Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Universities in Modern Japan: A Historical Outline
- Chapter 2 From Showa to Heisei: The Formation of Japan’s Contemporary Higher Education System
- Chapter 3 The Heisei Period: Plus Ça Change?
- Chapter 4 National Universities: Autonomy in Their Governance; Ideology and Practice
- Chapter 5 Public Universities: Prefectural, Local Higher Education
- Chapter 6 Private Universities: Diverse and Adaptable
- Chapter 7 Foreign Universities in Japan: Opportunities Taken and Missed
- Chapter 8 The Financing of Higher Education in Japan
- Chapter 9 Undergraduate Admissions: Shifting Trends
- Chapter 10 The Hensachi: Its Dominant Role in University Rankings
- Chapter 11 Self-Assessment: How Japanese University Students Assess Their Learning Outcomes
- Chapter 12 Policies for Hosting International Students: Issues for the Post-300,000 International Students Plan Era
- Chapter 13 Regional Cooperation in East Asia: Shifting Reality
- Chapter 14 International Students: Inbound Mobility at “Elite” and “Mass” Universities
- Chapter 15 Academic Support and Advising: Historical and Contemporary Issues
- Chapter 16 Women’s Universities in Japan: Life Choices
- Chapter 17 Junior Female Academics: Experiences and Challenges
- Chapter 18 Women of Color Leading in Japanese Higher Education
- Chapter 19 International Faculty: Increasing Mobility
- Chapter 20 Research Universities: Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
- Chapter 21 Liberal Arts Education: The Japanese Way
- Chapter 22 The English Language in Japan: A Historical Overview 1809–2020
- Chapter 23 Languages Other Than English: Mysterious Eclipse
- Chapter 24 Critical English Curriculum Enactment: A Policy Planning Perspective
- Chapter 25 The Dawn of Reiwa: Waves, Revolutions and an “A.I. Society”
- Appendix 1 Chronology of Japan
- Appendix 2 Japanese National Universities, by Prefecture
- Appendix 3 Japanese Public Universities, by Region
- Glossary
- Index
Chapter 19 - International Faculty: Increasing Mobility
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 May 2023
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Universities in Modern Japan: A Historical Outline
- Chapter 2 From Showa to Heisei: The Formation of Japan’s Contemporary Higher Education System
- Chapter 3 The Heisei Period: Plus Ça Change?
- Chapter 4 National Universities: Autonomy in Their Governance; Ideology and Practice
- Chapter 5 Public Universities: Prefectural, Local Higher Education
- Chapter 6 Private Universities: Diverse and Adaptable
- Chapter 7 Foreign Universities in Japan: Opportunities Taken and Missed
- Chapter 8 The Financing of Higher Education in Japan
- Chapter 9 Undergraduate Admissions: Shifting Trends
- Chapter 10 The Hensachi: Its Dominant Role in University Rankings
- Chapter 11 Self-Assessment: How Japanese University Students Assess Their Learning Outcomes
- Chapter 12 Policies for Hosting International Students: Issues for the Post-300,000 International Students Plan Era
- Chapter 13 Regional Cooperation in East Asia: Shifting Reality
- Chapter 14 International Students: Inbound Mobility at “Elite” and “Mass” Universities
- Chapter 15 Academic Support and Advising: Historical and Contemporary Issues
- Chapter 16 Women’s Universities in Japan: Life Choices
- Chapter 17 Junior Female Academics: Experiences and Challenges
- Chapter 18 Women of Color Leading in Japanese Higher Education
- Chapter 19 International Faculty: Increasing Mobility
- Chapter 20 Research Universities: Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
- Chapter 21 Liberal Arts Education: The Japanese Way
- Chapter 22 The English Language in Japan: A Historical Overview 1809–2020
- Chapter 23 Languages Other Than English: Mysterious Eclipse
- Chapter 24 Critical English Curriculum Enactment: A Policy Planning Perspective
- Chapter 25 The Dawn of Reiwa: Waves, Revolutions and an “A.I. Society”
- Appendix 1 Chronology of Japan
- Appendix 2 Japanese National Universities, by Prefecture
- Appendix 3 Japanese Public Universities, by Region
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
This chapter charts critical issues in the recent history of international faculty mobility in Japan, characterized by a shift from a tangential concern within the broader internationalization agenda to a more prominent policy issue in the contemporary landscape. While the forty-year history of state-sponsored internationalization in Japan has been marked by a rhetorical emphasis on international student mobility, at the same time, the international component of the academic community of Japanese universities has quietly grown more than fourfold since 1980. The demonstrable practical effect of the presence of foreign faculty is increasingly evident in statistics and on campuses. Moreover, there is renewed pressure for native Japanese faculty members to spend time abroad, returning with international experiences and contacts to transform their academic practice. Both foreign-born faculty and returning Japanese academics are now recognized as key contributors to universities across Japan and occupy increasingly diverse roles therein. To provide a comprehensive overview of these emerging trends, the discussion in this chapter is structured around four guiding questions: (1) how has the population of foreign-born faculty in Japan changed? (2) what contributions do foreign-born faculty make? (3) what does research tell us about the experience of working in Japanese universities as a foreign-born academic? and (4) to what extent do Japanese faculty with international academic experience contribute to the “internationalization” of the academic community in Japan? This discussion is followed by an image for a brighter future for faculty mobility which prioritizes a fully integrated academic community beyond binary distinctions between local and international.
Introduction
Policies designed to internationalize Japanese universities have historically been marked by a focus on international student mobility. Indeed, the goals of attracting 100,000 and, subsequently, 300,000 students from abroad were the de facto headlines for comprehensive reforms and have become synonymous with internationalization since the 1980s. Despite some setbacks, Japanese higher education has been successful in the pursuit of these goals. The 100,000 students target was attained in 2003, and subsequent diversification of inbound student mobility to a broader range of providers means that the 300,000 students target was attained in 2019–2020.
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- Information
- Handbook of Higher Education in Japan , pp. 261 - 274Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2021