Nearly 40 percent of Japanese university students who enrolled in the spring are unwilling to study abroad, a survey said Sunday.
In the survey of 3,256 students conducted by Recruit Marketing Partners Co. in March and April, 38.6 percent expressed reluctance to study abroad, with 25.6 percent not wanting to do so and 12.9 percent not so interested in doing so.
Meanwhile, students willing to study abroad accounted for 33.4 percent, with 17 percent hoping to do so and 16.4 percent hoping it will be possible to do so.
The percentage of unwilling students was down 1.8 points from the previous survey in 2011, while that of willing students was up 0.6 point.
In answering a multiple response question on the reasons for their unwillingness to study abroad, 44 percent cited the expense of foreign education and 43.8 percent were worried about the language barrier.
As reasons for their willingness to study abroad, 74.8 percent said they want to communicate in a foreign language, and 35.7 percent answered it will be advantageous for securing employment.
Female students were more willing to study abroad than their male counterparts, the survey showed.