Empowering Students for Global Success

Japan is facing several challenges, most notably a lack of globalization in the workforce and a declining population, which will lead to an estimated shortage of over 10 million workers by 2040. As a result, the Japanese government is looking to attract more international students here, with a goal of 400,000 by the end of the decade. What role do you believe higher level education institutions can play in this push for globalization and to attract more international students to Japan?

The figures of 10,000,000 and 400,000 are often used. The former refers to the target for foreign workers, and the latter refers to the target for the number of international students enrolled in universities. However, there is a big gap between these two concepts, and that is the problem. The types of jobs required for foreign workers are completely different from the paths international students take after graduation. While both of these goals require effort to achieve, these figures are completely different. 

However, I believe Japanese people are very open to accepting international students, and they are also very kind to foreigners. That is a characteristic of Japan.

The challenge in attracting international students to universities is that in the past, international students were often considered as a benchmark to fill university quotas, and universities often accepted international students as "customers." International students come to Japan because they admire Japan, and want to find employment in Japan after graduation, so universities must focus more on developing the professional skills required by Japanese companies. Japanese society does not tend to prefer a specific type of people, and wants to build good relationships with people from all over the world. Universities must be strongly aware that they have a role to play in making up for the future shortage of human resources, and I think it is time for them to build a "strategic" human resource development program as a group of universities, rather than leaving it up to the efforts of each individual university.

Because Japanese people have been able to live using only Japanese for a long time, they tend to lack the ability to acquire multilingual skills. Also, historically, learning a new language has rarely directly translated into social status or income. However, while Japanese universities are now seriously facing the need to accept international students, some universities are not yet ready to accept them. For example, there are few teachers who can teach in English, and many teachers who only speak Japanese. As a result, higher education institutions are not necessarily prepared to teach multilingual students from overseas. Nevertheless, all Japanese universities are now making a great effort to accept international students. We want to make our university a place where young people from all over the world can learn together, and that is what we aim for.

As Japan becomes an increasingly popular tourist destination, many international students are looking for ways to study in Japan. IPU has a Global Studies Program to help students improve their Japanese language skills, integrate smoothly into academic life, and progress to the School of Business. What are the main features of this program? And how does the program support international students in adapting to academic life at IPU?

Our university believes it is important to teach Japanese to international students, and we do so. Since many universities around the world offer classes in English, isn't it important for Japanese universities to teach Japanese to international students? Learning Japanese and having a solid understanding of Japanese society and corporate culture are essential conditions for working in a Japanese company. I think this is the key to creating the conditions for working in a company.

When accepting students, Japanese universities check the N2 level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, and if the standard is met, the visa application process begins. However, should universities be satisfied with the same level as the Immigration Bureau? N2 is not enough to take university classes and understand the content. We have the university test the Japanese language proficiency again when prospective students come to Japan. As a result, we divide them into three ranks, including classes above and below N2, and use the same campus building as current university students. Being surrounded by regular students on a daily basis makes international students want to "officially enroll". I think this is important. Another issue is that Japanese language education after entering university is not provided sufficiently. At our university, we place importance on Japanese language education in parallel with the curriculum of the department, and we teach Japanese language to students at their level when they arrive.

Furthermore, as the saying goes, "to teach is to learn," we believe it is very important for international students to acquire the ability to teach Japanese. We provide teaching experience in classes, and have them learn Japanese through practice. The Japanese government has unified the certification of Japanese language education. It is trying to narrow it down to one and raise the standard of teaching ability through a transition period. If international students coming to Japan obtain the qualification and acquire leadership teaching ability, they can return to their home countries and become Japanese language teachers and introduce Japan to their own people. This is also a major role expected of international students.

One criticism of Japanese universities is that it is difficult for international students to find employment after studying in Japan. They may struggle with a lack of support, language barriers, or different hiring practices at Japanese companies. I understand that your university has established a system to help international students find employment, including a career center and the Japanese language education you mentioned earlier. How have you helped international students find employment so far? Also, what is the success rate for them to stay in Japan after graduation?

The biggest goal of international students coming to Japan is to find employment in Japan. However, the recent employment rate is less than 40%. Many universities have used different standards to evaluate international students than Japanese students. For example, they were allowed to pass exams with lower scores than Japanese students. If this is changed and evaluated accurately, the employment rate will improve. Also, some universities do not provide education at a level that allows international students to achieve their goals, which results in fewer opportunities to find good jobs in Japan. International students want to come to Japan to learn and compete in Japanese society. I believe that if universities foster this desire, international students will achieve the level required by Japanese companies.

