Fear of studying abroad
(From The Japan Times December 27 issue)

海外留学生の減少傾向

Data disclosed by the education ministry Dec. 22 confirms that fewer and fewer Japanese students are studying abroad. After the number of students studying overseas hit a peak of 82,945 in 2004, it declined for four straight years. In 2008 it dropped a staggering 11 percent from 2007 to 66,833. Of these, 29,264 were in the United States (down 13.9 percent from 2007), 16,733 in China (down 10.2 percent) and 4,465 in Britain (down 21.7 percent).

In this age of globalization, it is imperative that Japanese develop abilities to compete and cooperate with people from other countries through the experience of living and studying abroad. The government, educators and enterprises must take necessary steps to encourage and help students to study abroad.

While the number of Japanese students studying abroad has been falling, the number of foreign students studying in Japan as of May 1 stood at a record 141,774 — a rise of 6.8 percent from a year before, according to the Japan Student Services Organization.

A likely reason for the fall in the number of students studying abroad is a fear among students that if they study abroad, they may lose the chance to find employment when they come back to Japan from their studies. This is because many enterprises stop accepting applications before students reach the fourth year of college. Students have to start visiting enterprises to find job opportunities quite early.

Enterprises can rectify the situation by changing their recruitment practice. Universities could lighten the burden of returning students by setting up a semester specially timed for their return. The government should financially help students who want to study overseas. The government and private sector should realize that a decline in the number of students studying abroad could have a devastating effect on the future of Japan.

文科省によると、日本から海外へ留学する人は2004年をピークに減少を続け、2008年には約6万7000人に減った。

グローバル化が進み、他国の人々と競争したり協力し合ったりすることが求められる時代に、日本人が海外経験を積むことは重要だ。

海外留学をすると帰国した際に就職できないかもしれないという不安が留学生減少の要因といわれている。多くの企業が大学4年生以降の採用をしないのが理由と考えられる。企業がそのような慣習を変え、大学は帰国した学生を受け入れやすい学期制度をつくり、政府は海外留学する学生の資金援助をすべきだ。海外への留学減少が日本の将来に大きなダメージを与えることを、政府と民間が認識しなければならない。