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Paper short abstract

This presentation introduces the challenges Japanese higher education faces in the era of rapid demographic change, summarises policy reactions to them in the past two decades, and discusses their implications for the whole Japanese higher education.

Paper long abstract

As is widely known, Japan has been facing a huge demographic change for decades. One of the consequences is a demand for reconstructing the higher education sector in two directions: catching up and closing out.

On the one hand, the Japanese government tries to catch up to more ‘advanced’ countries. A sense of urgency to enrich human resources and raise economic competitiveness has been shared by past administrations. Combined with a limited financial capacity, this has led to the optimisation of not only resources spent on the sector through promoting competition between institutions, but also the sector as a whole by explicitly stratifying (national) universities. This includes designating ‘universities of research excellence’ and financially supporting them through so-called ‘10 trillion funds’.

On the other hand, the government is trying to prevent an over-supply of higher education, especially in the private universities. Historically, these institutions had taken on the role of absorbing increasing demand for higher education, making Japan a leading country in the ‘world of private higher education’ (Levy, 2024). Now, many institutions are considering closing down due to population decline. The government, once the sponsor of their expansion, aims to ensure that the sector shrinks smoothly while ensuring equity in higher education opportunities across the country.

These measures raise questions about the future of higher education in Japan. What policies might emerge, and what forms of institutional transformation might they entail? This presentation offers a space for the audience to consider and discuss the future directions of higher education in Japan.

References.

Levy, Daniel. C. 2024. A World of Private Higher Education. Oxford University Press.