Search Results (10)

This study examines the intentions of foreign workers living in Okayama, Japan, to stay long-term in Japan. Utilizing a Bayesian multinomial logistic regression model, this research provides a novel analytical approach that captures parameter uncertainty and accommodates the categorical nature of migrants’ settlement intentions using primary data collected via a questionnaire survey from January to March 2024. The findings reveal that residence status, previous experience of living in Japan, and graduation from a Japanese education institution significantly influence long-term settlement intentions. In addition, respondents aged 26–35 intend to stay longer than those of other ages, and those from less developed countries, such as Myanmar and Vietnam, intend to stay longer than those from China. Conversely, highly educated migrants express lower settlement intentions, suggesting a potential loss of skilled foreign labor in Japan. Notably, migrants in the Technical Intern Training Program are more likely to stay longer than those with other residence statuses, such as Highly Skilled Professional. In contrast, workers with higher education levels tend to have less intention to stay long-term, indicating a high probability of Japan losing educated foreign labor in the future. These findings contribute to understanding the dynamics of migrant workers in Japan, which is crucial for creating policies for foreign workers that can attract and support long-term settlement. These findings have important implications for policy, particularly in enhancing community integration, reducing workplace discrimination, and designing residence pathways that support long-term retention. Full article

Background/Objectives: Since the Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities was enacted in 2016, the number of students with disabilities in higher education institutions has increased significantly, creating a greater need for support. Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) often coexists with other neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and reading and writing difficulties; yet, awareness of DCD remains low. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of DCD traits among Japanese higher education students and their relationship with ADHD, ASD, and reading and writing support needs Methods: A pilot study was conducted with 77 university students (mean age: 19.17 ± 0.68) in the Kansai region, using the Adolescents and Adults Coordination Questionnaire (AAC-Q) to screen for DCD traits, along with a questionnaire assessing difficulties related to ADHD and ASD, and a survey on reading and writing support needs. Results: The study found that 12.9% of students scored more than 1 standard deviation above the mean on the AAC-Q. Students in the DCD trait group (n = 10) reported greater difficulties related to ADHD and ASD than those in the non-DCD group (n = 67). Correlation analysis revealed a moderate-to-strong association between AAC-Q scores and difficulties related to ADHD and ASD among students in the DCD trait group. Conclusions: This study suggests the need to raise awareness about DCD traits and to provide comprehensive support for students with ADHD and ASD in Japanese higher education institutions. Full article

Ever since bachelor’s competencies were introduced as a reference standard in Japan, many Japanese higher education institutions have been exploring and practicing liberal arts education for the 21st century. This study posits that incorporating new elements into university education has been a significant trend in liberal arts education for the 21st century. Building on the results of a comprehensive survey, primarily involving universities and industry, this study provides an in-depth analysis of how 21st-century liberal arts education is evaluated and expected by companies and others. A questionnaire survey was administered to universities regarding their provision of 21st-century liberal arts education and the status of reforms toward this education, and to companies and other members of society regarding their expectations and evaluation of 21st-century liberal arts education provided by universities, as well as the content they evaluate as learning outcomes for university students and the qualities and skills they consider when employing them. The findings from the survey of universities and companies indicate that the average scores for curriculum reform and establishment of new courses at universities and host companies are relatively low, as indicated by the relatively low average scores for keywords that companies place importance on. Undeniably, universities’ efforts toward reform and the reality of such efforts should be conveyed to the public. Through dialogue with the industrial sector, we can understand the necessity of sharing and realizing openness to developing human resources through collaboration and innovation. Full article

This study aimed to determine the association between demographic factors, body size, and fruit and vegetable intake in the general population, focusing on individuals with both low and high skin carotenoid levels. This cross-sectional study was conducted during the 14th National Convention on the Promotion of Food and Nutrition Education (2019) in Yamanashi, Japan (a rural area) and the Open House 2019 at the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Health, and Nutrition in Tokyo, Japan (an urban area). Skin carotenoid measurements were conducted, and the participants were asked to fill out a self-administered questionnaire. The study population consisted of 492 Japanese individuals aged ≥16 years. The odds ratios (ORs) for low skin carotenoid levels were elevated in males, those who were overweight, and those who almost never consumed or consumed only one vegetable dish/day. Conversely, the ORs were lower in those living in Yamanashi, aged 30–39 and ≥70 years, and those who consumed fruit ≥1 time/week. For high skin carotenoid levels, the ORs were higher among those aged ≥70 years, living in Yamanashi, and those who consumed fruit ≥1 time/day or ≥5 vegetable dishes/day. Demographic factors, body size, and habitual fruit and vegetable intake may serve as indicators of skin carotenoid levels. Full article

Recently, study abroad and elective programs have been facilitated via university partnerships based on student-exchange agreements. This study examined international medical student exchange agreements, focusing on reciprocity and stratification in the Japanese context. An empirical analysis was conducted using 581 agreements involving student exchanges with medical institutions in foreign countries based on a survey conducted by the Japanese Ministry of Education. We found that the average reciprocity rate via mutual tuition waivers was 52.84%: equivalent in Asia, slightly lower in Europe (49.61%), and higher in North America (58.06%). Europe has a balanced inbound and outbound exchange, Asia has a higher inbound exchange, and North America has an excess of outbound exchange from Japan. Moreover, selective institutions, such as former imperial or medical universities, have more than twice the number of agreements per university compared to others. In conclusion, it can be observed that international medical university partnerships are stratified, and reciprocity is intertwined with tuition waivers and the number of exchange students in the partnering institutions. As the results highlight the distinct characteristics of international education partnerships in Japan’s medical field compared to partnerships in all academic fields, it is necessary to investigate and develop international partnerships separately by field. Full article

