Case Studies of Japanese Universities’ Collaborations with ASEAN, China, and Mongolia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v13i5.3666Keywords:
ASEAN, China, Japan, Mongolia, transnational higher educationAbstract
This paper elaborates on recent trends in Japanese higher education partnerships through three cases of collaboration between Japanese universities and higher education institutions in China, Mongolia, and the Southeast Asia (hereinafter referred to as ASEAN). Our analysis shows that partnerships were shaped by both top-down government policies and bottom-up institutional visions and past relations. Japan’s educational quality and reputation, particularly in science and technology, is highly regarded by higher education institutions (HEIs) interested in developing competitive international programs to prepare a globally skilled workforce. On one hand, Japan is striving to deepen and expand its partnerships with HEIs, particularly within Asia. A number of domestic and international factors - such as Japan’s population decline; increasing competition among HEIs both on the domestic and international front; an ambition to remain competitive in a twenty-first century, knowledge-based economy; and Japan’s strategy to strengthen its influence in Asia - drive the partnerships. On the other hand, while earlier partnerships were limited to student and faculty exchange or joint research projects, institutions increasingly prioritize more comprehensive strategic partnerships. Such strategic partnerships are important to overcome barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic that limit physical movement and interaction, and they may drive even greater collaboration and integration among Asian higher education institutions.
References
Asian Development Bank. (2011). Higher education reform project (Mongolia). https://www.adb.org/projects/documents/higher-education-reform-project-mongolia-rrp
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat. (2017). First ASEAN youth development index. Author. https://asean.org/storage/2017/10/ASEAN-UNFPA_report_web-final-05sep.pdf
Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-BERT). (2020). C-BERT branch campus listing. [Data originally collected by Kevin Kinser and Jason E. Lane]. Author. http://cbert.org/resources-data/intl-campus/
Collins, F. L., & Ho, K. C. (2014). Globalizing higher education and cities in Asia and the Pacific. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 55(2), 127-131.
Education on Line. (2020). Survey report on the data of Chinese-Foreign schooling at undergraduate level (Chinese). https://www.eol.cn/e_coop/gol/html/report2020/content.shtml
Garrett, R., Kinser, K., Lane, J. E., & Merola, R. (2016). International branch campuses: Trends and developments. Observatory on Borderless Education.
Gyenes, A. (2020). Critical thinking as concept and practice in the internationalization strategies of Japanese universities [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Osaka University. https://doi.org/10.18910/76352
Hayashi, K. (2019). Education export and import: New activities on the educational agora. New practices of comparison, quantification and expertise in education: Conducting empirically based research (pp. 175-188). Routledge.
HERP (Higher Education Reform Project Mongolia). (n.d.). Project description. https://www.herp.mn/page_list/about
Huang, F. (2008). Regulation and practice of transnational higher education in China. In M. Wallace & L. Dunn (Eds.), Teaching in transnational higher education: Enhancing learning for offshore international students (pp. 23-33). Routledge.
Huang, F. (2010). Transnational higher education in Japan and China: A comparative study. In D. W. Chapman, W. K. Cummings, & G. A. Postiglione (Eds.), Crossing borders in East Asian higher education (pp. 265-282). Springer.
Huang, F. (2017). Double world-class project has more ambitious aims. University World News. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2017092913334471
Hu, M., & Willis, L. D. (2017). Towards a common transnational education framework: Peculiarities in China matter. Higher Education Policy, 30(2), 245-261. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-016-0021-9
Japan Student Services organization (JASSO). (2020). 2019 nendo gaikokuzin ryugakusei zaiseki zyokyo tyosakekka [Survey Results of Foreign Students Status of Residence in 2019]. https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/ja/statistics/zaiseki/data/2019.html
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). (2014). Engineering higher education project. https://www.jica.go.jp/mongolia/english/activities/activity_01.html
Jung, J., Horta, H., & Yonezawa, A. (Eds.). (2018). Researching higher education in Asia: History, development, and future. Springer.
