Japanese students rush for English-language education

Japan has long suffered from a 'brain drain' of educated and creative people leaving Japan for a less constrained lifestyle and career. But is Japan's higher education set for a brain drain of its best potential students? Are the best students going to go overseas to study at higher education? Cultural and lingustic differences are still going to be major obstacles for most Japanese students, even from the best high schools here. Moreover, after the economic and financial debacles in the US for the past decade, US-style schools of business, management, accounting and international law might not seem as appealing as they did when the US bubbles appeared unstoppable.

http://www.business24-7.ae/Articles/2009/7/Pages/04072009/07052009_3899a8262ac24bf184dab687cab1da6a.aspx

Japanese students rush for English-language education
Japan lags behind India and China in sending students to US colleges. (AFP)

excerpt:

>>AFP on Sunday, July 05, 2009

While many families across Asia who could afford it have long sent their children abroad for an English-language education, Japan now lags behind India, China and South Korea in sending students to US universities, according to the US Institute of International Education.

But the tide is turning, said Fujii, with a new wave of students worried that a Japanese-only education will leave them ill-prepared in an increasingly globalised world.

"The recent trend is different from the past in that top students are hoping to leave Japan," he said.<<