English, internationalisation and national cultural identity in asia a focus on japan

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Critical Studies in Education

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Issues surrounding English, the internationalisation of higher education and national cultural identity in Asia: a focus on Japan

Phan Le Ha a a

Facult y of Educat ion, Monash Universit y , Clayt on , Aust ralia Published online: 17 May 2013

To cite this article: Phan Le Ha (2013): Issues surrounding English, t he int ernat ionalisat ion of

higher educat ion and nat ional cult ural ident it y in Asia: a focus on Japan, Crit ical St udies in

Educat ion, 54:2, 160-175

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Vol 54, No 2, 160–175, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17508487.2013.781047

Issues surrounding English, the internationalisation of higher

education and national cultural identity in Asia: a focus on Japan

Phan Le Ha*

Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, Australia

(Received 2 November 2012; final version received 26 February 2013)

The English language is significant to the internationalisation of higher education worldwide Countries in Asia are proactive in appropriating English for their national interests, while paying attention to associated national cultural identity issues This arti-cle examines the ways in which the role of English is interpreted and justified in different countries in Asia, with a particular focus on Japan, as these nations attempt to inter-nationalise their higher education within the broader processes of regionalisation and globalisation and their own nationalist discourse Through critical analyses and discus-sions of Japan’s two major government initiatives, the Action Plan 2003 to ‘Cultivate Japanese with English Abilities’ and the ‘Global 30’ Project 2008, the article inves-tigates how cultural national identities are shaped, are altered and are put ‘at risk’ in policies and practices for the internationalisation of higher education and the overem-phasis on English It argues for the importance of understanding the intersections of English language policy, the internationalisation of higher education and national cul-tural identity and also considers how the over-promotion of English in the case of Japan has been energetically driven by the nation building agenda that tends to undermine local languages and what this might mean for internationalisation

Keywords: Asia-Pacific region; educational policy; English as an International

Language; globalisation and internationalisation; higher education

Introduction

The English language is significant for the internationalisation of higher education world-wide The internationalisation of higher education has become institutionalised around a linguistic preference for English The policies and practices of the internationalisation of higher education in global contexts often assume the importance of English in the pro-duction, circulation and dissemination of academic knowledge Most academic programs

in international education are taught in English In Asia, in particular, systems of higher education have promoted the development of English-medium programs and partnerships with overseas universities, almost invariably through English With the growing emphasis

on English in Asian higher education, English as a commercial, political, intellectual and cultural resource is increasingly appropriated by countries and universities throughout Asia The nation-state and nationalist discourse play an important role in constructing and reconstructing the nation’s national cultural identity through its language policy and inter-nationalisation agendas I argue that it is highly necessary to further investigate and engage with the significant role of the nation-state in relation to the internationalisation of higher

*Email: ha.phan@monash.edu

© 2013 Taylor & Francis

education and the dominance of English, thus arguing for the need to further understand how internationalisation is occurring within national borders and in close relationship with the nation-state’s identification with English

At the same time, it has been clearly demonstrated that the construction of cultural national identity in global contexts is largely embedded in the language project that shapes what it means to be one nation, one people, one shared culture and identity (Hall, 1997; Ricento, 2000; Tong & Cheung, 2011; Tsui & Tollefson, 2007) This process is more complex in postcolonial times when the current global status of English dominates local languages in many communities, thus reshaping the language culture identity dynamics of those contexts in varied ways English simultaneously carries multiple meanings, including memories of a painful colonial past, the glorification of English as a global language of necessity, popularity, opportunity and advancement, a language of reconciliation, empow-erment and integration, a language of identity liberation and yet constraint, a language of exclusion and discrimination and a language of local creativity and sensibility (Pennycook,

1998, 2008, 2010; Phan, 2008, 2009) In the context of postcolonial English and the interna-tional status of English, the use of English and one’s identification with it play an important part in both one’s desire to communicate with the world and one’s will to preserve one’s national cultural identity (Hashimoto, 2000, 2007; Rappy & Wee, 2006) In this desire, English contributes dynamically to identity formation at all levels and in complex manners This article, therefore, examines the ways in which the role of English is interpreted, projected and justified in different countries in Asia (with a particular focus on Japan),

as these nations attempt to simultaneously internationalise their higher education and pro-mote their national cultural identity It discusses how the relationship which certain national communities have with English determines how they position their internationalisation of higher education projects within the broader processes of regionalisation and globalisation, while at the same time they also engage with their own nationalist discourses It is impor-tant to recognise how such national interests are shaped, altered, achieved and are put ‘at risk’ in policies and practices for the internationalisation of higher education

