
The language coordinators are likely to engage in activities such as providing teaching skills to language instructors, encouraging companies where foreign residents work to provide opportunities to learn Japanese, as well as offering consultation about daily life.
An agency official said, "It is desirable that the coordinators be able to have a certain level of language skills, and commit to the work as full-time professionals on a long-term basis."
The agency is thus planning to recruit the coordinators from those who have passed the Japanese language teaching competency test.
Currently, language teaching is mainly organized by citizens' organizations, which largely depend on volunteer instructors and do not have a systematic teaching curriculum, and most of the coordinators are part-timers and volunteers, according to the officials.
After the immigration law was revised in 1990, foreigners of Japanese descent have been allowed to immigrate to Japan for the purpose of settlement or work, and the number of immigrants from such areas as South America has been increasing.
In 2006, a record high of 2.08 million people registered as foreign residents in Japan.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070815/kyodo/d8r1f1k80.html
The agency has begun studying concrete measures at the Japanese language education subcommittee set up within its Council for Cultural Affairs, eyeing to implement them in fiscal 2009, starting in April 2009.
An increase in foreign residents in Japan has heightened conflicts between some foreigners and local Japanese people, primarily due to the lack of language skills among foreign residents, according to the officials.
Foreign residents tend to become isolated or fail to follow the rules set out by local municipalities such as rules on garbage disposal, they said.
Against this backdrop, a group consisting of 22 municipalities, such as Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, where foreign residents account for a considerable portion of the local population, has called on the government to strengthen language education for foreigners.
The language coordinators are likely to engage in activities such as providing teaching skills to language instructors, encouraging companies where foreign residents work to provide opportunities to learn Japanese, as well as offering consultation about daily life.
An agency official said, "It is desirable that the coordinators be able to have a certain level of language skills, and commit to the work as full-time professionals on a long-term basis."
The agency is thus planning to recruit the coordinators from those who have passed the Japanese language teaching competency test.
Currently, language teaching is mainly organized by citizens' organizations, which largely depend on volunteer instructors and do not have a systematic teaching curriculum, and most of the coordinators are part-timers and volunteers, according to the officials.
After the immigration law was revised in 1990, foreigners of Japanese descent have been allowed to immigrate to Japan for the purpose of settlement or work, and the number of immigrants from such areas as South America has been increasing.
In 2006, a record high of 2.08 million people registered as foreign residents in Japan.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070815/kyodo/d8r1f1k80.html
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
(Korea) National English Proficiency Tests to Debut in 2009
A new government-administered test of English proficiency for students will be introduced during the second half of 2009, and for adults in 2011, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development on July 31.
The move comes as an effort to meet growing demands for qualified English proficiency tests, as scores on such tests are widely reflected in school admission, university graduation, civil servant appointment, certificate acquirement, employment and promotion.
Some 2.69 million Koreans took various kinds of English proficiency tests in 2006, 76 percent of them taking foreign-developed exams such as the TOEFL and TOEIC. In comparison, domestic tests including PELT, TESL, TEPS, ESPT and MATE have been unsuccessful in attracting as much applicants.
Against this background, the government plans to spend about 21.5 billion won ($23.32 million) in the next four years to develop the first government-administered English tests in Korea. The aim is to create a comprehensive and qualified exam which would be internationally recognized, and to enhance domestic capacity for English education and assessment.
The new tests involve speaking, listening, reading and writing exams, which will be conducted through the internet. The ministry is considering classifying the tests into 10 levels according to the test takers' proficiency, from Level 1 for primary first to third graders to levels 8 to 10 for adults.
The ministry will establish a tentatively named ‘Korea English Proficiency Evaluation Foundation’ this year to develop and oversee the tests. The foundation will be jointly run by interested universities, the Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation(KICE) and the public Educational Broadcasting System(EBS), under the finance of the government.
A preparation committee for the foundation will also be set up this year under KICE. The committee will conduct researches on English proficiency tests of other countries, develop an assessment framework, create evaluation and management methodologies, and secure budgets and legal grounds.
With the new development, the ministry seeks to reduce dependency on foreign English proficiency tests and prompt schools to improve their English education. Government endeavors are expected to see further facilitation once the bill on the Special Law on English Education Promotion, submitted earlier by the ministry, passes the National Assembly.
http://english.moe.go.kr/main.jsp?idx=070101&brd_no=30&cp=1&pageSize=10&srchSel=&srchVal=&brd_mainno=542&mode=v
The move comes as an effort to meet growing demands for qualified English proficiency tests, as scores on such tests are widely reflected in school admission, university graduation, civil servant appointment, certificate acquirement, employment and promotion.
Some 2.69 million Koreans took various kinds of English proficiency tests in 2006, 76 percent of them taking foreign-developed exams such as the TOEFL and TOEIC. In comparison, domestic tests including PELT, TESL, TEPS, ESPT and MATE have been unsuccessful in attracting as much applicants.
Against this background, the government plans to spend about 21.5 billion won ($23.32 million) in the next four years to develop the first government-administered English tests in Korea. The aim is to create a comprehensive and qualified exam which would be internationally recognized, and to enhance domestic capacity for English education and assessment.
The new tests involve speaking, listening, reading and writing exams, which will be conducted through the internet. The ministry is considering classifying the tests into 10 levels according to the test takers' proficiency, from Level 1 for primary first to third graders to levels 8 to 10 for adults.
The ministry will establish a tentatively named ‘Korea English Proficiency Evaluation Foundation’ this year to develop and oversee the tests. The foundation will be jointly run by interested universities, the Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation(KICE) and the public Educational Broadcasting System(EBS), under the finance of the government.
A preparation committee for the foundation will also be set up this year under KICE. The committee will conduct researches on English proficiency tests of other countries, develop an assessment framework, create evaluation and management methodologies, and secure budgets and legal grounds.
With the new development, the ministry seeks to reduce dependency on foreign English proficiency tests and prompt schools to improve their English education. Government endeavors are expected to see further facilitation once the bill on the Special Law on English Education Promotion, submitted earlier by the ministry, passes the National Assembly.
http://english.moe.go.kr/main.jsp?idx=070101&brd_no=30&cp=1&pageSize=10&srchSel=&srchVal=&brd_mainno=542&mode=v
Number of foreign students staying on to work in Japan hits record high
The number of foreign students who found jobs in the country surged to a record 8,272 last year, up 40 percent from the previous year, according to the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau.
The surge is attributable to an improving job market and growing demand for translators and interpreters jobs due to Japanese companies' expansion of overseas operations.
The number of applications filed by foreign residents to change their visa status from "College Student" or "Precollege Student" to "Specialist in Humanities/International Services," the visa status required for people wishing to work in certain sectors, totaled 9,034 in 2006, of which 8,272 were granted.
The number of applications for such a change in status was 5,878 in 2005 and 5,264 in 2004.
Asian students accounted for more than 90 percent of foreign residents who found jobs here after graduating from Japanese educational institutions, according to the immigration bureau's statistics.
Chinese students topped the list with 6,000 people, a 43.3 percent rise from 2005, followed by 944 South Koreans and 200 Taiwan students, also up 26.4 percent and 19 percent year on year, respectively.
Bangladesh claimed fourth place with 119 people, a 108.8 percent jump from 2005, while Malaysia took fifth place with 118 people, up 71 percent year on year.
About 70 percent of foreign graduates who were employed in Japan last year went to nonmanufacturing industries. Of those, 1,792 people entered commercial and trade businesses.
The number of students who stepped into computer-related fields was 1,140, while that of those who obtained education-related jobs was 479. By job description, the largest number of foreign graduates--2,711, which is about 30 percent of the total number--were hired as translators or interpreters. Accounting for more than 60 percent of the total, 893 foreign graduates obtained information-processing jobs, 882 went for sales-related jobs and 732 entered overseas operations.
A ministry official said, "Growing demand for translators and interpreters among domestic companies has perhaps helped boost the employment of foreign students."
(Aug. 15, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070815TDY01002.htm
The surge is attributable to an improving job market and growing demand for translators and interpreters jobs due to Japanese companies' expansion of overseas operations.
The number of applications filed by foreign residents to change their visa status from "College Student" or "Precollege Student" to "Specialist in Humanities/International Services," the visa status required for people wishing to work in certain sectors, totaled 9,034 in 2006, of which 8,272 were granted.
The number of applications for such a change in status was 5,878 in 2005 and 5,264 in 2004.
Asian students accounted for more than 90 percent of foreign residents who found jobs here after graduating from Japanese educational institutions, according to the immigration bureau's statistics.
Chinese students topped the list with 6,000 people, a 43.3 percent rise from 2005, followed by 944 South Koreans and 200 Taiwan students, also up 26.4 percent and 19 percent year on year, respectively.
Bangladesh claimed fourth place with 119 people, a 108.8 percent jump from 2005, while Malaysia took fifth place with 118 people, up 71 percent year on year.
About 70 percent of foreign graduates who were employed in Japan last year went to nonmanufacturing industries. Of those, 1,792 people entered commercial and trade businesses.
The number of students who stepped into computer-related fields was 1,140, while that of those who obtained education-related jobs was 479. By job description, the largest number of foreign graduates--2,711, which is about 30 percent of the total number--were hired as translators or interpreters. Accounting for more than 60 percent of the total, 893 foreign graduates obtained information-processing jobs, 882 went for sales-related jobs and 732 entered overseas operations.
A ministry official said, "Growing demand for translators and interpreters among domestic companies has perhaps helped boost the employment of foreign students."
(Aug. 15, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070815TDY01002.htm
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Australia seeks more Japanese student tourists
Australia is targeting Japanese students keen to learn English by offering language vacations and "study and surf" tours as added incentives to travel Down Under.
