Now that travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been lifted, hordes of Japanese university students are heading overseas to study.

Conversely, many students abandoned their plans to study abroad due to higher airfares and a sharply weaker yen, which has pushed up the cost of studying overseas.

Expanding the pool of individuals with an international perspective has undeniable benefits for society in this age of globalization.

Ideally, as many aspiring students as possible should be able to study abroad without being swayed by their family’s financial circumstances. The government, along with the business community and universities, should step up efforts to widen the scope of opportunities for students to pursue education outside Japan.

Japanese youth tend to show less interest than their counterparts elsewhere in studying abroad. In a 2018 survey, more than half of the respondents in Western countries and South Korea expressed a desire to study abroad, but only about 30 percent of Japanese youths shared this sentiment.

Many university officials feel that Japanese students became even more “inward-focused” while COVID-19 restrictions were in place, possibly because the pandemic made them more comfortable with and accustomed to online interactions.

Against this background, the government has prioritized policy support for medium to long-term overseas studies, citing fiscal restraints. However, it is indisputable that even going on exchanges for a short period can offer invaluable experiences for the students.

A growing number of Japanese universities are stressing the value and importance of short-term exchange programs, encouraging students to look beyond their immediate surroundings and potentially segue into longer-term academic and research pursuits abroad.

A decline in the number of participants in short-term exchange programs may inadvertently thin the ranks of those who seek longer stays. The government should consider expanding financial support for students enrolling in short-term overseas study programs, evaluating their effects from the long-term perspective.

In its April recommendations, the government’s Council for the Creation of Future Education set a policy target of raising the number of students studying abroad compared to pre-pandemic figures.

The panel’s proposal calls for increasing the number of students studying abroad for extended stays from 60,000 before the pandemic to 150,000 by 2033 and bolstering the number of participants in short- to medium-term overseas study programs from 110,000 to 230,000.

Policy goals of this kind require adequate budgetary provisions. In planning policies, there should be a reasonable option to establish a set of eligibility criteria for the support program based on the financial circumstances of applicants to prevent economic bipolarization in which only the offspring of affluent families can go abroad to study.

Many students shy away from long-term study abroad for fear of missing out on primary opportunities to join a prestigious company after graduation, as the job-hunting season effectively begins around the summer of their junior year. They also tend to be concerned about the potential risk of repeating a year or two.

We urge the business community to take steps to deal with these factors that discourage students from pursuing a more rounded global learning experience. How about establishing hiring quotas for students with overseas experience?

If studying abroad is generally perceived not as a disadvantage for employment but rather as a plus for job hunting, it will surely act as a catalyst, propelling more young individuals abroad. Students who have expanded their horizons through overseas experiences are undoubtedly attractive prospects for many companies.

Universities also have a role to play beyond merely increasing their scholarship offerings. They must take more proactive actions to allow students to spend extended periods abroad without worrying about academic setbacks, such as adjusting curricula to achieve the purpose.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 17