30 October 2010
29 October 2010
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Japan Educational Seminar (for India and Thailand)
http://www.uni.international.mext.go.jp/event/20110128/
Japan Educational Seminar (India and Thailand)
1.Objective
In order to attract more international students to Japan, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT) launched the "Global 30" Project for Establishing Core Universities for Internationalization and selected 13 universities to function as core institutions to receive and educate students from abroad. Under the Project, a student can obtain a degree from a prestigious Japanese university by taking programs taught in English, both in undergraduate and graduate levels.
To promote the Project and recruit prospective students, we are advertizing our newly established English courses abroad.
Note: Universities under the "Global 30" Project include
Tohoku University, University of Tsukuba, The University of Tokyo, Nagoya University,
Kyoto University, Osaka University, Kyushu University, Keio University, Sophia University,
Meiji University, Waseda University, Doshisha University,
and Ritsumeikan University (13 universities total).
2.City (Country), Date, and Venue
(1) Deli (India)
Friday, January 28, 2011 (TBA)
Detailed information will be announced at a later date.
(2) Bangalore (India)
Sunday, January 30, 2011 1:00 to 5:00 pm
Taj Residency
41/3, M G Road, Bangalore, Karnataka - 560 001, India
(3) Bangkok (Thailand)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 (TBA)
Chulalongkorn University
Chamchuri 1 Building, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Thailand
Detailed information will be announced at a later date.
3.Participants
-Prospective undergraduate and graduate students
-Others
4.Contents of the Seminars
(1) Presentations by the "Global 30" Project universities.
Universities involved in the "Global 30" Project present brief overviews concerning their education systems, programs, admission procedures, etc.
(2) Lecture demonstrations
We hope participants will actively join in the lectures given by professors of the "Global 30" Project universities.
(3) Individual consultation
For questions concerning educational systems and programs, admission procedures, characteristics, etc., the "Global 30" Project universities will have booths for advice and to answer questions of participants who intend to study in Japan. Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) booth will l broadly inform participants about Study in Japan.
5.List of Universities
Deli (India) /Bangalore (India) (tentative)
* Tohoku University, University of Tsukuba, The University of Tokyo, Nagoya University,
Kyoto University, Osaka University, Kyushu University, Keio University, Sophia University,
Meiji University, Waseda University, Doshisha University,
and Ritsumeikan University (13 universities total)
* Japan Student Services Organization(JASSO)
Bangkok (Thailand) (tentative)
* Tohoku University, University of Tsukuba, The University of Tokyo, Nagoya University,
Kyoto University, Osaka University, Kyushu University, Keio University, Sophia University,
Meiji University, Waseda University, Doshisha University, and Ritsumeikan University
* Japan Student Services Organization(JASSO)
6.Further Inquiries
Contact: The University of Tokyo (Coordinating University for the "Global 30" Project)
Email: See e-mail address at the website cited above.
7.Registration Form
This page will be posted online in December 2010.
Japan Educational Seminar (India and Thailand)
1.Objective
In order to attract more international students to Japan, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT) launched the "Global 30" Project for Establishing Core Universities for Internationalization and selected 13 universities to function as core institutions to receive and educate students from abroad. Under the Project, a student can obtain a degree from a prestigious Japanese university by taking programs taught in English, both in undergraduate and graduate levels.
To promote the Project and recruit prospective students, we are advertizing our newly established English courses abroad.
Note: Universities under the "Global 30" Project include
Tohoku University, University of Tsukuba, The University of Tokyo, Nagoya University,
Kyoto University, Osaka University, Kyushu University, Keio University, Sophia University,
Meiji University, Waseda University, Doshisha University,
and Ritsumeikan University (13 universities total).
2.City (Country), Date, and Venue
(1) Deli (India)
Friday, January 28, 2011 (TBA)
Detailed information will be announced at a later date.
(2) Bangalore (India)
Sunday, January 30, 2011 1:00 to 5:00 pm
Taj Residency
41/3, M G Road, Bangalore, Karnataka - 560 001, India
(3) Bangkok (Thailand)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 (TBA)
Chulalongkorn University
Chamchuri 1 Building, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Thailand
Detailed information will be announced at a later date.
3.Participants
-Prospective undergraduate and graduate students
-Others
4.Contents of the Seminars
(1) Presentations by the "Global 30" Project universities.