The new tourism strategy comes amid a protracted slump in the number of Japanese visiting Australia.
Figures released Friday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show short-term visitor arrivals from Japan fell 14.2 percent last year. In contrast, the number of visitors from other parts of Asia has been rising.
The government and tourism industry hope the situation can be turned around by encouraging Japan's "study tourism" market.
Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who has blamed the low Japanese numbers on the Australian dollar's strength against the yen and increased competition from cheaper Asian destinations, told The Australian Financial Review newspaper the push is on to lure more Japanese students.
"A key target of future growth is the Japanese market, from school tours to language vacations and longer-term study and surf tours," Bailey said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070807b6.html
The new tourism strategy comes amid a protracted slump in the number of Japanese visiting Australia.
Figures released Friday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show short-term visitor arrivals from Japan fell 14.2 percent last year. In contrast, the number of visitors from other parts of Asia has been rising.
The government and tourism industry hope the situation can be turned around by encouraging Japan's "study tourism" market.
Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who has blamed the low Japanese numbers on the Australian dollar's strength against the yen and increased competition from cheaper Asian destinations, told The Australian Financial Review newspaper the push is on to lure more Japanese students.
"A key target of future growth is the Japanese market, from school tours to language vacations and longer-term study and surf tours," Bailey said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070807b6.html
Friday, August 03, 2007
University staff drop in on students before they drop out
Recently, an increasing number of universities are trying to address the problem of absentee students through methods that some people might consider going a bit overboard--such as early-morning wakeup phone calls.
Their reasoning is that it is not just the students who lose out when they drop out and fail to earn their degrees. It is also bad business for the private universities.
At Hachinohe Institute of Technology in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, teaching staff keep detailed attendance records for their students.
Lecturers, armed with scanners similar to those used in supermarkets, scan bar codes on the ID cards of students at each class.
The information is later transmitted to an administrative database containing two weeks' worth of student attendance records.
The scanner system was developed five years ago for the university's 1,700 undergraduates as part of a student support system.
A member of the university's teaching staff is assigned to each class, taking on a similar role to a high-school homeroom teacher by keeping a close watch over students' attendance.
If a student is absent from a lecture on three consecutive occasions, the instructor calls the student's cellphone and sets up a meeting.
Staff members meet each Wednesday morning to share information so that colleagues can keep an eye on students who tend to be absent from class.
The system is paying off.
University administrators found that by closely managing absenteeism, students deemed to be at risk can be prevented from dropping out.
The higher the attendance, the higher the ratio of students gaining credits and progressing further toward their degrees. According to university officials, for every four students who repeat a year, one ends up dropping out.
A survey by the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan showed that in fiscal 2005, the dropout rate among 550 private universities stood at 2.9 percent.
In fiscal 2002, the ratio was 3.3 percent among 439 institutions surveyed.
The main reasons for students dropping out, as cited by the universities, were: financial difficulties, a loss of interest in studying or a move to another institution.
Katsuyoshi Shinyama, a lecturer of electronic engineering at Hachinohe Institute of Technology, was responsible for a class that graduated this past spring.
"(Keeping tabs on student attendance) is like undergoing annual health checks to watch for early signs of cancer," he said.
If you catch symptoms early, the prognosis is good.
Institute president Masami Shoya said many students are now entering universities via recommendations from high schools or through interviews and compositions assessed by the university admission office, rather than through conventional competitive entrance exams.
He said he believed this was one reason some students needed to be more closely watched.
Still, the dropout rate at the university has hovered around the national average of 3 percent over the last decade or so.
"It is important to swiftly deal with problems (that could result in dropouts)," said Shigetaka Fujita, assistant to the president.
"We have somehow been able to keep the rate at this level."
At Nippon Institute of Technology in Miyashiro, Saitama Prefecture, staff members in the university's study-support center call up students who are continually absent from classes.
The members even call students who are notorious for sleeping in, even though they intend to attend classes.
Students are required to submit absentee slips each time they miss a class. Staff members want the students to feel that having to write the slips is more of a chore than actually coming to class.
The institute set up the center three years ago to help students with their studies as well as with their daily lives,
A 20-year-old third-year student said he had often played truant since junior high school because of bullying.
He enrolled at the institute after being chosen by the admissions office but felt he could not keep up with classes because he lacked basic knowledge.
He has sought advice from the center.
"Without the center, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to make friends, either," he said.
Recently, parents of students have asked if they could also visit the center.
"This is like a shelter," said staff member Takaharu Tanaka, an associate professor. "(Some of the parents) don't know how to handle their children."
(IHT/Asahi: August 3,2007)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200708030091.html
Their reasoning is that it is not just the students who lose out when they drop out and fail to earn their degrees. It is also bad business for the private universities.
At Hachinohe Institute of Technology in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, teaching staff keep detailed attendance records for their students.
Lecturers, armed with scanners similar to those used in supermarkets, scan bar codes on the ID cards of students at each class.
The information is later transmitted to an administrative database containing two weeks' worth of student attendance records.
The scanner system was developed five years ago for the university's 1,700 undergraduates as part of a student support system.
A member of the university's teaching staff is assigned to each class, taking on a similar role to a high-school homeroom teacher by keeping a close watch over students' attendance.
If a student is absent from a lecture on three consecutive occasions, the instructor calls the student's cellphone and sets up a meeting.
Staff members meet each Wednesday morning to share information so that colleagues can keep an eye on students who tend to be absent from class.
The system is paying off.
University administrators found that by closely managing absenteeism, students deemed to be at risk can be prevented from dropping out.
The higher the attendance, the higher the ratio of students gaining credits and progressing further toward their degrees. According to university officials, for every four students who repeat a year, one ends up dropping out.
A survey by the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan showed that in fiscal 2005, the dropout rate among 550 private universities stood at 2.9 percent.
In fiscal 2002, the ratio was 3.3 percent among 439 institutions surveyed.
The main reasons for students dropping out, as cited by the universities, were: financial difficulties, a loss of interest in studying or a move to another institution.
Katsuyoshi Shinyama, a lecturer of electronic engineering at Hachinohe Institute of Technology, was responsible for a class that graduated this past spring.
"(Keeping tabs on student attendance) is like undergoing annual health checks to watch for early signs of cancer," he said.
If you catch symptoms early, the prognosis is good.
Institute president Masami Shoya said many students are now entering universities via recommendations from high schools or through interviews and compositions assessed by the university admission office, rather than through conventional competitive entrance exams.
He said he believed this was one reason some students needed to be more closely watched.
Still, the dropout rate at the university has hovered around the national average of 3 percent over the last decade or so.
"It is important to swiftly deal with problems (that could result in dropouts)," said Shigetaka Fujita, assistant to the president.
"We have somehow been able to keep the rate at this level."
At Nippon Institute of Technology in Miyashiro, Saitama Prefecture, staff members in the university's study-support center call up students who are continually absent from classes.
The members even call students who are notorious for sleeping in, even though they intend to attend classes.
Students are required to submit absentee slips each time they miss a class. Staff members want the students to feel that having to write the slips is more of a chore than actually coming to class.
The institute set up the center three years ago to help students with their studies as well as with their daily lives,
A 20-year-old third-year student said he had often played truant since junior high school because of bullying.
He enrolled at the institute after being chosen by the admissions office but felt he could not keep up with classes because he lacked basic knowledge.
He has sought advice from the center.
"Without the center, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to make friends, either," he said.
Recently, parents of students have asked if they could also visit the center.
"This is like a shelter," said staff member Takaharu Tanaka, an associate professor. "(Some of the parents) don't know how to handle their children."
(IHT/Asahi: August 3,2007)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200708030091.html
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
College officials get managing skills help
With the financial environment surrounding universities growing increasingly tight due to the declining birthrate, a nonprofit organization is helping university officials improve their managerial skills and get more hands-on in operating their schools.
The Support Center for University Officials aims to nurture university officials with a more professional mind-set and greater expertise, the group said.
At Ferris University's Ryokuen campus in Izumi Ward, Yokohama, 72 people, including about 50 university officials, attended an in-school training session on July 24.
"Rather than leaving the school management in the hands of faculty members, I want you university officials to gain the expertise to make proposals for the reform of the school," said Makoto Obinata, the center's chief director and a former managing director of Shibaura Institute of Technology.
With the arrival of an era when universities are scrambling for a shrinking number of high school graduates, private universities in particular are facing the need to tout their selling points to survive this difficult time.
Under such circumstances, university officials, who traditionally have simply followed decisions made at faculty meetings, will be expected to proactively make proposals, such as the reorganization of departments and new methods of conducting admission exams.
In response to such moves, former officials of Hosei, Waseda, Meiji and other universities founded the center in March and started training university officials. Many were involved in the launch of new departments and other reforms at their schools.
In the Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo-based center's training program on group discussions, for instance, participants are asked to exchange opinions about a university reform plan proposed by one of the attendants. They are asked to point out where the problems lie and discuss how to improve the original plan.
The program aims to help people view things from a different perspective from their own through other people's proposals, according to the group.
From September, the group also plans to organize a training camp in which officials from different universities are expected to take part.
Another important mission of the center is to help universities hire employees.
According to Jitsukazu Wada, director general of the center and a former board member of Hosei University, many applicants seem to be under the misapprehension that they will be able to secure a stable life as a university employee, and that it will be easy for them to take long vacations.
To prevent people from applying for a position at universities for such irresponsible reasons, the center gave detailed explanations on university workers' daily duties at a seminar it organized shortly after the group's launch in March.
