Foreign students to fill the halls
Japanese universities look abroad in hopes of upping their sagging enrollments
Rie Yoshinaga had a wide range of colleges to choose from.
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| Globalization: Of the 6,000 students at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Kyushu, nearly half come from abroad, as does the faculty. Classes are taught both in English and Japanese. TOMOKO OTAKE PHOTOS |
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Having studied at a high school in Canada for 10 months, Yoshinaga, an 18-year-old native of Oita Prefecture in the northeast of Kyushu region, is perhaps more globally minded than many of her peers. She says she seriously considered applying for Australian universities — one of the closest English-speaking countries to Oita — until she realized there was an international university right in her hometown.
Yoshinaga is now a freshman at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), whose 99,000-sq.-meter hilltop campus commands a panoramic view of Beppu Bay, and where nearly half of the 6,000 students come from abroad, representing 87 countries. Half of the faculty are foreigners, and classes are taught both in English and Japanese. Proficiency in Japanese is not required for international students seeking admission, but once they get in, international and domestic students undergo intensive language training in the two languages, so that when they graduate, they should all have perfect bilingual — or trilingual, depending on their native tongue — capabilities.
“I found this university attractive because, while it is located in Japan, it is international,” Yoshinaga said, noting that she had no interest at all in other Japanese universities. “I thought that, if I studied here, I could study Japan and its relations with other countries, including the rest of Asia, whereas if I went to Australia, I would be looking at Asia from an Australian perspective.”
In the eight years since its establishment, APU has built a solid reputation for providing a multicultural and multilingual learning environment for all its students — a rare example among Japanese universities, where foreign students are a tiny minority and often segregated into their own programs separate from local students. APU has also breathed new life into a dying onsen (hot-spring) town, by providing a yearly inflow of 6,000 young students who spend their cash locally, and through joint research projects with local governments and industries. (さらに…)
Land of the Rising Half-breeds?!
I am pretty sure that those of mixed-heritage in Japan (sometimes referred to as half or double) will not take to being called a half-breed too kindly (they are not dogs or plants) but the article by J-cast below is none the less interesting. Here are some previous Black Tokyo reports that provide additional information.
A rapid increase in the number of women in their 20s and 30s choosing foreign husbands may turn Japan into a land of half-breeds, or so says vernacular web news site J-cast.
The site refers to Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare survey data that indicated that one baby out of every 30 is of mixed blood origin (konketsu no haafu). Moreover in the central wards of Tokyo, as well as in both Osaka and Nagoya, there is a high rate [of intermarriage] — one couple out of 10. According to an expert, over the past five years the number of [Japanese] women choosing Caucasian partners has increased more than tenfold. Is Japan, J-cast wonders, on the verge of becoming a society where [the presence of] mixed-breeds is taken for granted? (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Radical GOJ immigration plan under discussion
Japan Times: Foreigners will have a much better opportunity to move to, or continue to live in, Japan under a new immigration plan drafted by Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers to accept 10 million immigrants in the next 50 years.
“The plan means (some politicians) are seriously thinking about Japan’s future,” said Debito Arudou, who is originally from the United States but has lived in Japan for 20 years and became a naturalized citizen in 2000. “While it is no surprise by global standards, it is a surprisingly big step forward for Japan.”
The group of some 80 lawmakers, led by former LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa, finalized the plan on June 12 and aims to submit it to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda later this week.
The plan is “the most effective way to counter the labor shortage Japan is doomed to face amid a decreasing number of children,” Nakagawa said…
However, the immigration plan calls for the goal to be achieved soon and for the government to aim for 1 million foreign students by 2025. It also proposes accepting an annual 1,000 asylum seekers and other people who need protection for humanitarian reasons…
Arudou, a foreigners’ rights activist, noted the importance of establishing a legal basis for specifically banning discrimination against non-Japanese.
“Founding a legal basis is important because people do not become open just because the government opens the door,” he said…
But wait, there’s even more to this excellent article here.
Here is the link to the Japanese Immigration page.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Overseas and Married to a Foreign Spouse?
Obtaining U.S. citizenship is now easier for servicemembers’ foreign-born spouse thanks to a new law that allows interviews and swearing in on U.S. military bases overseas.
Click here for the rest of the story!
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Handbook for Newcomers, Migrants and Immigrants to Japan
Arudou Debito & Higuchi Akira
A new bilingual book by lawyer Higuchi Akira and author-activist Arudou Debito went on sale in March 2008. The book includes advice on securing stable visas, establishing businesses and secure jobs, resolving legal problems, and planning for the future from entry into Japan to death.?In this extract, they explain the rationale behind the project and offer advice for how to deal with problems in Japan and integrate into Japanese society.
Migration of labor is an un-ignorable reality in this globalizing world. Japan is no exception. In recent years, Japan has had record numbers of registered foreigners, international marriages, and people receiving permanent residency. This guidebook is designed to help non-Japanese settle in Japan, and become more secure residents and contributors to Japanese society.
For detailed information on the book, the preface, and excerpts (see below) click here.
Chapter One: ARRIVING IN JAPAN
1 – Understanding the structure of the Japanese Visa System (the difference between “Visa”, “Status of Residence” (SOR) and “Certificate of Eligibility” (COE))
2 – Procedures for coming to Japan
– Acquiring SOR from outside Japan
– Changing or acquiring SOR from inside Japan
– Chart summarizing Visa, COE, and SOR
3 – Procedures after you came to Japan
– Bringing your family over to Japan
– Leaving Japan temporarily
– Extending your stay in Japan
– Changing jobs in Japan
– Changing SOR so you can work
– Chart summarizing Immigration procedures
4 – What kinds of Status of Residence are there?
– Chart outlining all 27 possible SOR
– Recommendations for specific jobs
– Requirements for select Statuses of Residence
5 – What if you overstay or work without proper status?
– Recent changes to Immigration law
– Examples of unintended violations
– Our advice if you overstay your SOR
6 – Getting Permanent Residency and Japanese Nationality
– Chart summarizing the requirements and differences between the two
7 – Conclusions and final advice on how to make your SOR stable
Chapter Four: WHAT TO DO IF… RESOLVING PROBLEMS
LIFESTYLE: FAMILY MATTERS:
…if you want to get married
…if you want to register your children in Japanese schools
…if you want to register your newborn Japanese children with non-Japanese names
…if you have a problem (such as ijime bullying) in your children’s schools
…if you want to change your children’s schools
…if you suffer from Domestic Violence
…if you want to get divorced
…if you are having visitation, child custody, or child support problems
…if you are a pregnant out of wedlock by a Japanese man
Click here for additional information on the author and his activist activities in Japan.
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Book synopsis follows:
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“HANDBOOK FOR NEWCOMERS, MIGRANTS, AND IMMIGRANTS TO JAPAN”
ISBN: 978-4-7503-2741-9
Authors: HIGUCHI Akira and ARUDOU Debito
Languages: English and Japanese
Publisher: Akashi Shoten Inc., Tokyo
On sale from March 15, 2008
372 Pages. Price: 2300 yen (2415 yen after tax)
Goal: To help non-Japanese entrants become residents and immigrants
Topics: Securing stable visas, Establishing businesses and secure jobs, Resolving legal problems, Planning for the future through to death…
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TO ORDER: Click here! (Note: Depending on the interest generated by my BT readers, I will try to sell the handbook in the USA via my company if I can reach an agreement with Debito and the publisher .)
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Black Tokyo Japan 