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Japan is the world's third largest economy, and home to nearly 2% of the world’s population. Despite long-term economic difficulties, there is a sizeable middle class, and private spending on education is well above the OECD average, particularly at tertiary level. Moreover, the progression rate to higher education, already the third-highest in the OECD, continues to rise. Most of the 2.5 million undergraduates are concentrated in the major cities.
However, the number of students going to English-speaking destinations has fallen significantly over the last several years. There are a variety of reasons for this, including a much-debated “inward-looking mentality” among young people, but one of the major factors has been the lack of a clear link between overseas study experience and improved career prospects. Indeed, the rigid and anachronistic employment system, in which graduates are recruited en masse while they are still at university, has acted as one of the biggest barriers to undergraduate study abroad as the recruitment season has been pushed ever earlier, clashing with the optimum period for overseas study.
Recognising the risk to Japan’s international competitiveness, government, industry and academia are all working hard to turn this around and develop a system that will produce “global personnel”. Official targets are for 300,000 international students in Japan by 2020, and the same number of Japanese on overseas study or internship programmes. Several major employers have agreed to start recruiting later, and some have attracted a lot of attention for their decision to make English the corporate language. Meanwhile, many universities are offering more internationally-focussed courses, and the government-sponsored “Global 30” programme aims to turn thirteen universities into internationalisation hubs offering degree courses entirely in English and sending more of their students on exchange programmes. Several scholarship schemes provide funding for young people to study abroad.
Although the change has been gradual, we are beginning to see an impact on the level of interest in UK study. Numbers at both our own and external study abroad events have been rising since the spring of 2011, despite the ongoing effects of the March 2011 disasters, and we expect this trend to continue.
The UK’s main competitors are the US (which dominates the overseas study market) and Australia, but student mobility between Japan, China and South Korea is increasing and is backed by the respective governments.
There are currently just over 4,000 Japanese students in UK higher education, less than two thirds of those at the peak in 2003/04. The undergraduate/postgraduate distribution is about 50/50, with considerably more female than male students, particularly at the undergraduate level. It is a diverse market, both in terms of the subject and level of study, although art and design remains perennially popular at undergraduate level and below, and international relations/development studies, MBAs and TESOL are popular at postgraduate level. Taught postgraduate courses have fared better than undergraduate in recent years, as a strong yen encouraged students onto one-year UK Masters courses.
Japanese higher education students generally require some presessional English study, and there is also a sizeable market for freestanding English-language courses, ranging from short cultural experience courses to career-oriented study of a year or more. A combination of shrinking domestic spending on language study and stricter UK visa rules (e.g. ending the popular “English plus work experience” option) have led to a fall in numbers. However, there remains strong potential for young learners’ courses, as well as for short courses for university students.
The market for UK further education is limited, as many of the young, female clerical workers who traditionally made up the market for these courses are now on temporary contracts and no longer have the necessary financial resources or confidence about developing a new career after studying in the UK. The concept of obtaining a degree from an institution other than a university is difficult for Japanese students to understand, and so there is little demand for such courses. Meanwhile, not many Japanese high-school leavers are looking for A-level or foundation courses, compared with their counterparts in neighbouring countries. Japanese parents’ growing concern about the quality of school-level education means that there is a continuing, albeit relatively small, market for UK boarding school education.
Japan is a market in which building up institutional profile and developing relationships with local partners is crucial, so it requires long-term commitment. Face-to-face contact is considered important in developing trust, so any institution which wishes to market in Japan needs to send out a representative (preferably the same person) to visit key contacts at least once a year. However, word of mouth is extremely important to prospective students, so this investment pays off once you are established in the market.
Demand for UK education appears to be growing at the time of writing (summer 2011), although it is too early for this to be reflected in official statistics. Attendance at our own Education UK events and at university study abroad fairs is rising, and study abroad agents are also reporting improved business.
There is a sustained demand amongst young professionals for postgraduate studies of direct career relevance, in fields such as business, international relations and TESOL. The greatest demand is for Masters courses, but there is also a market for Postgraduate Diplomas and postgraduate foundation courses, as it is common to change career direction at postgraduate level, and students often need additional preparation in English and UK study skills.
The undergraduate degree market is currently relatively small, but there is room for growth in this area, and we have introduced several activities to reach high school students. Meanwhile, undergraduate study abroad programmes, including one-year programmes starting in April combined with intensive English language, have long been popular in Japan. The trend is towards more students going overseas for a shorter period of time: students are often unwilling to spend a whole year abroad because they need to start job-hunting earlier, and have less money. Therefore, there are opportunities to develop short academic courses with flexible entry points. The Japanese government has introduced a new scholarship scheme to support undergraduate exchange of up to three months, and universities remain keen to offer short-term exchange programmes in order to compete for school-leavers.
Prospective students are less interested in an institution’s overall status than in the reputation and distinctive features of a particular course. This means that there are opportunities for lesser-known institutions to promote the unique features of their most attractive courses.
The English language market will continue to be significant, given growing demand for high-level English skills as part of the drive for “global personnel”. However, students are much more conscious of value for money and have a wider range of options than ever, so UK providers will have to work harder to attract students.
Transnational education has not been popular in the Japanese market thus far, mainly because the overseas study experience is valued more highly than foreign qualifications per se. However, a growing number of Japanese institutions are establishing double degrees with overseas institutions. There is a particular market at postgraduate level: because Japanese Masters courses take two years, students can gain two degrees in the same time that it would usually take them to obtain one. Moreover, as students are in the UK for the full one year of the Masters course, there are few quality assurance issues for the UK institution.
Education promotion and partnerships are top priorities for the British Council in Japan. All our activities, whether in arts, climate change, social entrepreneurship or English language teaching, include education promotion elements wherever possible.
The Japanese government supports the internationalisation of higher education as a key element of their public diplomacy strategy. Universities are keen to learn from and collaborate with their counterparts overseas. The UK has a particularly strong reputation in this area, and we are capitalising on this in order to create more opportunities for UK – Japan links. In the last year, we have hosted round tables and symposia for university leaders from both countries, taken Japanese university staff to the UK to exchange best practice in international office management, and provided them with English-language training within Japan.
Agents play an influential and growing role in the decision-making process of Japanese students. We deliver professional development through our Certificate Programme in Promoting UK Education and Training (completed by nearly 200agents nationwide), giving them a better knowledge of the unique advantages of a UK education, as well as of the courses on offer. Regular update seminars allow us to exchange information, and have helped to smooth out the problems caused by the recent visa changes.
Word of mouth is also very significant for prospective students. We therefore view an ongoing relationship with UK alumni as vital. We support their career development through seminars and job information so that they can put their UK qualifications to good use, while our SNS network allows us to keep in close and regular contact. Alumni play a central role in promotional events such as the Education UK Exhibition, and are highly valued by prospective students.
We interact with prospective students nationwide via our Japanese-language Education UK site and other online channels. Our Education UK Online Ambassadors bring the latest information on studying in the UK from a student’s point of view, while our Facebook page attracted over 250 fans in its first week, even though Facebook usage is only beginning to take off in Japan.
Recognising the potential for growth in the undergraduate market, we are targeting high school students through a range of seminars, by both our own staff and UK lecturers, and a new brochure aimed at this market. We are working to send more high school student groups to the UK.
We are also developing a variety of transnational short courses, taught remotely or in Japan. In the current economic and employment climate, it remains hard for many Japanese to go overseas to study, and these courses offer an opportunity for a wider range of students to experience UK education. At the same time, they form an integral part of our education promotion activities as many participants develop a greater interest in UK study as a result of this taster.
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