Are Japanese students too lazy to study abroad long term?

Or are they too busy?

While the Japanese government endeavored in 2013 to double the number of its students studying abroad, instead, the numbers have fallen, says the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Japan’s initiative - “Tobitate!” or “Leap for Tomorrow” - sought to double the number of its university students abroad from 60,000 to 120,000, and the number of high school students abroad from 30,000 to 60,000.That would send 180,000 students abroad by 2020.

But figures from 2014 show a 36 percent decrease from the 2004 peak of 82,945 students abroad long term.

“The government hasn’t provided much support for students who do a long-term study-abroad, especially for those who seek academic degrees at foreign universities at the undergraduate level,” said Yukiko Shimmin, an assistant professor and international education adviser at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, to the Japan Times.

Japanese students are discouraged from studying overseas because of busy academic schedules and time required for clubs, part-time jobs and studying for qualifications that could be useful when job hunting.He said the high language-test scores required for long-term study-abroad programs is a major challenge.

Students in Japan “don’t know the global dynamics,” said Masakazu Watanuki, an economics professor from Chuo University in Tokyo, who sponsors Japanese exchange students to Washington every year.

He said Japanese students have grown somewhat lazy with their comfortable lives in Japan.“They have very little incentive to go abroad,” Watanuki told VOA Student U.

“Japanese students are not challenged enough or motivated to leave the country,” said Minori Takahashi, a sophomore at American University in Washington, who came to the United States for her final two years of high school.“They are just afraid to go out.”

Japanese students feel they have to conform to the same path: high school, college and then a job, she said.Study abroad is not a typical piece of the Japanese educational path.

Another reason for the decrease is the country’s demographics.The number of 18-year-olds in Japan has been dropping since 1991’s peak of two million. Projections see the numbers falling even further to less than one million 18-year-olds by 2031, according to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Sports, Culture, Science and Technology.

However, while long term study has declined, short term has risen, according to Japan Student Services Organization.

One of Watanuki’s students, Madoka Konno, is in a three-week program in Washington before studying in Belgium for nine months.She said she was able to study abroad because of scholarships she received from “Tobitate!” and because she learned English when she was young.

She said she is concerned for Japan’s future if more Japanese students don’t go abroad and experience global business.

“Japanese people have to go abroad and do business abroad,” Konno said.

Takahashi agrees.She said she is afraid Japan will fall behind in the interconnected global economy if more students do not go abroad.

She said more students don’t study abroad because it is too expensive, despite scholarships like “Tobitate!”

According to QS Top Universities, college tuition costs in Japan are between $4,140 and $8,280 annually.

In the United States, the average annual cost for a public university out-of-state was $22,958 for the 2014-2015 academic year. That year, a private school averaged $31,321.

Hitotsubashi’s Shimmin told the Japan Times a rise in short-term study abroad programs at his school is because of funding from the Japan Student Services Organization.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Education, Sports, Culture, Science and Technology told the Japan Times the agency has no plans to lower the 180,000 student goal, despite the recent figures.

“I’m sad a lot of students don’t go study abroad,” Konno said.

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The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
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"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

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Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

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"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

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The plan, issued Sunday by the Communist Party's central committee and the State Council, aims to establish a "high quality education system" with accessibility and quality "among the best in the world."

The announcement was made after data on Friday showed China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, with the number of deaths outpacing a slight increase in births, and experts cautioning that the downturn will worsen in the coming years.

High childcare and education costs have been a key factor for many young Chinese opting out of having children, at a time when many face uncertainty over their job prospects amid sluggish economic growth.

"By 2035, an education power will be built," the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that China would explore gradually expanding the scope of free education, increase "high-quality" undergraduate enrolment, expand postgraduate education, and raise the proportion of doctoral students.

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