For several decades internationalisation has been a cornerstone of both Japanese government higher education policy and approaches to reform at an institutional level, but Japan has still not managed to lose its reputation as a somewhat reclusive member of the global academic community. Consensus on the potential of internationalisation to reinvigorate Japanese higher education is matched by the depth of recognition that universities have, to date, failed to internationalise successfully. This book offers a new approach to Japan’s internationalisation conundrum by proceeding from the ‘inside out’. It presents an extended case study one university organisation that has been changed through its adoption of a radical program of internationalisation. Through this case study Jeremy Breaden identifies patterns by which internationalisation is situated in administrative discourse and individual action, and determines how these patterns in turn shape organisational practice. The result is a multi-dimensional narrative of organisational change that advances our understanding of both the dynamics of university reform and the concept of internationalisation, one of the most durable yet contentious themes in the study of contemporary Japanese society. With detailed analysis and an in-depth case study, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Japanese studies, sociology and anthropology. It will also prove valuable to professionals and policy makers working in higher education, both in Japan and around the world.

English-Medium Instruction in Japanese Higher Education provides a touchstone for higher education practitioners, researchers and policy makers. It enables readers to more clearly understand why policies concerning English-medium instruction (EMI) are in place in Japan, how EMI is being implemented, what challenges are being addressed and what the impacts of EMI may be. The volume situates EMI within Japan’s current policy context and examines the experiences of its stakeholders. The chapters are written by scholars and practitioners who have direct involvement with EMI in Japanese higher education. They look at EMI from perspectives that include policy planning, program design, marketing and classroom practice.

This book is a study of cross-border activity in and around Japanese universities, employing ‘Asia’ as the cornerstone of inquiry. It offers qualitative, case-based analysis of Asia-oriented student mobility and partnership projects, framed by critical evaluation of discourses and texts concerning Japan’s positioning in an era of Asian ascendancy. This combination of Asia as theme and international higher education as empirical subject matter allows the book to shed new light on some of the fundamental policy currents in contemporary Japan. It also furnishes a fresh approach to comprehending the modalities of regionalism and regionalisation in the sphere of higher education.

“Deftly avoiding both the zealous idealism of the policymaker and the cynical realism of the practitioner, the contributions to this volume offer empirically grounded, culturally nuanced analyses of university internationalisation in practice. Recommended reading for anyone interested in Japanese higher education today, and a fine example of how to blend engaging ‘insider’ stories with rigorous scholarly analysis.” – Jeremy Breaden, PhD (Melbourne), Lecturer in Japanese Studies, School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, Monash University “An excellent timely publication! This book brings together critical insights and multi-dimensional understandings of internationalization, and international and intercultural practices in Japanese higher education. It will be an important sourcebook, a must-read for all interested in Japanese higher education and internationalization. It will certainly raise the bar of competencies and knowledge of the field.” – Terri Kim, PhD (London), Reader in Comparative Higher Education, Leader of the Higher Education Research Group, University of East London

Globally, private universities enrol one in three of all higher education students. In Japan, which has the second largest higher education system in the world in terms of overall expenditure, almost 80% of all university students attend private institutions. According to some estimates up to 40% of these institutions are family businesses in the sense that members of a single family have substantive ownership or control over their operation. This book offers a detailed historical, sociological, and ethnographic analysis of this important, but largely under-studied, category of private universities as family business. It examines how such universities in Japan have negotiated a period of major demographic decline since the 1990s: their experiments in restructuring and reform, the diverse experiences of those who worked and studied within them and, above all, their unexpected resilience. It argues that this resilience derives from a number of 'inbuilt' strengths of family business which are often overlooked in conventional descriptions of higher education systems and in predictions regarding the capacity of universities to cope with dramatic changes in their operating environment. This book offers a new perspective on recent changes in the Japanese higher education sector and contributes to an emerging literature on private higher education and family business across the world.

Nonformal Education and Civil Society in Japan critically examines an aspect of education that has received little attention to date: intentional teaching and learning activities that occur outside formal schooling. In the last two decades nonformal education has rapidly increased in extent and significance. This is because individual needs for education have become so diverse and rapidly changing that formal education alone is unable to satisfy them. Increasingly diverse demands on education resulted from a combination of transnational migration, heightened human rights awareness, the aging population, and competition in the globalised labour market. Some in the private sector saw this situation as a business opportunity. Others in the civil society volunteered to assist the vulnerable. The rise in nonformal education has also been facilitated by national policy developments since the 1990s. Drawing on case studies, this book illuminates a diverse range of nonformal education activities; and suggests that the nature of the relationship between nonformal education and mainstream schooling has changed. Not only have the two sectors become more interdependent, but the formal education sector increasingly acknowledges nonformal education’s important and necessary roles. These changes signal a significant departure from the past in the overall functioning of Japanese education. The case studies include: neighbourhood homework clubs for migrant children, community-based literacy classes, after-school care programs, sport clubs, alternative schools for long-term absent students, schools for foreigners, training in intercultural competence at universities and corporations, kôminkan (community halls), and lifelong learning for the seniors. This book will appeal to both scholars of Japanese Studies/Asian Studies, and those of comparative education and sociology/anthropology of education.

In the twenty-first century, the concept of internationalisation remains a crucial tool for understanding the dynamics of globalising processes. It draws attention to the dimensions of conscious action in inter- and trans-national phenomena, connecting globalisation with individuals’ experience of everyday life. This book explores how internationalisation is imagined, discussed and operationalised in Japan and surrounding countries. The chapters focus on educational, leisure and cultural activities, fields which are often overlooked in favour of economic and political developments in the literature. The conclusion reflects on the concept of internationalisation and assesses how it is likely to develop in Japan in future, taking into account the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.

This book presents research that seeks to understand students' experiences of transnational mobility and transcultural interaction in the context of educational settings confronted with linguistic diversity.

An interdisciplinary, peer reviewed publication, Journal of International Students is a professional journal that publishes narrative, theoretical and empirically-based research articles, study abroad reflections, and book reviews relevant to international students, faculty, scholars, and their cross-cultural experiences and understanding in higher education. The Journal audience includes international and domestic students, faculty, administrators, and educators engaged in research and practice in international students in colleges and universities. More information on the web: http: //jistudents.org/

The Journal of International Students (JIS), an academic, interdisciplinary, and peer-reviewed publication (Print ISSN 2162-3104 & Online ISSN 2166-3750), publishes narrative, theoretical, and empirically-based research articles, student and faculty reflections, study abroad experiences, and book reviews relevant to international students and their cross-cultural experiences and understanding in international education. More at www.ojed.org/jis