Now is the time to study abroad to open yourself up to the diversity of the world

As seen in the Trump Administration’s “America First,” conservative nationalism has been gaining great power worldwide. This nationalistic bent is not only limited to governmental affairs. When looking around us, we see and hear about bullying and hate speech, and tragic news such as parricide and filicide. It appears the fundamental element of these issues is greatly affected by people’s introspective mindset. When people build a wall around themselves, and have little contact with the outside word, they become insensitive toward others. They cannot be tolerant or work together with others. The lack of sensitivity ends up exacerbating their egoistic behaviors. To deal with these problems, we tend to come up with some symptomatic treatment, such as admonishing or punishing bullies, and enforcing stricter laws against hate speech. However, I think, such measures can never really solve the problems. What is needed is to take comprehensive measures from a variety of positions. I think the most essential part of such measures is education. It is particularly important to incorporate the field of “international education” into every education system.

Why international education? Education itself, in fact, is extremely inward-focused. The education provided in a given country deliberately guides its people in a certain direction. Of course, that is important. However, where people with different educational backgrounds encounter one another, a conflict occurs. Inherently, people only know the world in which they live. The world they know may be everything to them, but they were like a big fish in a little pond. In fact, their world is very narrow, and the world outside, with its diverse groups of people and cultures, is much larger than they have ever known. It is not until they go out into such a world that they understand their own culture appropriately. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate the field of international education into all educational systems. UNESCO has already called for implementing the “Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms” in 1974. Nevertheless, when looking at the current global trends more than 40 years later, it seems that not enough efforts toward this recommendation have been made in international communities.

It is apparent to many of those who have experienced studying abroad that living in a different culture helps gain understanding for and sharpen senses toward cross-culture, and helps with the acquisition of a variety of skills. However, those without such experience cannot get over the idea that studying abroad is just for improving language skills, and therefore, they hesitate to take the first step toward studying abroad, especially when they want to find employment in Japan after they graduate. According to the results of a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the number of Japanese students studying abroad is on a declining trend. There are several reasons for this, but the main reason is financial. For example, Meiji University’s School of Global Japanese Studies offers programs to study at prestigious schools in England, but some programs cost a student 700,000 to 800,000 yen a month. At one time, there were students interested in these programs, but currently there are hardly any prospective students in light of cost effectiveness. For this reason, some of these programs have now been stopped. In general, it is hard for Japanese students to have a strong desire to go overseas to study from a socially advantaged and convenient country like Japan, especially if doing so is beyond their means. This kind of attitude could lead to nationalism or exclusivism in the long run.

With that, Meiji University is promoting study abroad programs in an effort to reduce the financial burden on students. A large-scale international education conference, with participation by personnel in charge of international education from educational institutions of over 100 countries, was held in the United States this year. We negotiated with more than 50 colleges to start study abroad programs with the lowest possible cost. Among such programs, there is a tie-up program with a state university in America, which is offered with a cost for tuition and living expenses of about 1 million yen per year. We also offer a variety of a week-long to month-long short-term programs. As a first step, we want students to go overseas to learn and experience different cultures in whatever form the program may take. I believe such experiences will eventually find their own purposes through a variety of discoveries. As just described, studying abroad needs a certain structure that can be followed. Our ideal is to provide diverse programs to match each student’s purpose. However, this cannot be done by the university alone; international education requires a systematic structure that starts during early childhood.