Furthermore, the center reportedly has been asked by a private university to evaluate a part-time worker who is under consideration as a candidate for a full-time position.
"By now, university officials have been expected to simply support faculty members," Obinata, 75, said. "But if they acquire planning ability, they'll be able to provide a better service to students."
He also said his group hopes to help improve the expertise of officials at smaller universities, which often find it difficult to establish their own systems to improve their officials' skills.
(Aug. 1, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070801TDY04002.htm
The Support Center for University Officials aims to nurture university officials with a more professional mind-set and greater expertise, the group said.
At Ferris University's Ryokuen campus in Izumi Ward, Yokohama, 72 people, including about 50 university officials, attended an in-school training session on July 24.
"Rather than leaving the school management in the hands of faculty members, I want you university officials to gain the expertise to make proposals for the reform of the school," said Makoto Obinata, the center's chief director and a former managing director of Shibaura Institute of Technology.
With the arrival of an era when universities are scrambling for a shrinking number of high school graduates, private universities in particular are facing the need to tout their selling points to survive this difficult time.
Under such circumstances, university officials, who traditionally have simply followed decisions made at faculty meetings, will be expected to proactively make proposals, such as the reorganization of departments and new methods of conducting admission exams.
In response to such moves, former officials of Hosei, Waseda, Meiji and other universities founded the center in March and started training university officials. Many were involved in the launch of new departments and other reforms at their schools.
In the Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo-based center's training program on group discussions, for instance, participants are asked to exchange opinions about a university reform plan proposed by one of the attendants. They are asked to point out where the problems lie and discuss how to improve the original plan.
The program aims to help people view things from a different perspective from their own through other people's proposals, according to the group.
From September, the group also plans to organize a training camp in which officials from different universities are expected to take part.
Another important mission of the center is to help universities hire employees.
According to Jitsukazu Wada, director general of the center and a former board member of Hosei University, many applicants seem to be under the misapprehension that they will be able to secure a stable life as a university employee, and that it will be easy for them to take long vacations.
To prevent people from applying for a position at universities for such irresponsible reasons, the center gave detailed explanations on university workers' daily duties at a seminar it organized shortly after the group's launch in March.
Furthermore, the center reportedly has been asked by a private university to evaluate a part-time worker who is under consideration as a candidate for a full-time position.
"By now, university officials have been expected to simply support faculty members," Obinata, 75, said. "But if they acquire planning ability, they'll be able to provide a better service to students."
He also said his group hopes to help improve the expertise of officials at smaller universities, which often find it difficult to establish their own systems to improve their officials' skills.
(Aug. 1, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070801TDY04002.htm
'Eikaiwa' vets look beyond Big Four
Globalization, the Internet and increased mobility have made the planet a smaller place. The world is now often referred to as a global community, and its lingua franca is undoubtedly English. It is the official language of air traffic control and the de facto language of both international business and, apparently, international terrorism. According to linguist David Graddol, one third of the world's population will soon be studying English.
The quality of teachers was consistently cited in interviews as the most important issue for longtime learners of English in Japan.
The market for English lessons in Japan is huge, and the options facing would-be students here can be daunting. There are the ubiquitous "big four" chain schools — Nova, Aeon, Geos and ECC — that can be found near most decent-size train stations. There are a few medium-size chains, which market themselves as a more personal alternative to the major players. Finally, at the other end of the scale are the independently owned English schools, often run by expats who have decided to stay long-term in Japan.
There are alternatives to "eikaiwa" (English conversation, or English conversation schools) too.
Many companies, especially foreign ones or Japanese firms with a strong overseas presence, provide English lessons on-site for their employees. Some people may choose to avoid the conversation-school route completely and take lessons with a private tutor. They can usually be found through specialized Web sites or classified ads, and the lessons generally take place in a coffee shop or in the student's home. For those who find themselves strapped for cash, there is always the option of doing a language exchange — teaching Japanese in return for being taught English.
A few months ago I wrote an article for the Community Page about the different choices facing those who decide to teach English in Japan (see search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070313zg.html). This time I spoke to Japanese people about the best places to study English. Everyone I spoke to had their own reasons for studying and had taken lessons at a variety of places.
Yasuhiro Nishimi works for a multinational pharmaceutical company in Tokyo and uses English most days at work. In the past he has studied at several schools, and also at his office with teachers dispatched from an agency. Perhaps not surprisingly, having lessons in his office was the most convenient option. However, the quality of the teachers was something of a problem.
"Most of them were university students, so it was difficult to talk about business matters," Nishimi explained. What's more, he said, the teachers changed regularly so it was difficult to build up any rapport with them.
Since then he has taken lessons at three of the big chain schools, as well as a small privately run conversation school near his home. In terms of learning, Nishimi said that Berlitz was the most effective of the big schools.
"The quality of the teachers was good," and "the 'Berlitz Method' worked," he said.
However, this didn't come cheaply, and he felt that the atmosphere in the school was a little too formal.
Of the other two schools, Nova faired better in terms of class size, with a maximum of three students compared to Aeon's eight. On the other hand, lessons at Aeon were always with the same teacher, whereas the teacher at Nova could change every time. Nishimi felt that the quality of the teachers at Nova was not always guaranteed.
"It depended a lot on luck," he said.
Nishimi now takes lessons at a small school near his home. He said the location is ideal, and the cost of lessons at this school is much cheaper than any of the big chains. There is also a much larger degree of flexibility in scheduling than in the larger schools (Nova was recently penalized for making unrealistic claims about the ease of reserving lessons). However, at a school this size, that flexibility goes both ways, and the teacher may also ask to rearrange lessons.
Of course, not everyone learns English for work. "Travel," "communicating with people of different nationalities," and even "watching films and listening to music" are all reasons often cited by students for studying the language. Those who want to study a more general form of English conversation usually choose an eikaiwa school — but which one?
Until recently, Yuriko Atsuta worked at a trading company in Tokyo where she sometimes needed to use English. At that time she studied general English conversation at the Lado International College of Japan, which went bankrupt in April.
However, she has now quit her job in order to try and pass the Japanese government's test for tour guides, so she is taking more specialized lessons at a small school in Tokyo.
Atsuta said that lessons at Lado were "better than in other large schools," and the quality of the teachers was "generally good." However, group size was again a problem, as classes had up to six or eight students, meaning that Atsuta had less chance to speak.
As for the small school, Atsuta said she was satisfied with the lessons she received there.
"I am given lessons by the same teacher every time and the contents are well considered and consistent," she said. "The quality of the lessons is very good because the teacher knows why I'm studying and what my objectives are."
For Atsuta, the small school has been much better, but these kinds of schools are often not easy to find.
"Large schools advertise themselves and it's easy for students to compare them," said Atsuta.
On the other hand, the advertising for a small school may be little more than sign on the street outside the school, or flyers posted through doors in the local area.
Despite this, small schools can often rely on that holy grail of marketing — word of mouth.
The Nova bunny and the 2-minute Berlitz video lessons on Tokyo's Yamanote Line may be more visible, but a recommendation from a friend is more likely to be acted upon.
Yukiko Hanaoka, a housewife from Tokyo and a friend of Atsuta's, said as much when I interviewed her. She lived in South Africa and studied English there under a private tutor for three years from when she was 10. Last year she passed the National Guide Test after studying at a well known exam prep school in Tokyo. This is her only experience learning English in Japan, but she said that if she were to take lessons at a conversation school, she'd be more likely to go to a small one.
"The larger schools may have more advantages in terms of location and facilities, but small schools are more reliable, since they are often recommended by a friend, usually have an original education program, a customized approach and a friendly atmosphere, all at a reasonable price," she explained.
When learning a language, what works for one person might not work at all for another, but a few common points emerged from the interviews I conducted.
Everyone I spoke to said the quality of the teacher was the most important factor for them, regardless of the size of the school or the type of lesson. At some of the big schools this could be hit or miss, a result either of the high staff turnover or the schools' policy of rotating teachers.
On the other hand, small schools did well in this respect. Their turnover is fairly small — at least compared with the larger schools — and students usually have the same teacher for each lesson.
For those who are starting at quite a low level, a larger school would probably be best. They often have a set teaching method that all the teachers follow, and this can be a very effective way to get to grips with the basics. However, for students who are of a higher level, or who have a more specific goal in mind, finding a good small school is likely to be more beneficial.
Ultimately, however, it's up to each individual to find out what works best for them.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070731zg.html
The quality of teachers was consistently cited in interviews as the most important issue for longtime learners of English in Japan.
The market for English lessons in Japan is huge, and the options facing would-be students here can be daunting. There are the ubiquitous "big four" chain schools — Nova, Aeon, Geos and ECC — that can be found near most decent-size train stations. There are a few medium-size chains, which market themselves as a more personal alternative to the major players. Finally, at the other end of the scale are the independently owned English schools, often run by expats who have decided to stay long-term in Japan.
There are alternatives to "eikaiwa" (English conversation, or English conversation schools) too.
Many companies, especially foreign ones or Japanese firms with a strong overseas presence, provide English lessons on-site for their employees. Some people may choose to avoid the conversation-school route completely and take lessons with a private tutor. They can usually be found through specialized Web sites or classified ads, and the lessons generally take place in a coffee shop or in the student's home. For those who find themselves strapped for cash, there is always the option of doing a language exchange — teaching Japanese in return for being taught English.
A few months ago I wrote an article for the Community Page about the different choices facing those who decide to teach English in Japan (see search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070313zg.html). This time I spoke to Japanese people about the best places to study English. Everyone I spoke to had their own reasons for studying and had taken lessons at a variety of places.
