The Past, Present, and Future of Internationalization in Japan

The purpose of this special volume containing five articles dedicated to the internationalization of higher education in Japan is to provide information, analysis, and insight on the current goals, rationales, policies, and challenges facing internationalization's role as way to increase research excellence, profile, and competitiveness within Asia and the world beyond. Collectively, they paint a picture of a country that is supporting the higher education sector to be a key actor in helping Japan become the “Asian Gateway” to the rest of the world. To understand the nature of internationalization of higher education in Japan, it is important to review the changes in the international dimension of higher education during the past decades. Given the pivotal role that foreign students have played in the history of Japan's international academic relations, this topic is at the centre of a review of what could be called the “three primary phases” of internationalization from 1950 to the present day.