Getting More Young People to Study Abroad—and Companies to Hire Those Who Do

By Harano Jōji. The number of Japanese studying in the United States is continuing to decline. This phenomenon is frequently cited as manifesting the inward-looking tendency of today’s Japan. One organization that has been working actively to reverse this negative trend is the U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON).
Concern About the Status Quo
Though the Fulbright Program promoting international student exchanges is well known in Japan, surprisingly few Japanese are familiar with CULCON. This bilateral panel was established on the basis of an agreement between Prime Minister Ikeda Hayato and President John F. Kennedy at a Japan-US summit meeting in 1961, and it was officially inaugurated with the first meeting of the Joint Committee on United States-Japan Cultural and Educational Interchange in Tokyo the following year. Since then the joint committee has met biannually. And last year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the panel’s launch.Educational Interchange (CULCON). More...