Yasuhiro Nishimi works for a multinational pharmaceutical company in Tokyo and uses English most days at work. In the past he has studied at several schools, and also at his office with teachers dispatched from an agency. Perhaps not surprisingly, having lessons in his office was the most convenient option. However, the quality of the teachers was something of a problem.
"Most of them were university students, so it was difficult to talk about business matters," Nishimi explained. What's more, he said, the teachers changed regularly so it was difficult to build up any rapport with them.
Since then he has taken lessons at three of the big chain schools, as well as a small privately run conversation school near his home. In terms of learning, Nishimi said that Berlitz was the most effective of the big schools.
"The quality of the teachers was good," and "the 'Berlitz Method' worked," he said.
However, this didn't come cheaply, and he felt that the atmosphere in the school was a little too formal.
Of the other two schools, Nova faired better in terms of class size, with a maximum of three students compared to Aeon's eight. On the other hand, lessons at Aeon were always with the same teacher, whereas the teacher at Nova could change every time. Nishimi felt that the quality of the teachers at Nova was not always guaranteed.
"It depended a lot on luck," he said.
Nishimi now takes lessons at a small school near his home. He said the location is ideal, and the cost of lessons at this school is much cheaper than any of the big chains. There is also a much larger degree of flexibility in scheduling than in the larger schools (Nova was recently penalized for making unrealistic claims about the ease of reserving lessons). However, at a school this size, that flexibility goes both ways, and the teacher may also ask to rearrange lessons.
Of course, not everyone learns English for work. "Travel," "communicating with people of different nationalities," and even "watching films and listening to music" are all reasons often cited by students for studying the language. Those who want to study a more general form of English conversation usually choose an eikaiwa school — but which one?
Until recently, Yuriko Atsuta worked at a trading company in Tokyo where she sometimes needed to use English. At that time she studied general English conversation at the Lado International College of Japan, which went bankrupt in April.
However, she has now quit her job in order to try and pass the Japanese government's test for tour guides, so she is taking more specialized lessons at a small school in Tokyo.
Atsuta said that lessons at Lado were "better than in other large schools," and the quality of the teachers was "generally good." However, group size was again a problem, as classes had up to six or eight students, meaning that Atsuta had less chance to speak.
As for the small school, Atsuta said she was satisfied with the lessons she received there.
"I am given lessons by the same teacher every time and the contents are well considered and consistent," she said. "The quality of the lessons is very good because the teacher knows why I'm studying and what my objectives are."
For Atsuta, the small school has been much better, but these kinds of schools are often not easy to find.
"Large schools advertise themselves and it's easy for students to compare them," said Atsuta.
On the other hand, the advertising for a small school may be little more than sign on the street outside the school, or flyers posted through doors in the local area.
Despite this, small schools can often rely on that holy grail of marketing — word of mouth.
The Nova bunny and the 2-minute Berlitz video lessons on Tokyo's Yamanote Line may be more visible, but a recommendation from a friend is more likely to be acted upon.
Yukiko Hanaoka, a housewife from Tokyo and a friend of Atsuta's, said as much when I interviewed her. She lived in South Africa and studied English there under a private tutor for three years from when she was 10. Last year she passed the National Guide Test after studying at a well known exam prep school in Tokyo. This is her only experience learning English in Japan, but she said that if she were to take lessons at a conversation school, she'd be more likely to go to a small one.
"The larger schools may have more advantages in terms of location and facilities, but small schools are more reliable, since they are often recommended by a friend, usually have an original education program, a customized approach and a friendly atmosphere, all at a reasonable price," she explained.
When learning a language, what works for one person might not work at all for another, but a few common points emerged from the interviews I conducted.
Everyone I spoke to said the quality of the teacher was the most important factor for them, regardless of the size of the school or the type of lesson. At some of the big schools this could be hit or miss, a result either of the high staff turnover or the schools' policy of rotating teachers.
On the other hand, small schools did well in this respect. Their turnover is fairly small — at least compared with the larger schools — and students usually have the same teacher for each lesson.
For those who are starting at quite a low level, a larger school would probably be best. They often have a set teaching method that all the teachers follow, and this can be a very effective way to get to grips with the basics. However, for students who are of a higher level, or who have a more specific goal in mind, finding a good small school is likely to be more beneficial.
Ultimately, however, it's up to each individual to find out what works best for them.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070731zg.html
263 schools closed over last 4 months due to measles outbreak
Two hundred and sixty-three schools have been temporarily closed across Japan since April after a measles outbreak, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.
The educational institutions include 83 universities, 73 high schools, 27 junior high schools and 18 elementary schools.
The ministry said 2,511 students have been diagnosed with measles between April and late July. (Mainichi)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070728p2a00m0na009000c.html
The educational institutions include 83 universities, 73 high schools, 27 junior high schools and 18 elementary schools.
The ministry said 2,511 students have been diagnosed with measles between April and late July. (Mainichi)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070728p2a00m0na009000c.html
Thursday, July 26, 2007
More firms recruiting foreign graduates
Companies wanting to gain a competitive edge in the global marketplace are looking to hire foreign graduates of Japanese universities, especially those from China.
And students are eager to grab the opportunities, with the number of foreign students after graduation who changed their visa status to work in Japan in 2005 nearly double that of 2002.
Osaka-based electronics titan Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. currently has 120 foreigners on the payroll. But the company plans to hire an additional 100 over a three-year period starting in 2008.
Foreign students from Japanese universities also make up about 10 percent of the entire intake of new hires at the company's overseas subsidiaries in China and elsewhere.
"We can't do without the international viewpoint in order to manufacture and market products that pass muster around the globe," a recruiter for the company said.
Sumitomo Chemical Co., based in Tokyo, began hiring foreign students in 2005, coinciding with expansions of operations in China and South Korea. The company usually hires two foreign students in Japan every year, but plans to take in more in the future.
Sumitomo Chemical's overseas subsidiaries hire around 10 foreign graduates of Japanese universities every year. Hiroshi Niinuma, of the company's human resources department, said: "We are looking for skilled foreign personnel who can handle international projects in Japan; and for our overseas arms, we are seeking personnel who can serve as their liaison with Japanese operations. Foreign students studying in Japan prove a valuable pool of talent."
According to immigration authorities, 5,878 foreign students changed their visa status in 2005 to work in Japan. The figure amounted to 20 percent of all foreign graduates here that year.
Of those graduates, 4,186 were from China and 747 were from South Korea.
Even companies that have no overseas operations are trying to secure foreign students.
Cainz Home, a major home improvement retailer based in Gunma Prefecture, hired 18 employees from China in the last three years and will hire more in spring.
Cainz is looking for staff who can procure goods from China and collaborate with Chinese companies to develop new products.
"(Chinese recruits) are extremely ambitious and tackle brand new projects with a kind of gung-ho spirit," a Cainz human resources officer said.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry conducted a survey this spring asking listed companies about their plans to recruit graduates who can function in the global environment. Of the 289 companies that responded to the questionnaire, about 40 percent said they hoped to hire foreign students who have studied in Japan.
Foreign students studying in Japan are also keen on finding jobs with Japanese companies. In late May, the International Foreign Students Association, a nonprofit organization based in Tokyo, hosted a joint recruiting fair. A 22-year-old fourth-year student studying at Saitama University said she hoped to land a job with a big Japanese firm with a subsidiary in Malaysia so she could return home.
A 28-year-old Chinese student attending university in Tokyo was hoping to land a job with a cosmetics company. "My first choice would be a major company that handles overseas operations," she said. "But when you are a foreign student, it is not that easy to get an official offer--not like my Japanese counterparts."(IHT/Asahi: July 25,2007)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707250094.html
And students are eager to grab the opportunities, with the number of foreign students after graduation who changed their visa status to work in Japan in 2005 nearly double that of 2002.
Osaka-based electronics titan Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. currently has 120 foreigners on the payroll. But the company plans to hire an additional 100 over a three-year period starting in 2008.
Foreign students from Japanese universities also make up about 10 percent of the entire intake of new hires at the company's overseas subsidiaries in China and elsewhere.
"We can't do without the international viewpoint in order to manufacture and market products that pass muster around the globe," a recruiter for the company said.
Sumitomo Chemical Co., based in Tokyo, began hiring foreign students in 2005, coinciding with expansions of operations in China and South Korea. The company usually hires two foreign students in Japan every year, but plans to take in more in the future.
Sumitomo Chemical's overseas subsidiaries hire around 10 foreign graduates of Japanese universities every year. Hiroshi Niinuma, of the company's human resources department, said: "We are looking for skilled foreign personnel who can handle international projects in Japan; and for our overseas arms, we are seeking personnel who can serve as their liaison with Japanese operations. Foreign students studying in Japan prove a valuable pool of talent."
According to immigration authorities, 5,878 foreign students changed their visa status in 2005 to work in Japan. The figure amounted to 20 percent of all foreign graduates here that year.
Of those graduates, 4,186 were from China and 747 were from South Korea.
Even companies that have no overseas operations are trying to secure foreign students.
Cainz Home, a major home improvement retailer based in Gunma Prefecture, hired 18 employees from China in the last three years and will hire more in spring.
Cainz is looking for staff who can procure goods from China and collaborate with Chinese companies to develop new products.
"(Chinese recruits) are extremely ambitious and tackle brand new projects with a kind of gung-ho spirit," a Cainz human resources officer said.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry conducted a survey this spring asking listed companies about their plans to recruit graduates who can function in the global environment. Of the 289 companies that responded to the questionnaire, about 40 percent said they hoped to hire foreign students who have studied in Japan.
