Educational Diversification Strategies: Japanese Universities’ Efforts to Attract International Students

Abstract

Japan announced in 2008 that it would more than double its number of international students to 300,000 by the year 2020. Despite initiatives of the Ministry of Education (MEXT) and universities that had been designated as leaders in internationalisation known as the ‘Global 30’, this goal will be difficult to achieve. This paper discusses international education reforms that MEXT and the higher education sector have implemented in recent years, including the strategies universities have used for attracting more international students to Japan. A disastrous earthquake and tsunami in 2011, the rise of Chinese higher education, in addition to intensifying worldwide competition for international students, have among other factors deeply impacted international student mobility to Japan. This research uses a case study approach to describe and assess the ways in which Japanese international higher education is expanding and diversifying, attending as well to the inherent educational quality issues that invariably arise from such reform.