Internationalization of Higher Education as a Response to Globalization: Japan’s Policy Challenges since the 1980s

Abstract

The internationalization of higher education is an important policy issue in many countries, and Japan is no exception. A widely regarded definition of the internationalization of higher education is “the process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions, or delivery” of higher education (Knight, 2002: 2). De Wit (2002) identified 19 rationales for the internationalization of higher education and grouped them into 4 categories: social/cultural, political, economic, and academic (Knight, 2006). In the case of Japan, the economic rationales for the internationalization of higher education have come to predominate over the last 30 years. With the increasing influence of globalization on the economic and social dimensions of Japanese society, the internationalization of higher education has been a central concern for survival in the global economy at both the national and international levels. Specifically, the internationalization of higher education in Japan has been perceived as a response from the educational sector to market-led globalization (Hashimoto, 2005; Kudo et al., 2014).