Foreign students studying in Japan are also keen on finding jobs with Japanese companies. In late May, the International Foreign Students Association, a nonprofit organization based in Tokyo, hosted a joint recruiting fair. A 22-year-old fourth-year student studying at Saitama University said she hoped to land a job with a big Japanese firm with a subsidiary in Malaysia so she could return home.
A 28-year-old Chinese student attending university in Tokyo was hoping to land a job with a cosmetics company. "My first choice would be a major company that handles overseas operations," she said. "But when you are a foreign student, it is not that easy to get an official offer--not like my Japanese counterparts."(IHT/Asahi: July 25,2007)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707250094.html
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Govt to crack down on fake univ. credentials
Concern that an increasing number of overseas institutions award fake university degrees has prompted the Education, Science and Technology Ministry to investigate whether any faculty members at universities nationwide have obtained such bogus diplomas.
The ministry hopes to make its report public by autumn this year.
The institutions in question reportedly grant fake doctorates and other university degrees, although they do not actually engage in educational activities.
The education ministry suspects that organizations registered in Australia, Britain, China and the United States have issued degrees without being accredited in these countries.
(Jul. 25, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070725TDY02002.htm
The ministry hopes to make its report public by autumn this year.
The institutions in question reportedly grant fake doctorates and other university degrees, although they do not actually engage in educational activities.
The education ministry suspects that organizations registered in Australia, Britain, China and the United States have issued degrees without being accredited in these countries.
(Jul. 25, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070725TDY02002.htm
Monday, July 23, 2007
No. of students entering colleges in Sept. decreasing
Of 153 colleges which allowed new students to join them in September in fiscal 2005, only 63, about 40 percent, actually had new students entering at times other than in April, the usual start of Japan's academic year, the education ministry said Sunday.
The number of such students, including those from overseas, stood at 1,569, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The numbers both of such colleges and students declined from the previous fiscal year, indicating that students remain reluctant to enter colleges in September as they cannot then immediately gain employment after graduation. The new business year in Japan also starts in April.
The 153 colleges comprise 27 national ones, eight local government-run universities and 118 private schools.
Although the government has urged colleges to introduce a September-entrance system, some have stopped recruiting students for the fall semester due to the decrease in the number of the applicants.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070722/kyodo/d8qhgs100.html
The number of such students, including those from overseas, stood at 1,569, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The numbers both of such colleges and students declined from the previous fiscal year, indicating that students remain reluctant to enter colleges in September as they cannot then immediately gain employment after graduation. The new business year in Japan also starts in April.
The 153 colleges comprise 27 national ones, eight local government-run universities and 118 private schools.
Although the government has urged colleges to introduce a September-entrance system, some have stopped recruiting students for the fall semester due to the decrease in the number of the applicants.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070722/kyodo/d8qhgs100.html
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Interest growing in Arabic language
"As-salaamu Alaykum." In other words, "Konnichi wa." Although it has been long regarded as a minor language that is studied by a limited number of people such as researchers, Arabic is becoming popular with an increasing number of learners. To explain its new popularity, some point to the increased media attention the Arabic-speaking world has been drawing in light of war, political confusion and the other hardships facing the people there.
The Arabic Islamic Institute in Tokyo, which is run by the Saudi Arabian government, has been offering free Arabic classes since April 2001. The classes started with about 100 students in their first year, but have been taken by about 160 students annually since 2003.
The institute offers the free classes in two semesters starting in April and September. Students are divided into four levels, with beginners classes being the most popular. Although each class can accept up to 30 students, the beginners' class attracted about 50 applicants for each of the two most recent semesters.
When The Yomiuri Shimbun recently visited an upper-intermediate Level 3 class, the second highest level, the students were practicing writing.
Egyptian instructor Gamal Zaitoun, 46, asked in Arabic, "What did you do over the weekend?" One of the students, Yoshiyuki Sato, 26, of Sumida Ward, Tokyo, replied, "I enjoyed having zosui [rice stew]." The instructor told Sato to write the sentence down.
Sato walked to a whiteboard at the front of the room and began spelling out his words in Arabic letters that flowed from right to left.
"Mumtaaz [Splendid]," Zaitoun said.
In addition to the institute, an increasing number of other organizations have begun offering Arabic classes. NHK launched a televised Arabic course in 2003, while the University of the Air--which offers correspondence courses via television and radio--also started such a course last year.
More and more universities have been following the move. In 2001, there were 27 Arabic courses offered at the university level nationwide. By 2005, that figure had nearly doubled, to 52.
There is also a small private Arabic school in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. Gallery PoRto LibRE turns itself into an Arabic school every Tuesday night. One of the instructors there is Michiko Suzuki, 60, who runs a bar next door. The school was "launched" when Suzuki's regular customers asked her to teach them Arabic as she once studied in Egypt.
The nation's first Arabic proficiency examination is now under way. Keiko Miyakawa, 35, of Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture, whose husband works at the Japanese Embassy in Cairo, has established a nonprofit organization named the Japanese Organization for Arabic Language Examinations. The first test will be set for the end of October in Tokyo and Osaka.
Arabic is spoken in more than 20 countries in the Middle East. It may be unfamiliar to many in Japan, but there are many words that are familiar to Japanese that are said to have originated from the language--such as coffee, lemon, orange, massage, candy and sherbet.
Nonetheless, many hurdles face Japanese in improving their Arabic skills. For example, the language has a variety of sounds similar to "ka" and "sa" in Japanese, so it is difficult for Japanese students to distinguish them in speaking and listening.
However, students learning at the Arabic Islamic Institute in Tokyo said the language had some attractive aspects that they could not find in others.
"It's an Arabic custom that when they invite guests, they say, 'Please give me an honor," said Sachi Akita, 25, a temp staff worker from Tachikawa, Tokyo. "I've found that the language is filled with hospitality."
On the other hand, Shinichi Sato, a 24-year-old part-time worker from Shinjuku Ward, is attracted by the beauty of Arabic handwriting.
"Arabic also has an art of calligraphy. I've found an indescribable flavor in their winding shapes," he said.
(Jul. 19, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20070719TDY14001.htm
The Arabic Islamic Institute in Tokyo, which is run by the Saudi Arabian government, has been offering free Arabic classes since April 2001. The classes started with about 100 students in their first year, but have been taken by about 160 students annually since 2003.
The institute offers the free classes in two semesters starting in April and September. Students are divided into four levels, with beginners classes being the most popular. Although each class can accept up to 30 students, the beginners' class attracted about 50 applicants for each of the two most recent semesters.
When The Yomiuri Shimbun recently visited an upper-intermediate Level 3 class, the second highest level, the students were practicing writing.
Egyptian instructor Gamal Zaitoun, 46, asked in Arabic, "What did you do over the weekend?" One of the students, Yoshiyuki Sato, 26, of Sumida Ward, Tokyo, replied, "I enjoyed having zosui [rice stew]." The instructor told Sato to write the sentence down.
Sato walked to a whiteboard at the front of the room and began spelling out his words in Arabic letters that flowed from right to left.
"Mumtaaz [Splendid]," Zaitoun said.
In addition to the institute, an increasing number of other organizations have begun offering Arabic classes. NHK launched a televised Arabic course in 2003, while the University of the Air--which offers correspondence courses via television and radio--also started such a course last year.
More and more universities have been following the move. In 2001, there were 27 Arabic courses offered at the university level nationwide. By 2005, that figure had nearly doubled, to 52.
There is also a small private Arabic school in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. Gallery PoRto LibRE turns itself into an Arabic school every Tuesday night. One of the instructors there is Michiko Suzuki, 60, who runs a bar next door. The school was "launched" when Suzuki's regular customers asked her to teach them Arabic as she once studied in Egypt.
The nation's first Arabic proficiency examination is now under way. Keiko Miyakawa, 35, of Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture, whose husband works at the Japanese Embassy in Cairo, has established a nonprofit organization named the Japanese Organization for Arabic Language Examinations. The first test will be set for the end of October in Tokyo and Osaka.
Arabic is spoken in more than 20 countries in the Middle East. It may be unfamiliar to many in Japan, but there are many words that are familiar to Japanese that are said to have originated from the language--such as coffee, lemon, orange, massage, candy and sherbet.
Nonetheless, many hurdles face Japanese in improving their Arabic skills. For example, the language has a variety of sounds similar to "ka" and "sa" in Japanese, so it is difficult for Japanese students to distinguish them in speaking and listening.
However, students learning at the Arabic Islamic Institute in Tokyo said the language had some attractive aspects that they could not find in others.
"It's an Arabic custom that when they invite guests, they say, 'Please give me an honor," said Sachi Akita, 25, a temp staff worker from Tachikawa, Tokyo. "I've found that the language is filled with hospitality."
On the other hand, Shinichi Sato, a 24-year-old part-time worker from Shinjuku Ward, is attracted by the beauty of Arabic handwriting.
"Arabic also has an art of calligraphy. I've found an indescribable flavor in their winding shapes," he said.
(Jul. 19, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20070719TDY14001.htm
Friday, July 13, 2007
Study of Chinese, Korean increasing / High schools lead the way in hope of deepening friendship with neighbors
More and more high schools are offering language lessons in Chinese and Korean, with many hoping this will help deepen friendship with the countries.
About 30,000 students are currently taking courses in these two languages at more than 800 high schools, according to the Education, Science and Technology Ministry.
Chinese and Korean have become more popular at high schools than French or German, the main foreign languages aside from English that have been studied at schools since the Meiji era (1868-1912).
A ministry survey found 553 high schools were teaching Chinese in 2005--about three times the 1995 total of 192. In the same period the number of high schools offering Korean almost quadrupled from 73 to 286.
However, the number of high schools teaching French or German has not increased so rapidly. The number offering French increased from 147 to 248 in the same 10-year period, and the number holding German classes grew from 75 to 105.