Universities involved in the "Global 30" Project present brief overviews concerning their education systems, programs, admission procedures, etc.
(2) Lecture demonstrations
We hope participants will actively join in the lectures given by professors of the "Global 30" Project universities.
(3) Individual consultation
For questions concerning educational systems and programs, admission procedures, characteristics, etc., the "Global 30" Project universities will have booths for advice and to answer questions of participants who intend to study in Japan. Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) booth will l broadly inform participants about Study in Japan.
5.List of Universities
Deli (India) /Bangalore (India) (tentative)
* Tohoku University, University of Tsukuba, The University of Tokyo, Nagoya University,
Kyoto University, Osaka University, Kyushu University, Keio University, Sophia University,
Meiji University, Waseda University, Doshisha University,
and Ritsumeikan University (13 universities total)
* Japan Student Services Organization(JASSO)
Bangkok (Thailand) (tentative)
* Tohoku University, University of Tsukuba, The University of Tokyo, Nagoya University,
Kyoto University, Osaka University, Kyushu University, Keio University, Sophia University,
Meiji University, Waseda University, Doshisha University, and Ritsumeikan University
* Japan Student Services Organization(JASSO)
6.Further Inquiries
Contact: The University of Tokyo (Coordinating University for the "Global 30" Project)
Email: See e-mail address at the website cited above.
7.Registration Form
This page will be posted online in December 2010.
New study opportunities in Japan, at Japanese universities
http://www.uni.international.mext.go.jp/contact/
For further information regarding individual universities or specific courses, please directly contact the university:
| Tohoku University |
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| University of Tsukuba |
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| The University of Tokyo |
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| Nagoya University |
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| Kyoto University |
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| Osaka University |
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| Kyushu University |
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| Keio University |
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| Sophia University |
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| Meiji University |
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| Waseda University |
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| Doshisha University |
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| Ritsumeikan University |
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Anti-foreign incidents near University of Fukui, Japan
Kyodo News recently reported two anti-foreign incidents in Fukui City. One incident on 20 October was a possible case of arson of a parked car in front of the small mosque near the western boundary of the campus of University of Fukui (Bunkyo Campus). There was a sign posted near the burnt car that read, "Foreigners get out".
The other incident, which happened in September, was the burning of an Indian flag at an Indian restaurant near the Fukui University of Technology (about 1.5 km west of University of Fukui), with a similar "Foreigners get out" message posted.
Such incidents are remarkable because there are not really very many foreigners living in Fukui or even staying here for a short time, such as tourism. It does make sense, though, that foreigners would be noticed in and around the university campuses. While there are a number of international students at the universities in th city (University of Fukui, Fukui University of Technology), most of these students are from China.
Only a very small number of the international students are from Islamic countries or countries with Islamic populations, such as UAE, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. However, many of these students and researchers have come to Fukui with other members of their family, so there is enough to sustain a community of worshippers having a mosque.
Links to the stories in English are here:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/foreign-people-get-out-sign-on-mosque-as-car-torched-in-parking-lot
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nn20101022b1.html
Link to the website of the Fukui Mosque is here:
http://fukui-masjid.blogspot.com/2009/10/about-us.html
A photo of the Fukui Mosque where the car-burning incident occurred:
The other incident, which happened in September, was the burning of an Indian flag at an Indian restaurant near the Fukui University of Technology (about 1.5 km west of University of Fukui), with a similar "Foreigners get out" message posted.
Such incidents are remarkable because there are not really very many foreigners living in Fukui or even staying here for a short time, such as tourism. It does make sense, though, that foreigners would be noticed in and around the university campuses. While there are a number of international students at the universities in th city (University of Fukui, Fukui University of Technology), most of these students are from China.
Only a very small number of the international students are from Islamic countries or countries with Islamic populations, such as UAE, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. However, many of these students and researchers have come to Fukui with other members of their family, so there is enough to sustain a community of worshippers having a mosque.
