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EDITORIALS
Apr 6, 2017

'Amakudari' remains an issue

Bureaucrats landing jobs in the private sector on the basis of the powers of government ministries and agencies sows the seeds of corruption.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2016

Toward a new Islamic golden age

Muslim nations must reverse their sorry state of science if they are to provide better lives for their booming populations and keep up with global development.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 18, 2012

New universities are big business, needed or not

People who use the Tokyu Toyoko Line, which connects Tokyo and Yokohama, may wonder why there are stations called Toritsu-Daigaku and Gakugei-Daigaku when there are no daigaku (universities) near them. There used to be a Gakugei Daigaku (Tokyo Gakugei University) but it moved to Koganei in 1964. There...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2010

Universities looking to go global

Fostering global human resources seems all the rage these days and several Japanese universities are jumping in, opening their doors to foreign students who aren't proficient in Japanese in a bid to snatch top-class talent from around the world.
EDITORIALS
Sep 21, 2010

Universities feel the squeeze

Since national universities became independent administrative agencies in 2004, their financial conditions have weakened. In accordance with the Koizumi administration's 2006 decision, government grants to pay for national universities' ordinary outlays have declined 1 percent annually.
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2000

Recognition of 'virtual' universities urged

Course credits and degrees provided by overseas Internet universities should be recognized in the same manner as academic qualifications obtained abroad, says a recommendation announced Wednesday by an advisory panel to the education minister.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Top Global Universities in Japan
Oct 5, 2020

Expectations toward universities and global talent

The business world has high expectations for globalizing universities to better prepare students to contribute and lead as global talent. We asked David Macdonald, representative officer and president of Discovery Japan, about his expectations and hopes for universities in the global era.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 30, 2018

The direction of education in Japan

Japan has the 6-3-3-4 education system — compulsory education of six years in elementary school and three years in junior high school. Students then commonly go on to three years in high school and four years in university.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2018

Legal issues and entrenched ideas about education keep talented students from skipping grades in Japan

Academic acceleration systems, which enable students who excel in school to skip grades and study at a faster rate than others, have become increasingly commonplace globally. In the United States, around 180,000 students under 18 years old skip grades and enter universities early every year. But in Japan,...
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2018

Kyoto University and Todai tie for first in magazine's ranking of Japanese schools

Kyoto University ties the University of Tokyo — moving up two spots from last year — for first place in the ranking of Japanese universities by Times Higher Education magazine.
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2017

The crisis in Japan's scientific research output

The government needs to do everything it can to improve funding for scientific researchers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 26, 2014

Japan struggles to keep up as China woos international students

Japan's efforts to increase the number of international students coming to its shores are being dwarfed by similar initiatives in neighboring China.
EDITORIALS
Oct 17, 2012

Asian universities catching up

Asian universities are gaining on their western counterparts, according to the recently released Times Higher Education rankings. The annual evaluations of world universities found Asian universities doing better than ever before in the annual global rankings. Japan had 16 universities in the top 400...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2012

Secret of success for the top-rated universities

No country dominates any industry as much as the United States dominates higher education. According to Shanghai Jiao-Tong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities, for example, 17 of the world's 20 best universities are American, with Harvard topping the list by a substantial margin.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2006

Japanese universities need foreign students: U.K. scholar

Recruiting foreign students will be key if Japanese universities are to survive the competition expected as the population shrinks, according to British scholar Peter Mathias.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2001

Applications to universities increase 1.6%

A total of 3,461,591 people applied for enrollment at Japanese universities in April, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, according to a recent education ministry poll.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Sep 19, 2022

Researchers on contracts face dismissal as right to full employment nears

Experts point out that flaws in employment laws have been left unsolved.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 10, 2020

A chill descends on Chinese scholars in Japan

Universities have a duty to stand up for them in the name of academic freedom.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Nov 15, 2019

Five years after earning Super Global status, Hiroshima University eyes elusive top 100 ranking

As this year marks the fifth anniversary of the education ministry designating Hiroshima University as a "Type A Super Global University," the university has taken major steps to achieve globalization.
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2018

Restore public trust in university entrance exams

Universities should compensate the medical school applicants they discriminated against.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 23, 2017

In Japan under Shinzo Abe, more power to the PM, but to what end?

In his final Counterpoint column, Jeff Kingston considers where Japan is heading under scandal-hit Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Nov 27, 2016

'Five-year rule' triggers 'Tohoku college massacre' of jobs

I have discussed the "five-year rule" several times before in this column — the revision of the Labor Contract Law (Rodo Keiyaku Ho) enacted in 2013. Under the amendment, any worker employed on serial fixed-term contracts (yūki koyō) for more than five years can give themselves permanent status....
EDITORIALS
Oct 22, 2016

Lure of defense research funds

The Defense Ministry's program to fund dual-use research opens up serious moral and ethical questions for university researchers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Apr 22, 2015

Culture, cost and proximity draw Chinese students to Japan

Who are the Chinese students studying in Japan? How do they get into Japanese universities, why do they come, and where do they hope to go after they graduate?
EDITORIALS
Apr 11, 2015

University of Tokyo failing non-Japanese students

With enrollment of foreign students declining, the University of Tokyo needs to work on making its program for English-language coursework more attractive.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 6, 2013

Plan to introduce TOEFL to universities has its merits

The media and kyōiku senmonka (教育専門家, pundits on education) have been voicing the pros and cons of the idea put forward by the Jiminto (自民党, the Liberal Democratic Party) to make TOEFL (Test of English as Foreign Language) mandatory for entrance exams at all Japanese universities.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 10, 2011

After the deluge, universities face foreign exodus

Like thousands of foreigners, Tony Black recently made the agonizing decision to leave Japan, wife and baby child in tow. Unlike many, he has no concrete plans to return.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.