Kakuchi, S. (2019). Malaysia to host Japan’s first overseas branch campus. University World News. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190115123349513
Kitamura, Y. (2014). Ryugakusei o meguru kyosotekina kyoso to kyocho: Ajia no jokyo o toshite kangaeru [International competition and cooperation for international students: Some reflections based on the concept of “knowledge diplomacy”]. https://repository.dl.itc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/record/31958/files/CESE00104.pdf
Knight, J., & McNamara, J. (2017). Transnational education: A classification framework and data collection guidelines for international programme and provider mobility (IPPM). British Council. https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/tne_classification_framework-final.pdf
Knight, J. (2014). International education hubs: Collaboration for competitiveness and sustainability. New Directions for Higher Education, 2014(168), 83-96. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20115
Knight, J. (2019, March 6). International programme and provider mobility: Innovations and challenges [Paper presentation]. Toyo University Seminar, Tokyo, Japan.
Koehn, P., & Obamba, M. (2012). Transnational research and development partnerships in higher education: Global perspectives. In D. Deadroff, H. de Wit, J. Heyl, & T. Adams (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of international higher education (pp. 359-378). Sage.
Kuroda, K., Sugimura, M., Kitamura, Y. & Asada, S. (2018). Internationalization of higher education and student mobility in Japan and Asia. Global Education Monitoring Report, Japan International Cooperation Agency and UNESCO. https://www.jica.go.jp/jica-ri/publication/other/l75nbg000010mg5u-att/Background_Kuroda.pdf
Lane, J. (2011). Global expansion of international branch campuses: Managerial and leadership challenges. New Directions for Higher Education, 2011(155), 5-17. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.440
Lanford, M. (2020). Long term sustainability in global higher education partnerships. In A. Al-Youbi, A. Zahed, & W. G. Tierney (Eds.), Successful global collaborations in higher education institutions (pp. 87-93). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25525-1_9
Lanford, M., & Tierney, W. G. (2016). The international branch campus: Cloistered community or agent of social change? In D. Neubauer, J. Hawkins, M. Lee, & C. Collins (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of Asia Pacific higher education (pp. 157-172). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48739-1_11
Lassegard, J. P. (2006). International student quality and Japanese higher education reform. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(2), 119-140. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315305283878
Mallapaty, S. (2020, August 4). Japan considers tougher rules on research interference amid US-China tensions. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02273-w
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (2005). Wagakuni no kotokyoiku no syoraizo [The future of higher education in Japan]. https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo0/toushin/05013101.htm
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (2007). Daburu-deiguri nado no genjoni kansuru shiryo [Documents on the status of double degrees]. https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo4/027/siryo/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2010/12/09/1299707_5.pdf
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (2010). Daburu deiguri nado no genzyo nikansuru siryo [Materials on the current status of double degrees]. https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo4/027/siryo/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2010/12/09/1299707_5.pdf
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (2014). Wagakuni no daigaku to gaikoku no daigakukan niokeru zyointo deiguri oyobi daburu deiguri nado kokusai kyodo gakui puroguramu kōtikunikansuru gaidorain [Guidelines for the establishment of joint degrees, double degrees and other international joint degree programs between Japanese and foreign universities]. https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo4/houkoku/1353907.htm
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (2017). Edu-port Japan. https://www.eduport.mext.go.jp/en/pdf/about/pamphlet-edu-port-cp_sp2016-2017.pdf
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (2018a). A grand design for higher education in 2040. https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20200312-mxt_koutou01-100006282_1.pdf
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (2018b). Daigaku no kaigaitenkai [Overseas expansion of universities]. https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo4/043/siryo/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2018/09/10/1409011_2.pdf
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (2020a). Results of a survey on inter-university exchange agreements with overseas universities and their bases of operations overseas. https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/shitu/1287263.htm
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (2020b). Daigaku no sekai tenkairyoku kyokazigyo [The inter-university exchange project]. https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/kaikaku/sekaitenkai/