The article argues for the need to understand the intersections of English language policy, the internationalisation of higher education and national cultural identity and also considers how the over-promotion of English in Asia has been energetically driven by the nation building agenda that tends to undermine local languages and what this might mean for internationalisation and the nation’s cultural identity To address these issues, Japan’s two major government initiatives, the Action Plan 2003 to ‘Cultivate Japanese with English Abilities’ and the ‘Global 30’ Project 2008, are specifically discussed in the later part of the article

Internationalisation of higher education and the nation-state

The nation-state does play a significant role in pursuing and shaping the internationalisation

of higher education in each respective country Specifically, Huang (2003) maintains that the internationalisation of higher education highlights the role of the nation-state in terms

of issues of identity, sovereignty and autonomy (p 3) Knight (2003, 2004) argues that the local and national have their own ‘will’ in internationalisation which is not necessarily con-trolled by global processes Marginson and Rhoade (2002) and Marginson and Sawir (2011) emphasise the intersections of the global, national and local in the internationalisation of higher education For Yang (2002, p 91), internationalisation tends to be ‘more closely tied

to the specific history, culture, resources and priorities of the specific institutions of higher education’ and the respective nations in which they are located Importantly, the nation-state

is seen as having a key role in shaping, responding to and enacting the internationalisation

of higher education systems (Mok, 2011)

However, the degree to which the nation-state plays these roles varies with the defi-nitions and understandings of the internationalisation of higher education, which involves different aspects and activities within different nations This article puts forward that the significant role of the nation-state in relation to the internationalisation of higher education needs to be further engaged with and investigated, and thus focuses on Japan in particular

as a case study

English and the internationalisation of higher education in Asia

English as an international language, a global language, a world language and a language

of international/intercultural communication is an accepted understanding that internation-alisation of higher education is based upon and from which globinternation-alisation of knowledge is generated English is not the property of the English-speaking West any more It can no longer be taken for granted that higher education institutions in Asia will submit passively

to this version of English

Being ‘international’ institutions nowadays largely means having English as the medium of instruction, and internationalisation in higher education is largely done through English language products and services The policy adoption of English as the domi-nant (foreign) language across the educational system in many countries across Asia is

a response to the increasing globalisation of English, among others It is also a chan-nel through which governments exercise their will to build the nation, to internationalise their education and to integrate globally National, regional and global moves have all worked together to promote the international dominant role of English in Asia For exam-ple, ‘a number of countries and regional blocs have made moves that have influenced the importance of English in the region, most notably the adoption by the Association

of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of English as the working language of the orga-nization (Kirkpatrick, 2011) and the entry of China into the World Trade Orgaorga-nization (WTO) (Nunan, 2003)’ (cited in Stroupe, 2011, p 161) Further, a regional initiative sim-ilar to the Bologna Process to boost the ASEAN internationalisation of higher education through English-medium programs and partnerships is now being discussed (Chapman, Cummings, & Postiglione, 2011; Ruby, 2010) The role of English is hence becoming even more significant among ASEAN nations

Many Asian countries therefore now consider English as an Asian Language of Education (Kirkpatrick, 2010) and as a local language (Pennycook, 2010), that means

‘learning English as a national mission’ has been specified in their national strategies and educational reforms (Low & Hashim, 2012; Tsui & Tollefson, 2007, p 4) Taking advantage of being former colonies of Britain and the USA with English-medium pro-grams integral in their educational systems to varied degrees, Singapore, Malaysia, India and the Philippines are among the top destinations for international students in the Asian region These countries are constantly improving ways for exporting their English-medium education to other countries (Altbach & Knight, 2007; Huang, 2007) Mok (2011), Olds (2007) and Sidhu (2009) discuss Singapore’s internationalisation of higher education with regard to the country’s strategic partnerships with English-speaking foreign universities to make it a global schoolhouse and a world leader in education, knowledge and innovation