Links to the stories in English are here:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/foreign-people-get-out-sign-on-mosque-as-car-torched-in-parking-lot
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nn20101022b1.html
Link to the website of the Fukui Mosque is here:
http://fukui-masjid.blogspot.com/2009/10/about-us.html
A photo of the Fukui Mosque where the car-burning incident occurred:
28 October 2010
New era of strong yen (endaka) hurts foreign students in Japan
There are around 130,000 international students studying in higher education in Japan. While this doesn't make Japan an international superpower in HE or the HE hub of Asia, it does mean Japan is now a 'major player' in 'exporting' HE as a service. However, in 2010 the yen has risen dramatically against other major currencies, especially the US dollar. The rise in the yen seems unsustainable, but for now it is sure to impact international students and tourists here.
This report comes from Temple University, which operates campuses in Japan. Full article at the link below. Brief excerpt follows the link.
http://temple-news.com/2010/09/27/exchange-rate-raises-cost-of-living-in-japan/
Exchange rate raises cost of living in Japan
September 27, 2010 by Lee Miller
With the yen rising in value, Temple Japan students can't live the way they used to.
TOKYO-- For many students, studying abroad is a dream, and with Temple’s abroad campuses, such as Temple Japan, students have a great chance to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
TUJcampus
Temple Japan is located in Tokyo’s Azabu Jyuban district, an upscale residential part of the city. Recent economic trends have caused the dollar to decrease in value and the yen to rise, which is making a semester in Japan more difficult to afford.
However, the current economic troubles have meant that the once quite-affordable semester in Tokyo has become rather expensive, as exchange rates have plummeted.
Three years ago, the Japanese yen was at 121 per dollar, which meant that, in spite of Tokyo being one of the most expensive cities in the world and Temple Japan being in one of the most expensive parts of Tokyo, many students could comfortably travel to Japan for a semester or even all fours years of their college career.
This month, however, the yen reached a 15-year high versus the dollar, reaching 83 yen per dollar in the midst of America’s recession. This is a staggering 32 percent change in value of the dollar in Japan.
The effect has been particularly devastating to Americans who attend Temple Japan for extended periods of time. Even though full-time American students pay tuition in yen, students’ financial aid still comes from the United States in dollars.
This report comes from Temple University, which operates campuses in Japan. Full article at the link below. Brief excerpt follows the link.
http://temple-news.com/2010/09/27/exchange-rate-raises-cost-of-living-in-japan/
Exchange rate raises cost of living in Japan
September 27, 2010 by Lee Miller
With the yen rising in value, Temple Japan students can't live the way they used to.
TOKYO-- For many students, studying abroad is a dream, and with Temple’s abroad campuses, such as Temple Japan, students have a great chance to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
TUJcampus
Temple Japan is located in Tokyo’s Azabu Jyuban district, an upscale residential part of the city. Recent economic trends have caused the dollar to decrease in value and the yen to rise, which is making a semester in Japan more difficult to afford.
However, the current economic troubles have meant that the once quite-affordable semester in Tokyo has become rather expensive, as exchange rates have plummeted.
Three years ago, the Japanese yen was at 121 per dollar, which meant that, in spite of Tokyo being one of the most expensive cities in the world and Temple Japan being in one of the most expensive parts of Tokyo, many students could comfortably travel to Japan for a semester or even all fours years of their college career.
This month, however, the yen reached a 15-year high versus the dollar, reaching 83 yen per dollar in the midst of America’s recession. This is a staggering 32 percent change in value of the dollar in Japan.
The effect has been particularly devastating to Americans who attend Temple Japan for extended periods of time. Even though full-time American students pay tuition in yen, students’ financial aid still comes from the United States in dollars.
China set to overtake US, Japan in race to petaflop supercomputing
First, a New York Times article, with an excerpt after the link, and then a link to the Xinhua news article up at China's National University of Defense's website, quoted in its entirety.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/technology/28compute.html?_r=1&nl=&emc=a1
excerpt:
For decades, the United States has developed most of the underlying technology that goes into the massive supercomputers and has built the largest, fastest machines at research laboratories and universities. Some of the top systems simulate the effects of nuclear weapons, while others predict the weather and aid in energy research.
In 2002, the United States lost its crown as supercomputing kingpin for the first time in stunning fashion when Japan unveiled a machine with more horsepower than the top 20 American computers combined. The United States government responded in kind, forming groups to plot a comeback and pouring money into supercomputing projects. The United States regained its leadership status in 2004, and has kept it, until now.
http://english.nudt.edu.cn/intrdouce.asp?classid=8&rootclassid=8
Xinhua News: Defense university builds China's fastest supercomputer
By Xinhua writers Yu Fei, Bai Ruixue and Wang Yushan
CHANGSHA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) unveiled Thursday China's fastest supercomputer, which could rival the world's most powerful computing devices.
