127: 80 Years Later, Japan’s Big Problem (6)

【Why Students Stay Away 1】
The central reason why Japan, Tokyo, and rural America remain strikingly conservative, while urban America is overwhelmingly liberal: differences in inclusive experiences.
 
Below are comparisons of student demographics at colleges considered to be the most selective in the US and Japan.  
 
Foreign Nationals and Immigrants

• US: 57–71%
• JPN:  2–16%

Race

• US:  20–30% majority group
• JPN: 99%+ majority group 

 
The University of Tokyo’s 16% is the highest proportion of international students among the top universities in Japan. Data on immigrant students is virtually nonexistent, largely because their numbers are so small. [See Previous]
 
Knowing these facts or not, comments like the following are common:
“Instead of admitting foreigners, UTokyo should accept more Japanese students.”
 
What’s even more striking is that such claims are sometimes made by people who themselves--or whose children--have benefited from studying abroad in countries like the US, where international students are actively welcomed.
 
Yet the data speaks for itself. In reality, even Japan’s so-called elite universities attract relatively few students from around the world. While this could be taken to imply limited effort, information released by the universities suggests otherwise: they are, in fact, making serious attempts to attract international students.
 
So why don’t students want to study abroad in Japan?
 
There are two major reasons.
Let’s start with the first.
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Reason #1: Weak Pathways to Employment and Long-Term Residency
 
Universities that attract students from around the world place great importance on inclusive education and environments. This inclusivity extends beyond academics to include clear pathways into post-graduation life: employment and long-term residency.
 
Today’s college students are intensely focused on life after graduation, so they’re likely to choose universities with future job prospects in mind. Employment, in turn, often sways where new graduates begin their adult lives and lay long-term foundations.
 
For this reason, countries that actively welcome immigrants are especially attractive to students worldwide.
 
Consider the following data:
 
Immigrants Welcomed (% of population)

• US: 50.63 million (15%)
• JPN:  2.77 million   (2%)

 
Only 2% for Japan. Compared with inclusive countries, Japan is profoundly unwelcoming. [See #109]
 
Knowing these facts or not, some frequently express sentiments like:
“Japan’s already flooded with foreigners!”
“We’re going to be taken over by China!”
“Japan will stop being Japan!”
 
But once placed in a global context, such statements reveal how shallow and detached from reality they are. And again, what’s striking is that such claims are sometimes made by people who themselves--or whose children--have benefited from living abroad in countries like the US, where foreign nationals are actively welcomed.
 
There’s also a fear-mongering conservative mindset that portrays foreigners as a threat:
“Crime has skyrocketed because of the foreigners!”
 
However, even Japan’s National Police Agency has made it clear that there’s no factual basis for this claim. Once again, the underlying issue appears to be an inability to think independently, grounded in factual/evidence-based reasoning.
 
That said, it’s true that the number of foreign residents in Japan has increased in recent years, particularly as we often see technical intern trainees working at urban convenience stores. This increase is driven by Japan’s declining birthrate and aging population, which have sharply reduced the domestic workforce. As a result, foreign workers are now essential to keeping society functioning, and everyone living in Japan should be thanking them rather than demonizing them.
 
Even so, compared to advanced nations, Japan’s increase in foreign residents remains minimal.
 
Moreover, the Technical Intern Training Program is largely a misnomer. In most cases, little specialized skill training actually takes place. Instead, trainees are usually assigned unpopular, low-pay work, are prohibited from switching jobs, and are forced to leave Japan after only a few years. Some cases are so abusive that they’ve been described as a form of modern slavery.
 
Although the program is set to transition into the new Employment for Skill Development Program, there’s a real risk that this will amount to little more than a name change unless underlying conservative mindsets shift.
 
Returning to the main point: in a society like Japan where immigrants aren’t welcomed, opportunities remain unstable. Even after beginning to build a life, foreign residents are forced out after only a few years. This means starting over almost entirely: not just work and housing, but also relationships, community ties, and everything else.
 
Under such uncertainty, studying abroad in Japan is hardly an attractive option for students around the world.
 
The Trump administration seems eager to turn the US into a country more like Japan--that is, a society dominated by an overwhelming racial and ethnic majority. To achieve this, they aggressively seek to reduce immigrants and international students. Refugee acceptances have been slashed, family separations normalized, and inhumane deportation of undocumented immigrants pursued without hesitation.
 
It’s been barely a year since these conservative policies were pushed forward, yet students around the world have already begun avoiding American Universities. This clearly demonstrates how crucial post-graduation pathways to employment and long-term residency are for students.
 
In the next post, we’ll examine the second major reason.
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Read Next: 80 Years Later, Japan’s Big Problem (7)【Why Students Stay Away 2】
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