The recent boom in the number of students from ASEAN countries coming to Japan is expected to last until 2020, the target year set by the Japanese government for there to be 300,000 foreign students in the country, industry officials said.
The government in 2008 mapped out a plan to raise the number of foreign students studying in Japan to 300,000 by 2020 to promote globalization in the country and develop diversification in human resources. It is a concerted effort involving six government ministries, including the education, foreign and justice ministries.
The project appears to be on track in part on the back of the recent surge in the number of incoming students from ASEAN nations, statistics show. According to the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), 239,287 foreign students are studying in Japan as of May 1 at educational institutions, including universities, high schools, professional training schools and Japanese-language schools. The figure represents a 14.8 percent increase from a year earlier, following a 13.2 percent rise in the previous period. JASSO provides financial assistance to students, as well as offering support to foreign students studying in Japan and Japanese students studying abroad.