What Japan should learn from the United States

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What Japan should learn from the United States

• Masayasu AOTANI
• The International Center
• Kyoto University

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Internationalization and Higher Education

• Strategies for Tomorrow

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An Overview of This Presentation

• American v.s. Japanese
• Comparing Higher Education
• Internationalization of Japan

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Two Diametrically Different Societies and
Cultures - one
USA Japan

• Value differences
• Verbal communication
• Immigrants
• Multi-racial
• Competition
• Specialists

• Avoid differences
• Nonverbal communication
• Generations in Japan
• Mono-racial
• Cooperation and harmony
• Generalists (education, employment)

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Two Diametrically Different Societies and
Cultures - two
USA Japan

• Winner takes all. (has to be in the first place)
• Individuals
• More resources
• Dislike authority
• Localized politics

• Shared (shared merit payment, diligence bonus)
• Groups
• More resourceful
• Respects authority
• Centralized politics

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In The Beginning

• US institutions were founded and funded by people
  to educate their children.
• Japanese national universities were founded and
  funded by the government.

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A Typical US Institution
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Differences

• The board members are complete laymen.
• The Board of Regents selects the president.
• A president can be brought in from outside.
• Administration - Regular faculty dichotomy
• Department of Education does not rule over the
  university.

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Professors
USA Japan

• Individuals
• 9-month employment
• Tenure decision
• Regular employees
• Research and teaching
• Sabbatical year

• Pyramid
• 12-month employment
• Lifetime employment
• Managers
• Nonacademic duties
• No sabbatical year

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Research
USA Japan

• Individuals
• Get a grant or else
• Blind funding decision
• Salary from grants
• Research assistants
• Postdoctoral fellows

• Research groups
• Some automatic funding
• Name and connection
• Fixed salary
• Graduate students
• Free labor

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Teaching and Learning - one
USA Japan

• Interested professors
• Friendly professors
• Interesting lectures
• Regular office hours
• Complete syllabus

• Indifferent professors
• Authoritative professors
• Uninteresting lectures
• No set office hours
• No syllabus

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Teaching and Learning - two
USA Japan

• Weekly homework
• Discussion sessions
• Hour-long lectures
• Extra resources

• No regular homework
• No discussion sessions
• 90-minute lectures
• No such resources

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Extra Resources

• Graders and teaching assistants help professors.
• The United States has the best library in the
  world. They are open 24 hours a day during the
  examination period. - Electronic Library
• Numerous computer laboratories on campus stay
  open until late at night.

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Improving Higher Education In Japan

• More emphasis on teaching
• More emphasis on studying
• More competition among students and among
  professors
• Fewer housekeeping chores and more emphasis on
  research for senior faculty
• More independence and equal treatment for younger
  faculty
• Address the needs of students and society

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What Japan Should Do To Internationalize - one

• Become more used to dealing with differences
  (foreigners included)
• Create an environment where English alone is
  sufficient to live and thrive
• Allow controlled immigration
• Accept more quality students and younger workers
  from overseas (internships)

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What Japan Should Do To Internationalize - two

• Send more students and young workers overseas
  (internships, exchange programs)
• Hire quality foreign workers for permanent
  positions
• Do not lose sight of Asia
• Build a country that does not have to make a
  conscious effort to internationalize

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Foreign Students in the United States

• More than 400,000 in comparison to 60,000 in
  Japan
• 60s Canadians
• 70s Iranians with oil dollars
• 80s Taiwanese
• Taiwan gt Malaysia gt China gt Korea
• Made In Taiwan Massachusetts Institute
• of Technology

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In the US

• The difference between domestic and foreign
  is blurred. Hence, there is far less
  discrimination against foreigners.
• Universities in the United States tend to be more
  sensitive to the needs of students and society.
  This is regardless of the citizenship.

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Remark

• Unlike Japan where many foreign students are
  being brought in by governmental policies, the
  United States needs foreign talents to sustain
  its growth. However, the distinction between
  foreign and domestic is blurred considerably
  by a large number of immigrants the United States
  already has and gets every year.

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Worlds Center of Scientific Research

• 17th Century England
• 18th Century France
• 19th Century Germany
• 20th Century The United States

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In the 21st Century?

• Historically, foreign students tended to go back
  to their home countries after studying abroad.
• For the first time in the history, foreign
  students are staying after they complete their
  education. The United States is very accomodating
  to foreign nationals and immigrants.

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Concluding Remark - one

• Including those from the third-world countries,
  whether Japan can keep and attract foreign Ph.D.s
  is one measure of internationalization. As it
  stands now, it looks as though the United States
  is absorbing all the talents in the world.

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Concluding Remark - two

• There may be an academic and/or technological
  World War III in which Japan faces all
  surrounding Asian nations in the form of leading
  scientists and engineers in the United States.

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IAESTE
The International Association for the Exchange of
Students for Technical Experience
Contact Information IAESTE Tokyo Office Tel
03-3498-4581, Fax [phone]
Email iaeste_at_bekkoame.ne.j
p
Homepage http//www.bekkoame.ne.jp/iaeste/ IA
ESTE Osaka Office Tel and Fax [phone]
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Friends

• Ryugakusei center of Kyoto University supports a
  mailing list called Friends for international
  residents and the Japanese with an interest in
  international exchange.

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KUINEP(Kyoto University International Education
Program)

• Kyoto University has a special program, in which
  all lectures are in English, for foreign students
  whose institutions have an exchange agreement
  with Kyoto. Since they stay in Japan only for a
  year, they are most eager to interact with
  Japanese people and absorb Japanese culture.

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Home Stay

• Just a room in a house with no other benefits
  would be fine. There is no need to treat them as
  guests by feeding them or taking them out on a
  trip. For that matter, you do not even have to
  speak with them if speaking English is too
  stressful to you. Being able to live in Kyoto
  alone means so much to them.

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About the Language
English is difficult for the Japanese because of

• Grammatical and structural incompatibility
• Lack of emphasis on practical skills at school
• Lack of practical skills on the part of
  instructors
• Weak verbal ability in general

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Possible Remedies - University
The only answer is more exposure.

• Visiting instructors
• Regular lectures in English
• Cheaper English textbooks
• More English-speaking foreign students
• Enlisting help from returning students

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Possible Remedies - Corporation
The only answer is more exposure.

• Foreign interns and visitors - IAESTE, AIESEC
• Hiring decision with an emphasis on English
• No more translating everything
• Returning students and Japanese Americans
• Sending employees overseas

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Contact Information
Masayasu AOTANI Associate Professor Ryugakusei
Center Kyoto University Yoshida-Honmachi
Sakyo-Ku Kyoto 606-8501 JAPAN aotani_at_cfse.ryuga
ku.kyoto-u.ac.jp http//cfse.ryugaku.kyoto-u.ac.jp
TEL (81)-(0)75-753-2568 FAX (81)-(0)75-753-2562
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