To more effectively compete regionally and globally and strengthen its education, Malaysia has also offered science and mathematics subjects in English in its higher education (Tsui & Tollefson, 2007) and has consistently invested in developing world-class English-medium

universities (Mok, 2011; Ruby, 2010) In Welch’s (2011) study on higher education in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is considered the most successful country in internationalising its higher education Malaysia engages in both importing and exporting higher education through English-medium products and uses English to create more access to higher edu-cation for its own people, diversify strategies to capacity building and generate significant incomes from international students

The discussions presented above demonstrate that English no longer belongs just to native English speakers from the English-speaking West Other users of English can now appropriate and ‘own’ it (Canagarajah, 1999, 2005; Doiz, Lasagabaster, & Sierra, 2012; Low & Hashim, 2012; Singh, Kell, & Pandian, 2002) These non-native speakers of English are becoming ‘the main agents in the ways English is used, maintained, and changed, and [those] who will shape the ideologies and beliefs associated with [English]’ (Seidlhofer,

2003, p 7) Warschauer (2000, p 511) sees ‘a shift of authority to non-native speakers [of English]’ with the globalisation of that language

However, Canagarajah (2005, p xvi) also points out that ‘standard English’ is still the norm in most Asian and Western Anglophone higher education institutions and that a place for other languages and other forms of English is not yet guaranteed Marginson and Sawir (2011) also assert that negative images attached to non-native international students in Australia, as a result of their perceived non-native speakers of the English status, shock-ingly continue to be seen, heard, talked about and reported on in all different domains and disciplines At the same time, the nation-state and its universities, in various settings and under varied conditions, have consumed and co-produced the seemingly taken-for-granted Western superiority mentality in drafting education reform and have simultaneously taken advantage of the benefits associated with the global role of English in developing interna-tionalisation strategies Choi (2010), for instance, discusses in detail how and why despite being the principal Chinese-medium university in Hong Kong, The Chinese University

of Hong Kong justifies its policy and strategy to introduce significantly more English programs to respond to and participate in internationalisation trends and the increasing aca-demic capitalism, which are largely embedded in and driven by the hegemony of English While internationalisation has largely been driven by nationalist discourses and con-currently shaped by globalisation, how interpretations of the role and significance attached

to English are reflected in internationalisation policies and practices of countries and uni-versities worldwide also reveal institutional strategies and visions of internationalisation The above discussions of the nation-state and the internationalisation of higher education in relation to the international status of English across Asia raise questions involving national cultural identity in each respective country, which are critically examined below

English, internationalisation, and national cultural identity in Asia

This section discusses questions of national cultural identity in Asia from three per-spectives: the relationships between English, the West, colonialism and modernity; the commercialisation of higher education through English; and national (English) language policy across Asia

The well-documented relationships between English, the West, colonialism and moder-nity have brought to light the concerns regarding the unequal ownership of English and

the reproduction of colonial dichotomies between the Self (the coloniser) and Other (the

colonised) that are consistently embedded in today’s educational policies, pedagogies and practices (Canagarajah, 2005; Pennycook, 1998, 2008; Phillipson, 1992, 2009; Singh, 2009) The internationalisation of higher education is not free from this problem As such,

questions concerning the celebration of the dominance of English in the internationalisation

of higher education policy and practice in global contexts have been increasingly raised The internationalisation of higher education is still largely geared towards importing and exporting English-language products and services from the English-speaking West (Altbach & Knight, 2007; Huang, 2007; Yang, 2011) This tendency plays a role in shaping policies and practices for internationalising higher education in ways that reinforce English-only pedagogies and intellectual dependency (Chen, 2010; Singh, 2011), which have implications for cultural national identity issues in each country and in the Asian region The growing commercialisation of higher education has been coupled with the com-modification of English which is also associated with the continuing belief that ‘the West is better’, and thus many products and services from the West are so-assumed superior (Luke, 2010; Pennycook, 1998; Philippson, 2009) English has often been marketed as one of the most appealing elements and a must in the internationalisation of education if a nation is

to gain a competitive advantage as well as bring people good jobs, status, knowledge and access (Choi, 2010; Doiz et al., 2012; Low & Hashim, 2012) The internationalisation of higher education through the medium of English is largely shaped by the hegemony of Western theoretical knowledge and the dominant role of English through Western univer-sities’ rules of commercialisation and world-class ranking practices, thereby reproducing academic dependency and Western superiority (Choi, 2010; Kim, 2005; Marginson, 2004; Singh, 2011; Yang, 2011) The result is often the emergence and reproduction of hier-archical intellectual partnerships and unequal exchanges at all levels This, again, raises questions concerning national cultural identity