The National Center for University Entrance Examinations added Chinese in 1997 and Korean in 2002 as examination subjects in addition to English, French and German, which have been studied since the organization was established in 1977.
After English, students this year primarily took Chinese in their entrance examinations, followed by Korean, French, and German.
"As economic and cultural exchanges with China and South Korea are flourishing, schools emphasizing education for international understanding have chosen to allow their students to learn the languages of our neighboring countries," a ministry official said.
The majority of high schools teaching Chinese and Korean offer classes as an optional subject once or twice a week, and reportedly use textbooks independently produced by a group of teachers.
The Tokyo metropolitan government-run Hibiya High School is known as a fast-track school and both Korean and Chinese are taught to its second-year students.
"I think studying the languages will be useful in my future work," a student taking Chinese said.
A student studying Korean said, "I want to be able to read difficult characters."
"Those who open their minds can grow as people," school Principal Naoomi Nagasawa said.
The Tokyo metropolitan government-run Roppongi High School takes in students that have played truant from or dropped out of other schools.
Since its establishment in 2005, it has offered courses in Chinese and Korean, reasoning that students who found English tough may put up less resistance to languages with a script that does not use the Roman alphabet.
In areas where many Chinese and Koreans with permanent residency in Japan reside, many high schools offer courses in those languages in a bid to deepening understanding between students with different backgrounds.
"People are increasingly learning the languages of our neighboring countries from a young age and this helps foster cooperation and friendship between the people of these countries," said Kayoko Nakano, the secretary general of The Japan Forum, a group that promotes foreign language education at schools.
(Jul. 12, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070712TDY02005.htm
About 30,000 students are currently taking courses in these two languages at more than 800 high schools, according to the Education, Science and Technology Ministry.
Chinese and Korean have become more popular at high schools than French or German, the main foreign languages aside from English that have been studied at schools since the Meiji era (1868-1912).
A ministry survey found 553 high schools were teaching Chinese in 2005--about three times the 1995 total of 192. In the same period the number of high schools offering Korean almost quadrupled from 73 to 286.
However, the number of high schools teaching French or German has not increased so rapidly. The number offering French increased from 147 to 248 in the same 10-year period, and the number holding German classes grew from 75 to 105.
The National Center for University Entrance Examinations added Chinese in 1997 and Korean in 2002 as examination subjects in addition to English, French and German, which have been studied since the organization was established in 1977.
After English, students this year primarily took Chinese in their entrance examinations, followed by Korean, French, and German.
"As economic and cultural exchanges with China and South Korea are flourishing, schools emphasizing education for international understanding have chosen to allow their students to learn the languages of our neighboring countries," a ministry official said.
The majority of high schools teaching Chinese and Korean offer classes as an optional subject once or twice a week, and reportedly use textbooks independently produced by a group of teachers.
The Tokyo metropolitan government-run Hibiya High School is known as a fast-track school and both Korean and Chinese are taught to its second-year students.
"I think studying the languages will be useful in my future work," a student taking Chinese said.
A student studying Korean said, "I want to be able to read difficult characters."
"Those who open their minds can grow as people," school Principal Naoomi Nagasawa said.
The Tokyo metropolitan government-run Roppongi High School takes in students that have played truant from or dropped out of other schools.
Since its establishment in 2005, it has offered courses in Chinese and Korean, reasoning that students who found English tough may put up less resistance to languages with a script that does not use the Roman alphabet.
In areas where many Chinese and Koreans with permanent residency in Japan reside, many high schools offer courses in those languages in a bid to deepening understanding between students with different backgrounds.
"People are increasingly learning the languages of our neighboring countries from a young age and this helps foster cooperation and friendship between the people of these countries," said Kayoko Nakano, the secretary general of The Japan Forum, a group that promotes foreign language education at schools.
(Jul. 12, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070712TDY02005.htm
Students pooling cash to invest in their futures
University students anxious about their pensions or hoping to find well-paid jobs are increasingly pooling their money and forming investment clubs to buy and sell shares.
The entrepreneurial students hope to learn about how the economy works and gain expertise in asset management through investing in stocks.
However, some analysts fear that students who get absorbed in these investment undertakings might end up gaining an interest in money for the wrong reasons.
Every Friday evening, on Keio University's Hiyoshi Campus in Kohoku Ward, Yokohama, students carrying magazines with information on stocks attend a meeting of SPEC (Keio Stock Club).
The club, established in 2004, is made up of 35 first-, second- and third-year students, about 30 percent of whom have trading experience.
In the meetings, senior members teach the fundamentals of stock trading such as terminology and how to read financial statements.
Thirty of the members paid 10,000 yen each to form a trial fund that was established in April. In the meetings they discuss which stocks to buy.
"There's a degree of guilt associated with stock trading, but it's an excellent way to learn about economics," said Hideki Sekito, 20, a representative of the club and a student in the university's science and technology department.
A group of about 10 students at Doshisha University, all novices in stock trading, are hoping to set up a club there this summer.
"Our generation is worried about the future because of pension concerns and other issues," a member of the group said. "So we thought we'd better start learning about asset management now."
Agents is a well-known investment club for Tokyo University students. Its members wrote and published a simple stock-trading textbook in 2004 that sold more than 130,000 copies.
Fifteen universities, including the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Meiji University and Osaka City University, are known to have investment clubs, with most club members investing about 10,000 yen each.
Investment clubs were first recognized in Japan in 1996 and are considered to be associations under the Civil Code. Most of them have established accounts with securities companies.
The number of clubs has increased by about 30 percent over the past two years, bringing the level to about 500 clubs, according to nonprofit organization Aprosis.
These university clubs are said to be beneficial in helping find employment for students interested in learning how to assess matters such as management strategies, areas of potential growth and acquisition targets.
Aside from the educational aspects of these clubs, some students expect they can profit if their investments perform well.
However, Takuro Morinaga, a professor of labor economics at Dokkyo University's economics department and author of several economic best sellers, warns against this. "One false step, and you could turn into a money-worshipper and make some foolish moves," he said.
"It's not about making a profit or a loss. It's about learning why you invested in a certain company's stocks," said Chiaki Wakazono, head researcher at the Japan Securities Research Institute.
(Jul. 12, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070712TDY04005.htm
The entrepreneurial students hope to learn about how the economy works and gain expertise in asset management through investing in stocks.
However, some analysts fear that students who get absorbed in these investment undertakings might end up gaining an interest in money for the wrong reasons.
Every Friday evening, on Keio University's Hiyoshi Campus in Kohoku Ward, Yokohama, students carrying magazines with information on stocks attend a meeting of SPEC (Keio Stock Club).
The club, established in 2004, is made up of 35 first-, second- and third-year students, about 30 percent of whom have trading experience.
In the meetings, senior members teach the fundamentals of stock trading such as terminology and how to read financial statements.
Thirty of the members paid 10,000 yen each to form a trial fund that was established in April. In the meetings they discuss which stocks to buy.
"There's a degree of guilt associated with stock trading, but it's an excellent way to learn about economics," said Hideki Sekito, 20, a representative of the club and a student in the university's science and technology department.
A group of about 10 students at Doshisha University, all novices in stock trading, are hoping to set up a club there this summer.
"Our generation is worried about the future because of pension concerns and other issues," a member of the group said. "So we thought we'd better start learning about asset management now."
Agents is a well-known investment club for Tokyo University students. Its members wrote and published a simple stock-trading textbook in 2004 that sold more than 130,000 copies.
Fifteen universities, including the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Meiji University and Osaka City University, are known to have investment clubs, with most club members investing about 10,000 yen each.
Investment clubs were first recognized in Japan in 1996 and are considered to be associations under the Civil Code. Most of them have established accounts with securities companies.
The number of clubs has increased by about 30 percent over the past two years, bringing the level to about 500 clubs, according to nonprofit organization Aprosis.
These university clubs are said to be beneficial in helping find employment for students interested in learning how to assess matters such as management strategies, areas of potential growth and acquisition targets.
Aside from the educational aspects of these clubs, some students expect they can profit if their investments perform well.
However, Takuro Morinaga, a professor of labor economics at Dokkyo University's economics department and author of several economic best sellers, warns against this. "One false step, and you could turn into a money-worshipper and make some foolish moves," he said.
"It's not about making a profit or a loss. It's about learning why you invested in a certain company's stocks," said Chiaki Wakazono, head researcher at the Japan Securities Research Institute.
(Jul. 12, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070712TDY04005.htm
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Universities not eager for grad teaching programs
Universities planning to launch postgraduate courses in education next spring to provide prospective teachers with in-depth, wide-ranging training number only 21 across the country, apparently reflecting universities' skepticism about the wisdom of offering such courses.
The planned postgraduate courses for those aspiring to teach are a centerpiece of recommendations the Central Council for Education, an advisory body to the education, science and technology minister, made in its report in July 2006, for improving the quality and competence of teachers.
In response to surging public criticism of the decline in teachers' ability to instruct their students and manage other school affairs, the council called for the creation of the postgraduate teacher training courses along with the introduction of a teaching certificate renewal system.
Like postgraduate law schools that were established in April 2004 to foster highly specialized judicial knowledge and skills, the master's courses for future teachers are supposed to equip enrollees with sufficient competence to serve as full-fledged teachers immediately after obtaining teaching positions.
The courses are also intended to train teachers currently working in primary, middle and high schools to help them play a leading role in dealing with a host of problems facing today's education system.
The education council in its report in July last year noted that about 40 percent of instructors of the postgraduate courses for teachers should have years of experience running classrooms.