The supercomputer, named Tianhe, meaning Milky Way, is theoretically able to do more than 1 quadrillion calculations per second (one petaflop) at peak speed.
A single-day task for Tianhe might take a mainstream dual-core personal computer 160 years to complete, working non-top -- if it can last that long.
NUDT president Zhang Yulin said the 155-ton system, with 103 refrigerator-like cabinets lined up on an area of about 1,000 square meters, is expected to process seismic data for oil exploration, conduct bio-medical computing and help design aerospace vehicles.
China's national high-technology research and development program and the Binhai New Area, a major economic development zonein the northern port city of Tianjin jointly financed Tianhe, which cost at least 600 million yuan (88.24 million U.S. dollars).
Tianhe's peak performance reaches 1.206 petaflops, and it runs at 563.1 teraflops (1,000 teraflops equals one petaflop) on the Linpack benchmark, which was originally developed by U.S. computer scientist Jack Dongarra and has become an internationally recognized method to measure a supercomputer's real performance in practical use.
Zhang said the technical data of Tianhe had been submitted to the world Top 500 list, compiled by the University of Mannheim, in Germany, the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee in the United States.
The next Top 500 supercomputer list will be released in November.
The performance of Tianhe would have made it the world's fourth most powerful supercomputer in the most recent ranking in June.
"I was shocked at the milestone breakthrough, which was beyond expectation," said Zhang Yunquan, a researcher with the Institute of Software of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and an organizer of the China Top 100 list, which was released at a national conference on high-performance computers Thursday.
"I previously forecast China's first petaflop computer no earlier than the end of 2010," Zhang said.
The giant device, a product of 200 computer scientists and two years' work, was housed in the NUDT campus in Changsha, Hunan Province, and would be moved to the National Supercomputing Centerin Tianjin at the end of 2009, said Li Nan, chief coordinator of the program.
Equipped with 6,144 Intel CPUs and 5,120 AMD GPUs, Tianhe was able to store all 27 million books in the National Library of China four times over, said Zhou Xingming, an academician of CAS and a professor with NUDT.
"As far as I know, a combination of CPU and GPU is something new used to make a petaflop computer. A GPU, or graphic processing unit, plays a role as an accelerator to make the computer run faster, but reduces its power consumption and cost," Zhou explained.
"After it's installed in Tianjin, we plan to add hundreds or thousands of China-made CPUs to the machine, and improve its Linpack performance to over 800 teraflops," Zhou said.
Although its annual electricity bill can be as high as 18 million yuan, Tianhe could have been ranked the world's fifth greenest supercomputer, according to Green500 List in June, compiled by researchers at Virginia Tech aiming to provide a ranking of the most energy-efficient supercomputers in the world and serve as a complementary view to the TOP500.
Of the world's fastest 500 supercomputers, the United States alone has invented 291, including the top 10, Europe has 145 and Asia 49, the June World Top 500 List said.
In the same list, the Chinese mainland has 20 high-performance computers, with CPUs all supplied by foreign manufacturers.
China's Dawning Information Industry Company is attempting to build its own supercomputer that overcomes the petaflop barrier by2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/technology/28compute.html?_r=1&nl=&emc=a1
excerpt:
For decades, the United States has developed most of the underlying technology that goes into the massive supercomputers and has built the largest, fastest machines at research laboratories and universities. Some of the top systems simulate the effects of nuclear weapons, while others predict the weather and aid in energy research.
In 2002, the United States lost its crown as supercomputing kingpin for the first time in stunning fashion when Japan unveiled a machine with more horsepower than the top 20 American computers combined. The United States government responded in kind, forming groups to plot a comeback and pouring money into supercomputing projects. The United States regained its leadership status in 2004, and has kept it, until now.
http://english.nudt.edu.cn/intrdouce.asp?classid=8&rootclassid=8
Xinhua News: Defense university builds China's fastest supercomputer
By Xinhua writers Yu Fei, Bai Ruixue and Wang Yushan
CHANGSHA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) unveiled Thursday China's fastest supercomputer, which could rival the world's most powerful computing devices.