The interrelationship between English language policy and national cultural identity issues in various Asian countries is well documented For example, Tsui and Toleffson (2007, p 2) discuss ‘how governments in Asian countries resolve the paradox of preserving

or building national cultural identities and promoting a foreign language that embodies dif-ferent values, cultures and traditions’, and ‘the relationship between language and national cultural identities, and what role language policy plays’ It appears that many Asian coun-tries have responded to these questions in ways that are specific to their colonial histories, local politics, economic development and nation building strategies and ways that are also specific to what role English plays in relation to a dominant national language Former colonies of Britain, such as India, Singapore and Malaysia, in different ways promote English as a shared historical heritage for their national cultural identity formation and for their national, cultural, racial, linguistic and ethnic reconciliation Other Asian countries including China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea navigate their foreign language policies towards

an almost absolute preference for English to achieve their nation building and international-isation missions that are also shaped by the globalinternational-isation of English (Choi, 2010; Seargeant, 2008; Song & Tai, 2007; Trent, 2012; Yang, 2002)

So far, it is obvious that English has offered comparative advantage, opportunities as well as effective ways for the nation-state to respond to regionalisation, globalisation and local issues However, English has also brought with it complex issues as national cultural identity often contends with Western hegemony, the widespread perception that ‘the West

is better’, the commercialisation of higher education and of English-medium products and services and the pro-English language policies across Asia It is also obvious that in relation

to the dominant status of English, as shall be seen in the subsequent sections, the nation-state both is controlled by and takes control of this status in different ways and forms This has painted a dynamic and complex picture of the internationalisation of higher education

in which the national status of English, the respective nation building strategies of each country and how each national community perceives/positions itself vis-à-vis the global

status of English are richly intermixed The subsequent section addresses these issues with

a specific focus on Japan

A focus on Japan: The English language, the internationalisation of higher education and questions of national cultural identity

This section pays specific attention to the two major initiatives/policies in relation to the promotion of English and the internationalisation of higher education in Japan: the 2003 Action Plan to ‘Cultivate Japanese with English Abilities’ and the ‘Global 30’ Project 2008 endorsed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) The intersections of the English language, the internationalisation

of higher education and Japanese national cultural identity embedded in these policies are specifically discussed

The 2003 Action Plan to cultivate ‘Japanese with English Abilities’

In 2002, MEXT released a report from the ‘Round-table Committee for the Improvement

of English Teaching Methods’ and from meetings with experts from various fields deliber-ating over English Education Reform MEXT then announced a plan called ‘Developing a Strategic Plan to Cultivate “Japanese With English Abilities” – A Plan to Improve English and Japanese Abilities’ (2002 Strategic Plan) This strategic plan was also informed by the

‘Basic Policies for Economic and Fiscal Management and Structural Reform 2002’ and the ‘Human Resources Strategy: Cultivating the Spirit of Japanese People to Carve out

a New Era - From Uniformity to Independence and Creativity’ (2002 Vision) This pol-icy intersection resulted in MEXT’s official release of an action plan entitled ‘Regarding the Establishment of an Action Plan to Cultivate “Japanese with English Abilities”’ (2003 Action Plan) Endorsing the critical role of English for Japan’s advancement and inte-gration and noting the essential requirement for global communication with English skills for the 21st century, MEXT’s objectives are stated as developing the ability of Japanese

to communicate clearly expressed opinions in Japanese – ‘a firm grasp on their own lan-guage’, and thereby improving the education of Japanese people, both for Japanese and English language communication skills (Hisashi, 2007; MEXT, 2002, 2003; Tanabe, 2004) MEXT (2002, 2003) rationalises the establishment of this 2003 Action Plan, stating that globalisation, business, progress in information technology and links with the global market and services have brought ‘a strong demand for the abilities to obtain and under-stand knowledge and information as well as the abilities to transmit information and to engage in communication’ in the English language by Japanese MEXT considers the lack

of sufficient ability as restricting the Japanese people in ‘their exchanges with foreigners’ which could lead to ‘their ideas or opinions not [being] evaluated appropriately’ The pro-posed measures set out in the Action Plan include developing the ability to clearly express Japanese people’s ideas in Japanese first in order to learn English well, improving teach-ing methods and the abilities of teachers, the selection of school and university applicants and creating better curricula This 2003 Action Plan clarifies the goals and directions to be achieved by 2008

