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JAPAN
Jun 22, 2022

Will a ¥10 trillion fund be the savior of Japan’s universities?

Experts say that without major reform of Japan's deeply ingrained academic culture, it will be hard to improve the quality of the nation's research — no matter how much money is spent.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 2, 2016

Universities' failing grades

Japanese university bureaucracy must be prized open to let the nation's hopes and dreams flourish.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2016

Japan and South Korea account for 17 of top 20 Asia universities, poll shows

China and India have the biggest populations in the Asia-Pacific region, and the economic news coming out of both countries usually dominates world headlines.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Sep 13, 2017

Hong Kong's lesson in accountability for Japan's ailing universities

One word is key to understanding why the Chinese territory's universities tend to outshine Japan's in world university rankings.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2014

Universities aim to boost their global ranking

The government has announced it will provide funding to 37 leading public and private universities in a bid to boost their global competitiveness.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 21, 2014

The battle to boost universities

The government should consider the latest lackluster global rankings for Japanese universities and undertake a fundamental review of its university education policies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 18, 2019

The global decline of Japanese universities

Dark clouds hang over the future of Japanese universities due to the government's failure to recognize the importance of education and research.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 14, 2018

Japan's universities struggling under corporate status

Instead of making education and research more efficient, the conversion of national universities into university corporations has increased inefficiency.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 1, 2018

The challenges facing Japan's universities

Cultivating students' power to think requires a strong financial foundation
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 5, 2016

Free Japan's universities so they can flourish

If Japan's bureacracy really loves the country's universities, it should end its micromanaging and set them free.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 16, 2015

Turning Japan's universities into genuine global players

If Japan wants to raise its own profile in the world, along with its universities, it must place greater emphasis on group discussion, debate and public presentation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / PERSPECTIVES
Apr 3, 2023

Global competitiveness of Japan’s universities under scrutiny

The government is promising higher education institutions more capital to boost scientific research, but will this improve their international reputation?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 4, 2016

Vocational universities won't solve all woes

The government's initiative to create vocational universities can play an important part of the overall strategy to make tertiary education and training more useful, but it's important not to place unrealistic hopes on both.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2015

Subsidies used as carrot to prod Japan's national universities to streamline and ditch humanities

In a move that has angered academics, the Abe administration plans to reform the national university system by telling schools to abolish departments in fields deemed less useful to the industrial world, such as the humanities, and provide more "practical" education to win a greater share of the subsidies,...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 24, 2017

Why Japan's universities continue to fall in global rankings

In 2013, the government's council on resuscitation of education called for having at least 10 Japanese universities among global top 100 within a decade. But the target now seems out of reach.
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2017

Limiting universities in Tokyo

The government needs better ideas than limiting universities' expansion options if it wants to halt the population flow into the Tokyo area.
Professor Mutsuko Tendo (right) teaches a class in career development theory at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2023

Women’s universities in Tohoku seeking to survive with distinctive education

Women's colleges had long been regarded as schools with a focus on home economics and liberal arts, but some are now reorganizing their programs in a bid to attract students.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2023

Japan universities split over new IT section on entrance exam

Universities in Japan are divided in their responses to a new subject — covering the basics of programming, information and communications networks, and databases — on the standard university entrance examination to be held beginning in January 2025.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 28, 2023

Japanese universities move up in global rankings

The overall improvement is due to a change in methodology by Times Higher Education.
The University of Tokyo, the only Japanese institution in the Times university rankings’ top 50, is considering raising tuition fees.
EDITORIALS
Jun 28, 2024

Japan’s universities must prepare for tough changes

Higher education institutions in Japan rarely rank among the world's top universities. To rise, they should tackle long-term issues like growing costs and fewer students.
The government aims to increase the number of foreign students in Japan to 400,000 by 2033, despite a recent Justice Ministry ordinance that puts in place tougher rules on accepting overseas applicants.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2024

Can Japan boost its foreign student count to 400,000?

The government recently tightened rules for accepting overseas applicants, though it hasn't lost sight of its lofty goal of increasing foreign student numbers.
In Japan, 35% of students graduate with a degree in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — compared with 38% in the U.S., 42% in South Korea and Germany and 45% in Britain.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 21, 2023

Japan to give ¥300 billion to universities expanding science education

As the country's R&D status continues to drop, the ministry’s new program aims to fund schools pivoting toward STEM subjects.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2024

More Japanese universities adding female admission quotas for STEM fields

The trend comes amid concerns over the nation's low level of female participation in fields related to science, technology, engineering and math.
An online seminar held in late July by Norihiro Nishimura, a professor at Mie University’s Graduate School of Regional Innovation Studies, involved deep discussions that provided participants with direction in the fine-tuning of their research.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Sep 30, 2024

Chubu universities train corporate execs through graduate programs

The programs teach company presidents and executives how to look within their organizations — for issues, challenges and data — to grow their businesses.
Alongside foreign students, some Japanese students attend a special lecture held entirely in English at Nagoya University in early October.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 11, 2024

Amid rising costs, universities try to help students study abroad

The cost of studying abroad, including travel and living expenses, is much higher now compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Institute of Science Tokyo's Chief Executive Officer Naoto Otake (right) and Chief Academic Officer Yujiro Tanaka at the university's campus in Tokyo's Meguro Ward on Tuesday
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2024

Institute of Science Tokyo launched after merger of two universities

The new university has 6,242 undergraduates and 7,116 postgraduates. Of them, 2,145 are foreign students.

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?