The supercomputer, named Tianhe, meaning Milky Way, is theoretically able to do more than 1 quadrillion calculations per second (one petaflop) at peak speed.
A single-day task for Tianhe might take a mainstream dual-core personal computer 160 years to complete, working non-top -- if it can last that long.
NUDT president Zhang Yulin said the 155-ton system, with 103 refrigerator-like cabinets lined up on an area of about 1,000 square meters, is expected to process seismic data for oil exploration, conduct bio-medical computing and help design aerospace vehicles.
China's national high-technology research and development program and the Binhai New Area, a major economic development zonein the northern port city of Tianjin jointly financed Tianhe, which cost at least 600 million yuan (88.24 million U.S. dollars).
Tianhe's peak performance reaches 1.206 petaflops, and it runs at 563.1 teraflops (1,000 teraflops equals one petaflop) on the Linpack benchmark, which was originally developed by U.S. computer scientist Jack Dongarra and has become an internationally recognized method to measure a supercomputer's real performance in practical use.
Zhang said the technical data of Tianhe had been submitted to the world Top 500 list, compiled by the University of Mannheim, in Germany, the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee in the United States.
The next Top 500 supercomputer list will be released in November.
The performance of Tianhe would have made it the world's fourth most powerful supercomputer in the most recent ranking in June.
"I was shocked at the milestone breakthrough, which was beyond expectation," said Zhang Yunquan, a researcher with the Institute of Software of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and an organizer of the China Top 100 list, which was released at a national conference on high-performance computers Thursday.
"I previously forecast China's first petaflop computer no earlier than the end of 2010," Zhang said.
The giant device, a product of 200 computer scientists and two years' work, was housed in the NUDT campus in Changsha, Hunan Province, and would be moved to the National Supercomputing Centerin Tianjin at the end of 2009, said Li Nan, chief coordinator of the program.
Equipped with 6,144 Intel CPUs and 5,120 AMD GPUs, Tianhe was able to store all 27 million books in the National Library of China four times over, said Zhou Xingming, an academician of CAS and a professor with NUDT.
"As far as I know, a combination of CPU and GPU is something new used to make a petaflop computer. A GPU, or graphic processing unit, plays a role as an accelerator to make the computer run faster, but reduces its power consumption and cost," Zhou explained.
"After it's installed in Tianjin, we plan to add hundreds or thousands of China-made CPUs to the machine, and improve its Linpack performance to over 800 teraflops," Zhou said.
Although its annual electricity bill can be as high as 18 million yuan, Tianhe could have been ranked the world's fifth greenest supercomputer, according to Green500 List in June, compiled by researchers at Virginia Tech aiming to provide a ranking of the most energy-efficient supercomputers in the world and serve as a complementary view to the TOP500.
Of the world's fastest 500 supercomputers, the United States alone has invented 291, including the top 10, Europe has 145 and Asia 49, the June World Top 500 List said.
In the same list, the Chinese mainland has 20 high-performance computers, with CPUs all supplied by foreign manufacturers.
China's Dawning Information Industry Company is attempting to build its own supercomputer that overcomes the petaflop barrier by2010.
Consumer credit reform impacts student loan program in Japan HE
One of the consequences of the 'massification' of higher education in Japan is the total cost of financing that education for 3 million students. Moreover, even as Japan's recessionary economy has experienced long-term price deflation, the costs of higher education and health care have gone up.
One reason for the increase in these areas is a reduction of government subsidy. Japan is consistently cited as having one of the lowest government contributions to education and higher education in the OECD. However, government contributions to higher education overlap with government spending on scientific and medical research, so sometimes it is hard to keep track of this as a social or educational indicator.
The long-term recessionary economy has meant families tap into household savings to pay for education and health care. In the case of working class families who are trying to put a family member into higher education for the first time, savings are often lacking. So are enough scholarships. So universities, students and their families are turning to student loan programs. However, one loan program has hit a snag because of the unintended consequences of a consumer credit law reform.
Read the entire Yomiuri article at the link below. Excerpts follow.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100819001529.htm
Banks bail on low-interest education loans
The Yomiuri Shimbun
In an unexpected side-effect of new regulations meant to deter aggressive sales practices, some banks, including Resona Bank, have stopped accepting applications for low-interest education loans designed for university and vocational school students.