Universities need to understand which Japanese language skills Japanese companies require. If international students can achieve that ability before graduation, many companies will hire international students. There is ample opportunity because Japanese companies do a lot of business with overseas companies.

At our university, we have a dedicated career counselor who works with faculty to provide career-oriented classes and develop a job-hunting program from the second semester of the second year so that international students who are looking to find employment do not lack information or do not know where to turn for help. However, it all comes down to how enthusiastic the employment counselor and the international student themselves are about the challenge.

In addition, one of the challenges faced by international students seeking employment in Japan is the difficulty of changing from a student visa to a working visa. We actively intermediate between companies and students and support the approval of visa changes.

The distinctive feature of our university's career support for Japanese students is that, like international students, we provide full-scale individual support according to the diverse goals of students from the second semester of their second year. We support various fields such as teachers, nursery school teachers, civil servants, corporate employees, athletes, medical professionals, and even graduate school students.

At universities, career support is often provided as part of the duties of university staff, but at our university, in addition to that, professionals with specialized knowledge continuously support students' dreams day and night. For example, staff who support students aiming to become teachers are alumni members of the Board of Education and former principals with extensive teaching experience, who will provide supplementary lessons for employment exams even during the Obon holidays. Staff who support students aiming to become civil servants are people with experience in private civil servant prep schools, and support for students aiming to find employment in companies is provided by a team of experts with national qualifications as career consultants who work together with the students.

As a result, we achieved a 100% employment rate in 2024 as well. In terms of the success rate for each career path, the success rate for the elementary school teacher exam exceeded 94% for the third consecutive year, and 98 of the 2024 graduates became elementary school teachers. The success rate for various civil service exams exceeded 95% for the fifth consecutive year. This is something our university is proud of.

Of course, passing exams is not the final goal. The university also focuses on helping students grow into people who can succeed in society. For students aiming to become teachers, we conduct various exercises to develop the human qualities necessary for the teaching profession, such as a sense of mission, love of education, and awareness of human rights. For students aiming for public service, we thoroughly practice compliance with regulations, adherence to rules, and maintaining a proper appearance. Our specialized education is the development of non-cognitive abilities from the age of 18. We have built a dedicated school building for this purpose. In this building named Discovery, students learn to develop interpersonal skills and discipline in everyday life. And for students aiming to find employment in a company, we help them acquire the necessary professional skills, such as learning business etiquette and improving IT literacy.

Your university has a campus in New Zealand. This allows students to study abroad and improve their language skills, and to integrate the New Zealand curriculum with the curriculum at the Japanese campus. What do you think are the academic and career advantages of studying in New Zealand?

In New Zealand, where the first campus of the IPU project became located, I began working in 1987 to let the government know how wonderful New Zealand is for international education. As a result, the government enacted the Education Act 1989 and recognized private higher education institutions. At the same time, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) was established to certify the programs offered by these institutions and ensure the quality of education. One of the first institutions accredited by NZQA was the International Pacific College (IPC), which is now IPU New Zealand (IPUNZ). In 1990, the 15th Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Paul Reeves, visited the school and declared its opening proclamation as a commemorative event for the 150th anniversary of the founding of New Zealand. It is a point of pride for the faculty and staff of IPUNZ.

IPU New Zealand campus

I believe there are four main features of studying at IPUNZ. First of all, even if students do not have sufficient English when they enter university, by the time they graduate they will have acquired English and will be able to receive university education. Usually, when a non-English speaking student enters a community where English is the native language, it is often difficult for them to integrate well into that community. However, if the community is a group of non-native English speakers like IPUNZ, with New Zealand students as is the current situation, it becomes easier for students to integrate into it. This also makes them to enjoy themselves and feel successful while increasing their motivation to learn. IPUNZ is a university for non-English speaking students. This was the main purpose of creating this university in New Zealand.

The second feature is academic. By studying with young people in New Zealand and international students from all over the world, students can develop active and multifaceted thinking and communication skills. IPUNZ offers small, interactive classes and encourages students to actively express their opinions and make presentations. For example, in an international relations course, students participate in a Model United Nations program, express their opinions on behalf of various countries, clarify their positions on issues, and explain their reasons. This can be repeated in an environment where students from various countries with different values ​​and communication styles come together. Japanese students cannot passively wait for their lecturers or other students to provide answers. At IPU New Zealand, faculty and staff always pay attention to each student and strive to bring out the best in them.

The third feature is cultural. Students at IPUNZ grow as global citizens in a multicultural environment, and this growth is fostered by the local community on and off campus. The country is safe, geopolitically stable, peaceful and green, with many different ethnicities and cultures coexisting. The citizens are friendly and welcoming to international students. More than 130 ethnicities live together in Palmerston North, where IPUNZ is located. IPU students interact with a diverse range of people through classes, daily life, outdoor activities in nature, and multicultural events on campus and in the local community, and these experiences contribute to their development as global citizens.

