1．The Escalation of International Competition Among Universities

　　It has been many years since industries in the business world entered the age of globalization and international competition. Universities, on the other hand, are just now entering this age. Leading universities around the world are working to develop new educational and research fields as well as restructure the systems and organizations that support them. New partnerships are being forged between universities and industries, as well as between universities themselves. A fierce international competition is now arising among these academic institutions in various educational and research fields.
One of the most intensely waged battles is that for attracting the brightest young students. If a university’s mission is to produce competent individuals, it must first gather people with potential from around the world. The world’s leading universities are currently putting forth great effort towards achieving this goal.
Various methods are being implemented to pursue this goal. For example, scholarships, tuition fee waivers and other incentives are offered to outstanding university applicants. Compared to their Japanese counterparts, big name universities in the West are characterized by high tuitions. However, outstanding applicants to such institutions often receive large economic incentives.
More subtle recruitment techniques are also being adopted to bring in highly capable individuals from around the globe. It is not uncommon for a university to have a full-time recruiter travel year-round to various countries around the world. Additionally, institutions often rely on worldwide alumni networks to provide a perpetual referral system for finding new university applicants.
It is common sense for universities to use many types of media vehicles to find exceptional students. In recent years, Internet web sites have played a major role in distributing information. It could be said that the world’s leading universities have now entered a new age of expanded competition range thanks to the use of Internet web sites.

2. The Present State of University Reform in Japan

Japanese universities have also joined in the race, directing a tremendous amount of energy toward attracting students from abroad. Yet, most of the international students studying in Japan come from China, Korea, Taiwan and other countries in East Asia. In fact, these three countries and regions alone have come to contribute about 80% of the international students studying in Japan. Compared to countries like the US, United Kingdom and Australia, the diversity of international students in Japan is low indeed.
The primary cause for this lack of international students is that aside from a small number of exceptional cases, most lectures at Japanese universities are conducted solely in Japanese. Regardless of what their native languages may be, international students must first invest great effort into learning the Japanese language in order to participate in the Japanese-only educational environment of a Japanese university?this in an age where English has become the lingua franca of the world.
If universities do not immediately take steps to resolve this problem of excluding international students, the current efforts to increase international competitiveness will have been in vain. Talented individuals around the world will not gather in Japan, opting instead to pursue their studies in the West. It is due to such circumstances that even Japanese people are increasingly aspiring to attend foreign universities from their freshman year.

3. What Has Been Learned Over Three Years at APU

One attempt to turn around Japan’s lagging internationalization movement is Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), established four years ago in April 2000. Located in Beppu City, on the island of Kyushu, the university was founded by the Ritsumeikan Trust, which obtained project assistance from the local governments of Oita Prefecture and Beppu City.
This new project to create a truly international university is characterized by several unique features, never before implemented by any Japanese university:
1: Of the 800 students accepted to the University every year, 400 are international students.
2: Lectures are presented in both Japanese and English. Unlike most Japanese universities where Japanese language proficiency is a prerequisite for enrollment, APU accepts students who can understand lectures in English only. Japanese language skills are developed at the University after enrollment.
3: In order to effectively implement this dual-language educational system, half of APU’s faculty body is comprised of professors from abroad.
4: APU’s education content and research areas focus on the Asia Pacific region. This feature is clearly and symbolically expressed in the names of the undergraduate school and of the University itself. APU’s education focuses on the competitive qualities of Japanese management. This along with classes on the tea ceremony and other Japanese cultural activities make the University an attractive and worthy option to students all over the world.
In this way, APU’s undergraduate school provides an authentic international education never before seen in Japan. It has been in operation for three years and is just now entering its fourth.

(1) Progress Within APU: Reforms and their Effects
What exactly has APU experienced in its three years of operation?
APU’s student body is comprised of international students hailing from countries and regions all over the world, resulting in a campus boasting a degree of diversity seen in no other Japanese university. APU students currently come from seventy-two countries and regions around the world (as of April 2004). ( cf. Table 1)
The primary factor that attracts this great number of international students is the ability to attend lectures presented in English. Although there are other contributing factors, lectures remain the most essential part of any university education. The phenomenon observed at APU would never have arisen had its lectures not been accessible to students from around the world. Thus, through instituting its system of English language lectures, APU is altering the composition of international students coming to study in Japan.
Second, the fact that half of the student body comes from abroad helps promote mutual intellectual stimulation and understanding. Many international students have clearly defined goals for the future and possess a strong drive to pursue their studies. Above all, this situation creates a stimulus for the University’s Japanese students, fostering the development of internationally-minded individuals and helping to bring forth a genuine desire to learn at a level that is hard to find at other institutions.
Third, the fact that half of the faculty body also comes from abroad provides additional mutual intellectual stimulation. The Japanese professors in particular are greatly motivated by this educational system. In many cases, the professors from abroad possess knowledge of effective educational methods that the Japanese professors have not had the opportunity to study.
Fourth, the enthusiasm shown by students toward learning about post-war management systems initiated by Japanese companies and Japanese culture in general encourage the Japanese students and faculty to reexamine the world’s assessment of things that are uniquely Japanese.
Fifth, the University has introduced unique systems of class credits and academic merit awards that have never been fully realized at other Japanese universities. In particular, APU operates a system that puts half the tuition fees toward registered credits decided on by the students themselves. This system raises the intensity shown by the students toward their studies and by the professors toward their classes in a way never before seen at a Japanese university.

(2) Looking Toward Future Challenges
APU has shown relatively good progress over the three years since its establishment. So far, it has attracted students driven to learn about Japan and the Asia Pacific region from over seventy countries and regions around the world. What challenges await the University in the future?
Amidst escalating competition, the University must first successfully attract bright students from abroad. This task remains APU’s biggest challenge. Although APU is a newcomer among Japanese universities, it has thus far tackled this challenge with relative success. Yet, the global competition for attracting bright students will surely intensify in the future. The question is, will APU?the first Japanese university to seriously venture in to the international arena?be able to continue advancing on its path?
Furthermore, the University must work to attract Japanese students with high proficiency in English. As APU continues to enroll international students with high English proficiency, and in order for the University to be able to continue attracting such students, it must ensure that the other half of the student body?the Japanese students?are at a comparable skill level. It is vital that APU strives to enroll Japanese students who possess the skills for conducting English language discussions on the same level as the international students.

　※ Paper contributed to Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry, July/August 2003.