Some universities have already set up two-year postgraduate education expert training programs. Among them is one in which instructors from the universities give practical advice to school principals by accompanying them while they are on duty at their respective schools.
The 21 universities--15 state-run and six private ones--that have applied for ministry approval to commence the new postgraduate courses seems to be unexpectedly low number compared with the number of universities with education departments where students can qualify for teaching certificates.
As of April 2006, 570 universities were offering four-year undergraduate programs in education for those seeking teaching licenses, including 47 state-run universities that are exclusively for students who aspire to be teachers.
The 21 universities that have plans to open the teaching specialist postgraduate courses are located in various regions of the country, but about half of the nation's prefectures will have no such courses at the start of the system next spring.
This compares with the 72 universities that made applications for government approval to open postgraduate law schools in the system's initial year of 2004.
A key factor behind the small number of universities set to establish postgraduate courses in education seems to be the heavy burdens involved in setting up such programs.
Most of the courses are expected to have several dozen students enrolled, while each university planning to offer the program is required to have at least 11 full-time instructors.
Because of the high instructor-to-student ratio, many universities appear to find it difficult to make such courses compatible with existing postgraduate programs aimed at training research specialists in various fields.
Under the circumstances, a plan is being studied by a number of universities in the Kansai region to jointly establish a single postgraduate teacher-training course.
From the viewpoint of university management, schools understandably see more advantage to providing training to current teachers seeking to renew their licenses.
One university professor who will be in charge of the university's postgraduate course in education said: "Postgraduate courses have so far been mostly for the purpose of teaching enrollees professional knowledge in specified fields of learning. The courses for teaching specialists, by contrast, are for developing enrollees' practical capabilities as teachers, or a kind of artisan in educational activities."
However, there will be no differences in the degrees of teaching certificates between those finishing the conventional postgraduate courses and those undergoing the courses specializing in boosting teaching capabilities.
In addition, it is unclear what better working conditions current teachers will be entitled to when they finish the postgraduate courses.
Furthermore, as a result of mass retirement of teachers of the baby-boomer generation, job offers for prospective teachers are sharply rising, more than 1,000 a year at primary schools alone in major cities.
Given the situation, many analysts say there will be not so many students opting to continue on to postgraduate courses to become teachers.
The launch of the postgraduate teacher-training courses will certainly tighten the relationship between universities and boards of education that employ teachers at public schools.
The universities with plans to establish postgraduate courses have found it indispensable to strengthen their collaboration with boards of education to ensure that the boards will help course enrollees find schools where they intern. The universities also hope to see the boards of education help the students of the courses find teaching positions.
Noteworthy in this connection is that an increasing number of local governments, including the Tokyo metropolitan government, have set up their own programs for undergraduates who want to be teachers, in a bid to secure competent prospective teachers to weather the teacher shortage.
The launch of the postgraduate courses for students wishing to acquire specialist job skills as teachers will be certain to change the relationship between those who employ teachers and those who train them.
Nakanishi is a senior writer of The Yomiuri Shimbun.
(Jul. 10, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070710TDY04003.htm
The planned postgraduate courses for those aspiring to teach are a centerpiece of recommendations the Central Council for Education, an advisory body to the education, science and technology minister, made in its report in July 2006, for improving the quality and competence of teachers.
In response to surging public criticism of the decline in teachers' ability to instruct their students and manage other school affairs, the council called for the creation of the postgraduate teacher training courses along with the introduction of a teaching certificate renewal system.
Like postgraduate law schools that were established in April 2004 to foster highly specialized judicial knowledge and skills, the master's courses for future teachers are supposed to equip enrollees with sufficient competence to serve as full-fledged teachers immediately after obtaining teaching positions.
The courses are also intended to train teachers currently working in primary, middle and high schools to help them play a leading role in dealing with a host of problems facing today's education system.
The education council in its report in July last year noted that about 40 percent of instructors of the postgraduate courses for teachers should have years of experience running classrooms.
Some universities have already set up two-year postgraduate education expert training programs. Among them is one in which instructors from the universities give practical advice to school principals by accompanying them while they are on duty at their respective schools.
The 21 universities--15 state-run and six private ones--that have applied for ministry approval to commence the new postgraduate courses seems to be unexpectedly low number compared with the number of universities with education departments where students can qualify for teaching certificates.
As of April 2006, 570 universities were offering four-year undergraduate programs in education for those seeking teaching licenses, including 47 state-run universities that are exclusively for students who aspire to be teachers.
The 21 universities that have plans to open the teaching specialist postgraduate courses are located in various regions of the country, but about half of the nation's prefectures will have no such courses at the start of the system next spring.
This compares with the 72 universities that made applications for government approval to open postgraduate law schools in the system's initial year of 2004.
A key factor behind the small number of universities set to establish postgraduate courses in education seems to be the heavy burdens involved in setting up such programs.
Most of the courses are expected to have several dozen students enrolled, while each university planning to offer the program is required to have at least 11 full-time instructors.
Because of the high instructor-to-student ratio, many universities appear to find it difficult to make such courses compatible with existing postgraduate programs aimed at training research specialists in various fields.
Under the circumstances, a plan is being studied by a number of universities in the Kansai region to jointly establish a single postgraduate teacher-training course.
From the viewpoint of university management, schools understandably see more advantage to providing training to current teachers seeking to renew their licenses.
One university professor who will be in charge of the university's postgraduate course in education said: "Postgraduate courses have so far been mostly for the purpose of teaching enrollees professional knowledge in specified fields of learning. The courses for teaching specialists, by contrast, are for developing enrollees' practical capabilities as teachers, or a kind of artisan in educational activities."
However, there will be no differences in the degrees of teaching certificates between those finishing the conventional postgraduate courses and those undergoing the courses specializing in boosting teaching capabilities.
In addition, it is unclear what better working conditions current teachers will be entitled to when they finish the postgraduate courses.
Furthermore, as a result of mass retirement of teachers of the baby-boomer generation, job offers for prospective teachers are sharply rising, more than 1,000 a year at primary schools alone in major cities.
Given the situation, many analysts say there will be not so many students opting to continue on to postgraduate courses to become teachers.
The launch of the postgraduate teacher-training courses will certainly tighten the relationship between universities and boards of education that employ teachers at public schools.
The universities with plans to establish postgraduate courses have found it indispensable to strengthen their collaboration with boards of education to ensure that the boards will help course enrollees find schools where they intern. The universities also hope to see the boards of education help the students of the courses find teaching positions.
Noteworthy in this connection is that an increasing number of local governments, including the Tokyo metropolitan government, have set up their own programs for undergraduates who want to be teachers, in a bid to secure competent prospective teachers to weather the teacher shortage.
The launch of the postgraduate courses for students wishing to acquire specialist job skills as teachers will be certain to change the relationship between those who employ teachers and those who train them.
Nakanishi is a senior writer of The Yomiuri Shimbun.
(Jul. 10, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070710TDY04003.htm
Kanto colleges seek Kansai students
Universities in Tokyo are making efforts to attract students from the Kansai region in light of the declining number of students nationwide.
Waseda University's School of International Liberal Studies, established in 2004, will host a model class Saturday at an Osaka hotel. A professor of English and American literature will lecture in English about the development of print technology and media, followed by a question-and-answer session.
The university hopes to re-create the atmosphere of its Tokyo campuses at the event.
The 125,000 applicants for Waseda University this spring were the most for the ninth straight year among private universities nationwide. The university has organized few events to attract students outside its campuses other than explanatory meetings on entrance examinations.
"We decided to organize the event to gain more recognition for the [School of International Liberal Studies]," said Hiroyuki Yamaguchi, general manager of the school. "The Kansai region is a great resource for high-achieving students. We'd like to get ahead in the competition to attract them, even among schools within Waseda University."
The school has received about 50 applications for the event's 100 available seats.
Hosei University held its entrance exams this spring at nine venues, including one in Osaka. The university also has hosted about 100 trial lectures a year at high schools.
During the last school year, the university saw about a 60 percent increase from the previous year of applicants from the Kansai region.
Yasuhiro Hosoda of the university's admission center said: "It's pretty tough to erode the established base of universities in the Kansai region. Waseda's attempt is less like the emergence of a rival university than just giving students an opportunity to look at universities in the east."
According to the public relations office of Meiji University, which will begin holding entrance exams in Osaka next school year, the competition among Kanto universities to attract students in the Kansai region will multiply the effects of their efforts.
Keio University plans to open a research and education facility in Osaka next spring.
Kansai universities, however, are making their own efforts to attract students.
Ritsumeikan University opened offices in Sapporo, Nagoya, Kobe and Fukuoka in June and July, followed by its opening of a Tokyo campus and office in spring.
The university will hold events for university hopefuls in autumn in these cities, making the best of its nationwide network.
(Jul. 10, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070710TDY03002.htm
Waseda University's School of International Liberal Studies, established in 2004, will host a model class Saturday at an Osaka hotel. A professor of English and American literature will lecture in English about the development of print technology and media, followed by a question-and-answer session.
The university hopes to re-create the atmosphere of its Tokyo campuses at the event.
The 125,000 applicants for Waseda University this spring were the most for the ninth straight year among private universities nationwide. The university has organized few events to attract students outside its campuses other than explanatory meetings on entrance examinations.
"We decided to organize the event to gain more recognition for the [School of International Liberal Studies]," said Hiroyuki Yamaguchi, general manager of the school. "The Kansai region is a great resource for high-achieving students. We'd like to get ahead in the competition to attract them, even among schools within Waseda University."
The school has received about 50 applications for the event's 100 available seats.
Hosei University held its entrance exams this spring at nine venues, including one in Osaka. The university also has hosted about 100 trial lectures a year at high schools.