In analysing all these plans, Tanabe (2004) puts forward that English is seriously con-sidered [by the government] ‘to be one of the most essential tools for human resources

in the new era for the new generation’ in Japan and regards the Action Plan as ‘one of the most essential and substantial announcements made by MEXT in the last thirty years’

He discusses the how and why of the Action Plan, calling it a case of ‘yutori education’ –

meaning ‘latitude’, or ‘being free of pressure’ In the context of the Action Plan and the pro-motion of English in Japan, Tanabe considers the Action Plan even as a way for Japanese

to enjoy ‘the real spirit of yutori’ through language education by the whole nation In his

words, ‘it undoubtedly provides Japanese with opportunities to grow’ with a strong sense of

yutori, considered ‘truly vital and meaningful for Japanese aesthetics’ It has the potential

to ‘cultivate’ Japanese and direct them from ‘Uniformity to Independence and Creativity’ (2002 Vision) Tanabe associates English with this very important value/spirit honoured

by the Japanese society This value/spirit not only helps identify Japanese and its cultural identity but also recognises humanity, individuality and freedom that might be gained more via rigourous English and Japanese language education, as set out in the Action Plan The promotion of English language education in Japan by the government as dis-cussed in Tanabe (2004) and identified in MEXT (2002, 2003) has actually continued to strengthen Japan’s well-recognised internationalisation philosophy, which has been consis-tently argued by Hashimoto (2000, 2007) as a success for Japan in maintaining the value

of its own cultural identity through its English language education policies, particularly by sustaining an overall framework of ‘Japanese internationalisation’ and the essential qual-ities of Japanese culture, whilst simultaneously promoting the learning of English In her earlier work, Hashimoto (2000) argues that ‘the commitment of the Japanese government

to internationalisation in education actually means “Japanisation” of Japanese learners

of English’ (p 39); and Hashimoto (2007) holds firm to her position by debating that Japan has been able to maintain ‘cultural independence by removing English, the most powerful language in the world, from the core identity of Japan without excluding the lan-guage completely from Japanese society’ (p 27) In other words, according to Hashimoto, Japan has been able to appropriate English to resist Western globalisation and English dominance while promoting unique Japanese culture and identity to the world through its internationalisation and English language policies and strategies

However, other scholars such as Kubota (1998, 2002), Rivers (2011), and Seargeant (2008) assert that English has fundamentally influenced Japan in much deeper and complex ways For example, Japanese tend to believe that in order for them to communicate well in English and to be understood in English they have to have a concrete identity as Japanese

A careful look at MEXT (2002, 2003) confirms this point, as what is expressed in these documents makes it clear that learning English would help Japanese express themselves better in Japanese and as Japanese

Japan is a country highly regarded by the West (Pennycook, 1998) As an economic superpower, Japan does not suffer from the cultural, economic and structural disadvantages

of developing countries and is often looked up to by many other countries as an exemplary achiever of nation building that has focused on self-determination and self-pride and on effective measures to preserve national cultural identity under the pressure of globalisation and the widespread threat of Westernisation, as shown in Hashimoto (2000, 2007) and Kubota (1998, 2002) Nonetheless, Japan’s ideologies of English and the implications that may have on Japan’s self-representation and its identification with others have seriously questioned the long-sustained claim discussed above that Japan has succeeded in promoting

‘Japanese internationalisation’ through the English language while being able to safeguard itself from Westernisation As observed by Kubota (1998, p 295),

the dominance of English influences the Japanese language and people’s views of language, culture, race, ethnicity and identity which are affected by the world view of native English speakers, and teaching English creates cultural and linguistic stereotypes not only of English but also of Japanese people Thus, through learning English, the Japanese have identified themselves with Westerners while regarding non-Western peoples as the Other What Kubota argues here points to the essence of the colonial mentality whereby Japan’s identification with the West and the non-West, in her views, reproduces the superior

‘Western’ Self and the inferior Other mindset Her arguments also shows how the ‘Japanese internationalisation’ through the English language helps sustain Westernisation (which is often spelt out as internationalisation) that assumes who has power and who is consid-ered superior Japanese internationalisation, in this case, has appeared to be well masked

by an overemphasis on solidifying Japan’s unique cultural national identity in those offi-cial documents discussed above, and thus it is seen by Kubota (2002) as a combination of Anglicisation (Westernisation) and nationalism English has been at the heart of this issue

