• Brief encounters: The number of Japanese enrolled at foreign universities is falling, but figures from the Japan Student Services Organization show an overall increase in Japanese studying abroad. But 61 percent of these students are on trips lasting less than a month. | ISTOCK
    Brief encounters: The number of Japanese enrolled at foreign universities is falling, but figures from the Japan Student Services Organization show an overall increase in Japanese studying abroad. But 61 percent of these students are on trips lasting less than a month. | ISTOCK
  • SHARE

With summer’s heat blanketing Japan and school out, it’s study-abroad season for those students lucky enough to escape the humidity.

Depending on how you look at study-abroad statistics, the airliners flying students overseas are either half-full or half-empty. Government pamphlets show that increasing numbers of Japanese are going abroad to study. However, a close look at the data reveals that looser definitions are inflating the numbers — and that most students aren’t spending much time overseas anyway.

Unable to view this article?

This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.

Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.

If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.

We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

, , ,