The Japanese government revealed plans last week to set up a network of academic exchange programs throughout Asia. Based on the European ERASMUS program, which helps students transfer and accumulate credits between EU universities, the proposal to be announced later by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is an excellent suggestion. Investing in education is realistic, progressive and beneficial.
The program would be a major step toward establishing mutual understanding throughout Asia by expanding educational opportunities. Making it easy for students to attend other universities and still graduate "on time" will promote the kind of pan-Asian view that too often crumbles beneath political pressures and economic frictions. Helping students to study and experience other cultures, languages and ways of thinking means a better future in Asia.
Europe's ERASMUS (acronym for European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) has helped students move between universities without all the red tape to increase educational experiences in different cultures. Since its inception in 1987, the EU program has continued to expand into an even broader network called ERASMUS Mundus that facilitates exchanges with Asian, African and other countries. An interlinked network of this kind would be just as valuable in Asia.