The Global 30 Project

Despite being world famous for its educational system for the past century, Japan is increas-ing its English-medium programs across the entire tertiary system to cater to the needs of its domestic students, to attract more international students, and to raise its international profile (Yonezawa, 2011; Yonezawa & Meerman, 2012) The latest and most ambitious government initiative is the Global 30 Project announced in 2008 in response to global competitiveness and the increasing worry among the government and its universities about Japan losing its attractiveness to foreign students This Global 30 Project is also situated

in the context of an effort on the part of the government to intensify and diversify Japan’s internationalisation of higher education endeavour and to make Japan a hub for the global elite as well as a country with the highest number of international students in the region (Burgess, Gibson, Klaphake, & Selzer, 2010; Huang, 2009; Ishikawa, 2009; Kuwamura, 2009; Yonezawa, Akiba, & Hirouchi, 2009) The Global 30 Project energetically promotes English as the medium of instruction at all levels in the country’s 13 most prestigious uni-versities with the hope of bringing 300,000 international students to Japan by 2020 This section analyses both the MEXT official site of the Global 30 Project launched in 2010 and the content of the Project itself to highlight the complex relationship between English, internationalisation and national cultural identity as projected and justified by the Japanese government and its universities

MEXT GLOBAL 30 WEBPAGE

(Source: http://www.uni.international.mext.go.jp, accessed on the 4th August 2012)

The most obvious text on the webpage is ‘Study in English’, followed by ‘at Japanese Universities’ in smaller font size The Global 30 logo alongside the same text is in the top banner on the page, with a red highlight on the word ‘in’ English – as differentiat-ing from the study ‘of’ English, or ‘studydifferentiat-ing English [language]’ The logo incorporates

an image drawing on traditional Japanese imagery – Mount Fuji, a temple, and a crane This is replicated below it with a photo next to the dominant heading text, of a tradition-ally styled building in a verdant lakeside setting It is also important to note that the red circle around ‘in’ is likely meant to call to mind the ‘Hinomaru’ – the ‘circle of the sun’ that is on the Japanese flag, and is a very common symbol for Japan A strong message about Japanese culture and identity conveyed in English and through recognisable signi-fying symbols, namely the red circle and traditional Japanese imagery, is projected in this government’s latest determination, the Global 30 Project, to promote English in Japanese higher education, particularly among top Japanese universities

A link at the top of the homepage leads to further explanations about the Global

30 project such as the following:

ABOUT THE GLOBAL 30 PROJECT (http://www.uni.international.mext.go.jp/

global30/)

The ‘Global 30’ Project to Invite 300,000 International Students to Japan

13 universities were selected by the Japanese Government to be a member of the “Global 30” Project These selected universities aim to nurture internationally competent individuals by creating an academic environment where international and Japanese students can learn from one another and build lasting international bonds that will propel them into the international scene

The four main headings on the website are: No Japanese Proficiency Required at the Time

of Admission; Take Entrance Examinations at Home; Immerse Yourself in Japan; and Support for International Students

Near the bottom of the page, there is a map of Japan with the numbers of International students currently studying in the various universities of Japan: ‘As of 2011: 21,429 in total’

The page also contains two (PDF) documents, one entitled ‘Study in English at Japanese Universities’ and another which is a brochure on the Global 30 Project for Establishing University Networks for Internationalisation

The first document: Study in English at Japanese Universities

http://www.uni.international.mext.go.jp/documents/Study_in_English_at_Jp_Univ.pdf The ‘Study in English at Japanese Universities’ document consists of a number of slides specifically promoting international student programs in English at Japanese universities Specifically, 18 nicely presented slides are used to introduce the Global 30 English-medium programs under 10 main headings, such as Japan Is the Place for You, Rich Culture, Mix of Tradition and Cutting-edge High Technology, No Japanese Proficiency Required

at the Time of Admission, Immerse Yourself in Japan and Support for International Students

This basic information is followed by a page with a picture representing each of the

13 universities, a paragraph describing their ‘uniqueness’ and/or history and accolades, as well as contact details The most interesting aspect that seems to make this a far better

‘advertisement’ for the different universities are the creative descriptions and slogans presented by each institution, including Imagine The Future; Traditionally at the Cutting