The fourth feature is the opportunity for lifelong career development. Students can live and learn with peers from all over the world and build a global network. The campus has facilities such as a cafeteria, student dormitories, and a recreation center, where students from various countries, including Japan, live and eat together. Students not only learn the skills required for a globalized world in the classroom, but also spend their time after school and on weekends sharing a wide range of emotions with a diverse range of people, building deep bonds and long-lasting relationships that contribute greatly to their career success after graduation.

We understand that you have expanded your offerings by launching a new faculty in April focusing on international economics in Tokyo. Within this faculty, there will be several areas of focus, including DX, innovation, and tourism and hospitality. This is a new curriculum that balances theory and practical, hands-on experience. What was the driving force behind creating this new faculty, and what are some of the key objectives and goals for it? 

I wanted to create three campuses from the beginning. First, I created IPC in New Zealand, but it took 17 years to create the second campus in Japan. In New Zealand, a university is first established and then accredited, but in Japan, on the other hand, the conditions for opening a university are whether the campus and school buildings are owned, whether the curriculum is properly constructed, and whether there are teachers to teach it. It is not easy to meet these conditions.

The second Okayama campus is located in a rural area. Okayama City is a very easy place to live for people from overseas. You can imagine this from the fact that it is called "Okayama, the Land of Sunshine." Our educational philosophy is to combine education and physical education, and we have incorporated sports into the center of university education. To succeed in life, you need to follow the rules and be evaluated by a third party. You need to compete in a strict and fair environment without being influenced by your own emotions, and be evaluated by others, and you must strive to win. This is why we have made sports the core of university education. As a result, we have achieved results. For example, there are more than 70 universities in the nine prefectures of the Chugoku-Shikoku region where IPU is located and our students have won in all 18 sports to which they belong.

These are distinctive features of the IPU Okayama Campus and New Zealand Campus, and now we are excited to have the opportunity to open our third campus.

For the third campus, which opened in April 2025, we were able to secure the opportunity to open near Tokyo.

Being located near an international city like Tokyo is a great advantage. To make the most of this advantage and combine learning with practice, we thought that international economics would be the best choice.

Tokyo is the place that attracts entrepreneurs the most. There is still a lot of potential for land and buildings, including student dormitories, on the Tokyo campus. We have initially opened accommodation for 100 people, to create a place for students from New Zealand, Okayama, and affiliated schools to visit, and provide a unique Tokyo experience, including company visits. Regional development will require cooperation with local governments and we hope to create an environment that raises students' expectations.

We want to create a university that international students actively choose to attend, rather than simply accepting international students to fill admission quotas. We believe that the result will be a university with a rich international atmosphere that will be able to provide valuable study abroad experiences. We want this campus to be a place where everyone can play a leading role, not as "foreigners" but as "global citizens."

To achieve this, we need to think about academic themes that will interest students from any country. That is why we chose to foster entrepreneurship. Recently, young people have become very interested in starting their own businesses, and Tokyo has many opportunities for entrepreneurs. There are few such opportunities in rural areas. We will focus on educational activities that can only be done in Tokyo, a world-class metropolis. For example, in Okayama, universities provide start-up funds for students' business plan contests to measure their results, but in Tokyo, investors come to campuses to evaluate whether students are eligible to receive investment. This makes it much tougher to obtain startup funding than in Okayama. However, we want students to know that this is the reality.

Tokyo is also the center of Japan, and a city that people from overseas want to visit at least once. Therefore, hospitality is an important theme, and we provide hospitality education based on practice that meets the needs of the industry. Our main focus is on developing human resources who can be immediate assets for a business. Fortunately, we have the full support of the world-class Hotel Okura Group, so we are confident that we can provide a good environment in this field. The hospitality industry is attractive to both Japanese and international students because it offers a work environment that caters to inbound tourists. I believe it should not be difficult for international students to find a good job with stable income and status in a high-end hotel and the goal is to make this a reality.

When you talk about tourism in Japan, you always hear about the so-called golden route from Tokyo to Kyoto to Osaka. Most foreigners who come to Japan are primarily interested in that area. Why does Okayama attract people to come to study, and then stay to build a career in the region? 

Okayama is calm and quiet, unlike Tokyo, which offers a lot of stimulation. However, such noise and excitement are not a good match for all students.  Okayama has a population of 700,000 and is the second-largest city in the Chugoku region. Geographically, it is well-located, with easy access to other cities. For example, it takes about 70 minutes to get to Kyoto, 40 minutes to Osaka, 30 minutes to Hiroshima, and 20-30 minutes to Shikoku. So, it serves as a kind of communication hub, and there are many places for international students coming to Okayama to understand Japan. The people of Okayama are also very kind and friendly.