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (2020c). Zyointo deiguri puroguramu kaisetu zyokyo [Establishment of joint degree programs]. https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chukyo/chukyo4/houkoku/20201014_mxt_kouhou02_1353907_1.pdf
Nakano, K. (2017). Current situation and challenges of international higher education cooperation in the engineering field: Introduction of laboratory-based education (LBE). Journal of International Development Studies, 26(2), 49-65. https://doi.org/10.32204/jids.26.2_49
Nakayama, S. (1989). Independence and choice: Western impacts on Japanese higher education. In P. G. Altbach & V. Selvaratnam (Eds.), From dependence to autonomy: The development of Asian universities (pp. 97-114). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2563-2_4
Ninomiya, A., Knight, J., & Watanabe, A. (2009). The past, present, and future of internationalization in Japan. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13(2), 117-124. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315308331095
Ohmori, F. (2004). Japan and transnational higher education. International Higher Education, 37, 13-15. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2004.37.7445
Okubo, E. (2015). Establishment of DUT- RU international school of information science and engineering: Towards the development of global IT human recourses. JASSO, 50, 8-14. https://www.jasso.go.jp/sp/ryugaku/related/kouryu/2015/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2015/11/18/201505okuboeiji.pdf
Osaka University. (2020). Realizing OU Vision 2021. https://www.abroad.icho.osaka-u.ac.jp/english-2/
Poole, G., Ota, H., & Kawano, M. (2020). Tracing the developments of the “global education effect” in Japanese higher education: Discourses, policy, and practice. In N. M. Doerr (Ed.), The global education effect and Japan: Constructing new borders and identification practices (pp. 33-60). Routledge.
Rakhshandehroo, M., & Yamamoto, B. A. (2017). A review essay on internationalization strategies in Japanese universities with a focus on English language support. Bulletin of the Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, 43, 237-260. https://doi.org/10.18910/60570
Saito, K. (2019). Posuto ryugakusei 30mannin keikaku wo misueta ryugakusei seisaku nituite [International student policy in light of the post 300,000 international student plan], IDE, 613, 56-61.
Sanders, J. S. (2019). National internationalisation of higher education policy in Singapore and Japan: context and competition. Compare, 49(3), 413-429. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2017.1417025
Sugimoto, H. (2017). Transnational higher education and the concept of study abroad: As a part of the strategies for attracting foreign students. JASSO, 75, 1-8. https://www.jasso.go.jp/ryugaku/related/kouryu/2017/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2017/06/08/201706sugimotohitoshi.pdf
Sugimura, M. (2016). Transformation of higher education systems in the dynamics of contemporary globalization: The case of Japan. In D. Neubauer, J. Hawkins, M. Lee, & C. Collins (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of Asia Pacific higher education (pp. 183-193). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48739-1_13
Sugimura, M. (2018). New perspectives on internationalization of higher education and the role of Japanese higher education: Where do Japanese universities head by internationalization? JASSO, 85, 1-8. https://www.jasso.go.jp/sp/ryugaku/related/kouryu/2018/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2018/04/06/201804sugimuramiki.pdf
Yin, R. K. (2017). Case study research and applications: Design and methods. Sage.
Yonezawa, A. (2014). International cooperation in higher education in Asia and Japan: Multipolarization of initiatives and its future. In H. Sugimoto (Ed.), International comparison of transnational higher education: Changing the concept of study abroad (pp. 139-152). Toshindo.
Yonezawa, A. (2020). Challenges of the Japanese higher education amidst population decline and globalization. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 18(1), 43-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2019.1690085
Yonezawa, A., Kitamura, Y., Meerman, A., & Kuroda, K. (Eds.). (2014). Emerging international dimensions in east Asian higher education. Springer.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The findings, interpretations, conclusions, and views expressed in Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education (JCIHE) are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to CIES, HESIG, or the sponsoring universities of the Editorial Staff. These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. Readers are free to copy, display, and distribute articles that appear in JCIHE as long as the work is attributed to the author(s) and JCIHE, it is distributed for non-commercial purposes only, and no alteration or transformation is made in the work. All other uses must be approved by the author(s) or JCIHE. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to transfer without charge the following rights to JCIHE upon acceptance of the manuscript: first worldwide serial publication rights and the right for JCIHE to grant permissions as its editors judge appropriate for the redistribution of the article, its abstract, and metadata associated with the article in professional indexing and reference services.
