The Japanese government is pushing universities to establish abroad campuses and has plans to encourage those who do so. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) of Japan wants its higher education sector, which includes national, public, and private institutions, to expand internationally. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Tokyo anticipates university expansion into lower-income countries, such as the Global South. MEXT has purportedly asked 1.5 billion (£8 million) for 2024 to assist colleges with expenditures including as campus leasing fees, facility upkeep, and staff. According to MEXT estimates issued in July, Japanese colleges are bracing for the impacts of population decline, with institutions expecting to lose 140,000 students by mid-century.
Yet, the venture may be tough for Japanese colleges, as few now have overseas campuses or much in the way of domestic infrastructure for international students, according to academics. "Establishing an overseas branch campus is a significant issue for Japanese national institutions, which do not enroll international students for commercial objectives," said Akiyoshi Yonezawa, vice-director of Tohoku University's International Strategy Office. Tsukuba University said this spring that it will create a branch in Malaysia, the first such statement by a Japanese university in years. According to Dr. Yonezawa, the action might be viewed as a "national act" of knowledge diplomacy. The US-based Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-BERT) mentions six Japanese institutions having overseas branches in its database of international campuses. Four are in China, and two are in the United States, one of which is in Hawaii, which has a strong Japanese community.
"They are largely smaller, private schools," said Jason Lane, director of C-BERT and dean of Miami University's College of Education, Health, and Society, as well as an expert on branch campuses. While the establishment of branches has "not been a strategy for most Japanese institutions," the concept appears to have been circulating in Tokyo for some time, according to Professor Lane. He mentioned that even before the epidemic, he had attended a symposium on the subject held by the Japanese government. "I believe Japanese officials consider the establishment of [foreign branches] as the next step in their quest for further internationalisation".
Yet, Professor Lane went on to say that the notion was "quite new" for institutions that had "previous hostility to broad-based internationalisation initiatives and very little cross-border teaching." International campuses, on the other hand, could provide a huge advantage, providing more opportunities for Japanese students to develop their intercultural competence while also "familiarising foreign students with Japanese culture and language" and creating a pathway to employment for needed talent. "These branches are seen as a potential means to recruit new employees to Japan, to help counter the implications of a fast aging population and a labor shortage to maintain the economy".