When looking for a part-time job or internship in Tokyo, you often end up working without knowing who the owner is. However, in Okayama, students can find part-time or full-time jobs while knowing who the owner is. This means that international students here are close to decision makers, and if they work hard at a part-time job, they have a chance to get a full-time job or a job at a famous local company through that connection. I think an environment where decision makers are close is a very good environment for international people.

I believe the key to success for international students is to learn about Japan and Japanese people in this kind of environment and then move on to big cities like Tokyo and Osaka.

World-renowned architect Tadao Ando designed five buildings at IPU. He is famous for a minimalist aesthetic and design. Can you tell us how that translates to an education institute like a university, how it enhances the learning experience for students? 

One of the main reasons we chose Tadao Ando to design the university's main buildings is because we felt that many Japanese universities are similar to junior high and high school buildings. They are just basic buildings for learning. We wanted our students to have a learning experience in a building that is unique to a university. We are proud that not only Japanese students but also international students can study in a building designed by Ando. From this point of view, we think that having Ando's buildings is very meaningful for the university.

Ando's initial proposal was to design a "dojo" on the central axis to create an environment that nurtures people, not just about functions and necessary facilities. We also thought it was important that the building served its purpose. Currently, there are five completely different buildings designed by Ando. According to his book, “I designed the dojo (TOPGUN) to symbolize a new entrance to the future for the campus and the students who learn there. By making the entire roof into a terraced plaza, I designed the building itself to become a training ground. The design request for the academic building (PHILOSOPHIA) came while the dojo was still under construction. After that, the project continued, and other buildings such as the cafeteria (HARMONY), sports science center (INSPIRE), and the new academic building (DISCOVERY), which was completed in 2019, were constructed one after another. Over the years, five academic buildings were completed… Including the existing buildings, each building creates visual and spatial connections through elements like stone walls that form approaches, balconies supported by columns, and the backdrop of the site. This concept is like individual trees coming together to form a forest.”

2019 Tadao Ando DISCOVERY building on IPU campus

I am very proud of all five buildings, but I am particularly proud of the latest one. In particular, DISCOVERY was designed with the goal of fostering non-cognitive abilities across all departments. I believe there is no other building of such scale and size designed to offer this area of study.

Much of what is taught in schools is related to cognitive areas. However, what is considered more important in society are non-cognitive abilities (self-control, perseverance, communication skills, initiative, problem-solving skills, etc.) rather than the cognitive skills learned in school. These abilities are said to be greatly influenced during childhood, but conversely, once leaving school, academic performance and grades are rarely brought up in daily conversations. Instead, people are evaluated based on their non-cognitive abilities. Considering the significant decline in the development of non-cognitive skills in schools, society, and at home, I believe efforts should be made to nurture these abilities even during university life which starts at the age of 18. IPU is a pioneering institution in Japan for fostering non-cognitive abilities.

The importance of IPU's international collaboration goes beyond the campus in New Zealand. You have a system where students can study the first two years of a four-year university at a Chinese university and then transfer in the third year. There are many students from overseas enrolled in Japan. Do you intend to invite students from more countries? If so, which countries are you targeting?

Yes, we would like to invite students from more countries! We have three campuses, so we would like to utilize them under the concept of "One IPU" while giving each campus its own identity. Also, if students pay tuition at one campus, they can study at the other two campuses. The 124 credits required for a Japanese degree can be accumulated and applied at each campus, and students can choose the campus to graduate from.

We believe that this unique point will help us attract potential students.

I think this system is very good for students. In the future, there may be opportunities for educational institutions in other cities to join the "One IPU" program. However, our priority now is to effectively utilize and succeed with our current three campuses. If we are successful, universities and various educational institutions from various countries will show their desire to join us. The enthusiasm for studying abroad is increasing in every country around the world. If you are going to study abroad, I want you to choose Japan, a safe and secure country. I am sure that in the future, collaboration between high schools around the world and our university will increase rapidly.

What goals do you have for the IPU by the time it celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2032?

We want to have another directly managed university outside of Japan. We also want to build a practical education building where international students can engage in activities together. For example, there could be companies operating restaurants or retail sales within the campus, or students could run trade companies or travel agencies to create business opportunities with people from other countries. Students will have the opportunity to take on corporate leadership roles. We want to provide a place for students to practice the entrepreneurial spirit they have learned in class.

For more information, please visit their website at: https://ipu-japan.ac.jp/english/