Three banks operated by Resona Holdings, Inc. and some regional banks have terminated the low-interest loans, designed to help pay admission, tuition and other fees. The loans are extended to students' parents in cooperation with the educational institutions, which sometimes act as guarantor or contribute to interest payments.
It is the first time a major bank group has been known to withdraw from a cooperation loan program of this nature.
The cooperation loan program hit a snag when the revised Installment Sales Law was enacted in December.
One reason for the increase in these areas is a reduction of government subsidy. Japan is consistently cited as having one of the lowest government contributions to education and higher education in the OECD. However, government contributions to higher education overlap with government spending on scientific and medical research, so sometimes it is hard to keep track of this as a social or educational indicator.
The long-term recessionary economy has meant families tap into household savings to pay for education and health care. In the case of working class families who are trying to put a family member into higher education for the first time, savings are often lacking. So are enough scholarships. So universities, students and their families are turning to student loan programs. However, one loan program has hit a snag because of the unintended consequences of a consumer credit law reform.
Read the entire Yomiuri article at the link below. Excerpts follow.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100819001529.htm
Banks bail on low-interest education loans
The Yomiuri Shimbun
In an unexpected side-effect of new regulations meant to deter aggressive sales practices, some banks, including Resona Bank, have stopped accepting applications for low-interest education loans designed for university and vocational school students.
Three banks operated by Resona Holdings, Inc. and some regional banks have terminated the low-interest loans, designed to help pay admission, tuition and other fees. The loans are extended to students' parents in cooperation with the educational institutions, which sometimes act as guarantor or contribute to interest payments.
It is the first time a major bank group has been known to withdraw from a cooperation loan program of this nature.
The cooperation loan program hit a snag when the revised Installment Sales Law was enacted in December.
27 October 2010
Shiga University president: Japan's scientific research, universities in decline
In a recent Japan Times opinion piece, Takamitsu Sawa, the president of Shiga University and frequent contributor to the Op-Ed of the newspaper, laments the overall decline in research and research at the universities, linking the decline with small government budgets and the 'corporatization' of the national university system.
Key excerpts:
1. The poor performance shown by Japanese universities [in recent global rankings] is a clear indication of the dwindling standards of the nation's science and technology. A dramatic decline has been noted in recent years in the number of academic papers written by researchers at national universities and inter-university research institutes and printed in science journals. Indeed, the number in fiscal 2008 was 10 percent less than in fiscal 2005.
2. What accounts for this rapid decline in Japan's share of scientific research?
First of all, I would like to point to an unusually small budget allocated to science and technology compared with other countries. In Japan, the amount of public money allocated to higher education is equivalent to a mere 0.5 percent of gross domestic product, which makes it 27th among the 28 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development....
The second factor is the 2004 policy of turning national universities into bodies called independent administrative corporations. Ever since then, university instructors have become so busy drafting documents stating medium-term targets, medium-term plans and annual plans, as well as preparing papers needed to secure funds to make their institutions more competitive, that they have had to drastically sacrifice time that otherwise could have been used for research.
The entire article can be read at Japan Times online at this link:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20101018ts.html
Key excerpts:
1. The poor performance shown by Japanese universities [in recent global rankings] is a clear indication of the dwindling standards of the nation's science and technology. A dramatic decline has been noted in recent years in the number of academic papers written by researchers at national universities and inter-university research institutes and printed in science journals. Indeed, the number in fiscal 2008 was 10 percent less than in fiscal 2005.
2. What accounts for this rapid decline in Japan's share of scientific research?
First of all, I would like to point to an unusually small budget allocated to science and technology compared with other countries. In Japan, the amount of public money allocated to higher education is equivalent to a mere 0.5 percent of gross domestic product, which makes it 27th among the 28 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development....
The second factor is the 2004 policy of turning national universities into bodies called independent administrative corporations. Ever since then, university instructors have become so busy drafting documents stating medium-term targets, medium-term plans and annual plans, as well as preparing papers needed to secure funds to make their institutions more competitive, that they have had to drastically sacrifice time that otherwise could have been used for research.
The entire article can be read at Japan Times online at this link:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20101018ts.html
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