Globally, the internationalization of higher education has assumed a key position on domestic policy agendas, not only for educational and scientific reasons, but also increasingly due to socio-economic considerations. National contexts, however, are still influential in the actual process of internationalization. In the case of Japan, adding to a strong identity based on an advanced higher education system, and continuous development of neighboring countries in terms of their science and technology sectors as well as their industrial and service economies is having a significant impact on policy direction and the actual internationalization process. Using the case of Japan, this article emphasizes the need for autonomous initiatives on the part of universities and academics themselves for the internationalization of higher education. The Japanese government and the nation’s higher education institutions are still in the process discovering their identities amidst rapidly changing regional circumstances. Consequently, the direction of national and institutional strategies has often been observed to be unsettled and inconsistent. In order to sustain a continuous internationalization process, dynamic initiatives by academics and universities to enhance knowledge creation and exchange are indispensable.
YONEZAWA et al. (Sun,) studied this question.