During the last school year, the university saw about a 60 percent increase from the previous year of applicants from the Kansai region.
Yasuhiro Hosoda of the university's admission center said: "It's pretty tough to erode the established base of universities in the Kansai region. Waseda's attempt is less like the emergence of a rival university than just giving students an opportunity to look at universities in the east."
According to the public relations office of Meiji University, which will begin holding entrance exams in Osaka next school year, the competition among Kanto universities to attract students in the Kansai region will multiply the effects of their efforts.
Keio University plans to open a research and education facility in Osaka next spring.
Kansai universities, however, are making their own efforts to attract students.
Ritsumeikan University opened offices in Sapporo, Nagoya, Kobe and Fukuoka in June and July, followed by its opening of a Tokyo campus and office in spring.
The university will hold events for university hopefuls in autumn in these cities, making the best of its nationwide network.
(Jul. 10, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070710TDY03002.htm
Monday, July 09, 2007
96 percent of Japanese high school students use mobile phones
An overwhelming majority of high school students are using mobile phones, according to a government survey.
The Cabinet Office surveyed 5,000 people aged between 10 and 29 and 2,000 parents of schoolchildren over their use of mobile phones and the Internet. Of them, 49.4 percent of those aged between 10 and 29 and 57.3 percent of the parents of schoolchildren responded.
Fully 96 percent of high school students are using mobile phones while some 60 percent of junior high school children and about 30 percent of elementary school children are using such phones, according to the survey results.
A total of 95.5 percent of high school students access Websites from their mobile phones while 56.3 percent of junior high school children and 27 percent of elementary school children do so, according to the results.
Some 74 percent of high school students use computers to access Websites while 68.7 percent of junior high school students and 58.3 percent of elementary school students do so.
When asked about their reasons for accessing the Internet, most of the schoolchildren said they are doing their homework, viewing Websites and blogs, and sending and receiving e-mails.
About 40 percent of the parents of schoolchildren expressed concern that their children may access harmful Website, such as violent, sexual and anti-social ones. Only 40.7 percent of high school students, 43.4 percent of junior high school students and 30 percent of elementary school students replied that they try not to access such sites.
Less than 3 percent of schoolchildren use filtering services to block access to such harmful sites, according to the survey results. (Mainichi)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070707p2a00m0na003000c.html
An overwhelming majority of high school students are using mobile phones, according to a government survey.
The Cabinet Office surveyed 5,000 people aged between 10 and 29 and 2,000 parents of schoolchildren over their use of mobile phones and the Internet. Of them, 49.4 percent of those aged between 10 and 29 and 57.3 percent of the parents of schoolchildren responded.
Fully 96 percent of high school students are using mobile phones while some 60 percent of junior high school children and about 30 percent of elementary school children are using such phones, according to the survey results.
A total of 95.5 percent of high school students access Websites from their mobile phones while 56.3 percent of junior high school children and 27 percent of elementary school children do so, according to the results.
Some 74 percent of high school students use computers to access Websites while 68.7 percent of junior high school students and 58.3 percent of elementary school students do so.
When asked about their reasons for accessing the Internet, most of the schoolchildren said they are doing their homework, viewing Websites and blogs, and sending and receiving e-mails.
About 40 percent of the parents of schoolchildren expressed concern that their children may access harmful Website, such as violent, sexual and anti-social ones. Only 40.7 percent of high school students, 43.4 percent of junior high school students and 30 percent of elementary school students replied that they try not to access such sites.
Less than 3 percent of schoolchildren use filtering services to block access to such harmful sites, according to the survey results. (Mainichi)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070707p2a00m0na003000c.html
Monday, July 02, 2007
28 universities to get 260 mil. yen grants
Sixty-three research projects at 28 universities have been selected by the Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program to receive state subsidies as internationally prominent university research centers.
In addition to significant research projects, COE universities also place importance on quality as educational institutions for nurturing researchers.
The plans submitted by the selected research bases are tipped to influence the future of graduate school education.
The COE program took over from the 21st Century COE Program, which was launched in fiscal 2002.
The 21st Century program selected 274 research projects over a period of three years, offering an average of 130 million yen in assistance per year.
In contrast, the COE program plans to select about 150 projects, including the aforementioned 63 projects, over three years. With the program becoming more selective about the projects it accepts, the number of selections will be nearly halved, but the assistance will amount to 260 million yen per year.
Of the 28 universities' 63 projects, 50 will be conducted by 21 national universities, three by three public universities and 10 by four private schools.
National universities beat out public and private universities in terms of the number of projects chosen, with Osaka University garnering seven, the most of any school this time, followed by Tokyo and Kyoto universities, with six each. While many universities whose research projects were recognized by the 21st Century COE Program did not make the grade this time, nine universities have been newly selected.
Kansai University, which was chosen for the grants for the first time, hung a banner at the entrance of the university boasting that its humanity and science studies had made the grade. University President Teiichi Kawata said the COE is a symbol that makes students and professors appreciate the university's achievements.
The university's Cultural Interaction Studies of East Asia by Peripheral Approach, which studies cultural exchanges in East Asia, including Japan, China and the Korean Peninsula, was selected.
Research leader Tao Demin, a Chinese professor of literature, said the selection will let some fresh air into the field of East Asian studies, which have tended to focus on China.
Doctoral students must take two Asian languages, in addition to English.
Young researchers also can make their presence felt through organizing international forums.
Kawata said his university requires its students to not only study, but also play a key role in international organizations.
Tokyo Institute of Technology, which houses the country's fastest supercomputer, Tsubame, was designated as a new research base for Computationism as the Foundation of Sciences, which studies computation for all phenomena, such as the reaction of elementary particles and the function of proteins in cells--unprecedented research that will help to pioneer new fields.
The university has set up a framework to recruit students from various fields and nurture them systematically. The school's doctoral students are required to spend at least two months in laboratories in fields other than those of their speciality.
In the past, students were usually taught by one professor under a system similar to an apprenticeship, but Prof. Osamu Watanabe, the project's leader, said exchanges with other fields would help researchers develop broader expertise.
Most universities plan to use the doubled funds to provide economic assistance to graduate students and young researchers.
According to a summary compiled in June by the Education, Science and Technology Ministry, Tokyo University, too, plans to use a large portion of the funds as economic assistance for its students. Keio University plans to hire about 12 postdoctoral researchers, and Osaka University will use the funds to hire second-term postdoctoral students as research associates.
Ryoji Noyori, chairman of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) and chairman of the committee to select COE university projects, said economic assistance to young researchers also is indispensable in attracting able foreign students. "I hope these research bases will be a good reference for graduate schools in reforming their programs," he said.
(Jul. 1, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/science/20070701TDY03004.htm
In addition to significant research projects, COE universities also place importance on quality as educational institutions for nurturing researchers.
The plans submitted by the selected research bases are tipped to influence the future of graduate school education.
The COE program took over from the 21st Century COE Program, which was launched in fiscal 2002.
The 21st Century program selected 274 research projects over a period of three years, offering an average of 130 million yen in assistance per year.
In contrast, the COE program plans to select about 150 projects, including the aforementioned 63 projects, over three years. With the program becoming more selective about the projects it accepts, the number of selections will be nearly halved, but the assistance will amount to 260 million yen per year.
Of the 28 universities' 63 projects, 50 will be conducted by 21 national universities, three by three public universities and 10 by four private schools.
National universities beat out public and private universities in terms of the number of projects chosen, with Osaka University garnering seven, the most of any school this time, followed by Tokyo and Kyoto universities, with six each. While many universities whose research projects were recognized by the 21st Century COE Program did not make the grade this time, nine universities have been newly selected.
Kansai University, which was chosen for the grants for the first time, hung a banner at the entrance of the university boasting that its humanity and science studies had made the grade. University President Teiichi Kawata said the COE is a symbol that makes students and professors appreciate the university's achievements.
The university's Cultural Interaction Studies of East Asia by Peripheral Approach, which studies cultural exchanges in East Asia, including Japan, China and the Korean Peninsula, was selected.
Research leader Tao Demin, a Chinese professor of literature, said the selection will let some fresh air into the field of East Asian studies, which have tended to focus on China.
Doctoral students must take two Asian languages, in addition to English.
Young researchers also can make their presence felt through organizing international forums.
Kawata said his university requires its students to not only study, but also play a key role in international organizations.
Tokyo Institute of Technology, which houses the country's fastest supercomputer, Tsubame, was designated as a new research base for Computationism as the Foundation of Sciences, which studies computation for all phenomena, such as the reaction of elementary particles and the function of proteins in cells--unprecedented research that will help to pioneer new fields.
The university has set up a framework to recruit students from various fields and nurture them systematically. The school's doctoral students are required to spend at least two months in laboratories in fields other than those of their speciality.
In the past, students were usually taught by one professor under a system similar to an apprenticeship, but Prof. Osamu Watanabe, the project's leader, said exchanges with other fields would help researchers develop broader expertise.
Most universities plan to use the doubled funds to provide economic assistance to graduate students and young researchers.
According to a summary compiled in June by the Education, Science and Technology Ministry, Tokyo University, too, plans to use a large portion of the funds as economic assistance for its students. Keio University plans to hire about 12 postdoctoral researchers, and Osaka University will use the funds to hire second-term postdoctoral students as research associates.
Ryoji Noyori, chairman of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) and chairman of the committee to select COE university projects, said economic assistance to young researchers also is indispensable in attracting able foreign students. "I hope these research bases will be a good reference for graduate schools in reforming their programs," he said.
(Jul. 1, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/science/20070701TDY03004.htm
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