The purpose of this study is to investigate barriers experienced by dental students when choosing professional careers. An anonymous online survey with eight questions extracted from the annual American Dental Education Association Survey for U.S. dental school seniors (UDS) and two Japan-specific questions was given to Japanese dental school seniors (JDS) in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The results were compared to UDS data. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Harvard Medical School and included 1053 respondents. The parental education and income levels of JDS were higher than UDS, and educational debt of JDS was lower than UDS. The top reason for choosing dentistry for JDS was influence and expectation from family members, while the top reason for UDS was service to others. Although both groups showed interest in teaching in academia, the majority chose to enter private practice immediately post-graduation, and would consider teaching during their mid or late career. Barriers for dental students staying in academia varied between the two countries. For JDS, the main barrier was an anxiety around stable income. For UDS, it was their educational debt. Dental educators and policymakers need to consider these barriers to improve the sustainability of dental students choosing an academic career path. Full article

We compare the association between educational attainment and housework participation among single and married women in Japan and the US. Using the cross-sectional time-use diaries from the 2006 American Time Use Survey (ATUS) and the 2006 Japanese Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities (STULA) and unconditional quantile regressions (UQR), we test whether educational attainment is associated with less time spent on housework in Japan compared to the US. We find that this assumption stands only for American women and non-married Japanese women. However, married Japanese women are unlikely to reduce participation in housework with an increase in their educational level. Married Japanese women are more likely to do more housework proportionately to the level of their education. The findings reveal the presence of a marriage penalty among highly educated Japanese women. In Japan, the institute of marriage places higher expectations regarding women’s housework participation on married women with higher levels of education, thereby penalising Japanese women with higher educational attainments. Our findings illustrate that the tenets of the resource-based and gender-centred frameworks developed based on the empirical findings in Western countries cannot always directly apply to the patterns observed in East Asia. Full article

This study evaluates campus sustainability initiatives in Japanese higher education institutions over the 10-year period since a related important political declaration was made. Our findings show that implementation of sustainability actions was still largely lacking. This is one of the first extensive empirical studies on Japanese higher education institutions to examine data related to institutions that conform with the Assessment System for Sustainable Campus (ASSC). Our study aimed to identify key factors that promote robust campus sustainability among Japanese institutions. Our research question was “What are the strategic options of institutions that conform with ASSC?” We aimed to determine which fields best prompt Japanese higher education institutions to initiate campus sustainability initiatives. We applied cluster analysis to 42 cases collected by ASSC toward identifying groups of institutions with different strategic options. The analysis identified four groups: “lagging-behind”, “asset-driven”, “top-of-the-class”, and “networkers” clusters. An important finding of this study was that the asset-driven and networkers clusters showed significant positive scores with respect to asset management and networking. Our survey about institution size revealed two major findings: (1) despite the general dependency of campus sustainability on resources, both large and small institutions were capable of attaining the top-of-the-class cluster by adopting a holistic strategy; (2) small institutions are able to implement campus sustainability initiatives by focusing on asset management or networking. Full article

Youths in Japanese residential care institutions often face challenges with social adaptation and career trajectories. This study aimed to examine the risk factors that lead residential care youths in Japan to drop out of high school. Eighty-nine residential care facilities completed a questionnaire that focused on the characteristics of residing high school students, their educational status, experiences of maltreatment before residence, diagnosed disabilities, and the timing of admission. A sample composed of 773 youths was analyzed. Among the facilities, the high school dropout rate among youths in residential care was 19.3% (n = 149). Data revealed that the time of admission had the utmost significant effect. The risk of dropping out for youths admitted at junior high school age was significantly higher than for youths admitted before that age. Overall, residential care youths had a higher risk of not adapting to high school, and youths receiving short-term care demonstrated difficulty continuing high school. These results illustrate the importance of psychological treatment and educational support for youth who enter residential care during adolescence. Hence, attention should be focused on improving youth engagement in school to improve their social and career outcomes. Full article

As universities in Japan gain institutional autonomy in managing internal organizations, independent of governmental control as a result of deregulation and decentralizing reforms, it is becoming increasingly important that the executives and administrators of each institution demonstrate clear and strategic vision and ideas to external stakeholders, in order to maintain financially robust operations and attractiveness of their institutions. This paper considers whether and how the self-image, mission, and vision of universities are perceived and internalized by the management of Japanese universities and empirically examines the determinants of shaping such individual perceptions. The result of our descriptive analysis indicates that the recent government policy to internationalize domestic universities has not shown much progress in the view of university executives in Japan. An increasing emphasis on the roles of serving local needs in research and teaching is rather pursued by these universities. Individual perceptions among Japanese university executives with regard to the missions and functional roles to be played by their institutions are influenced by managerial rank as well as the field of their academic training. A multiple regression analysis reveals that the economy of scale brought out by an expanded undergraduate student enrollment gradually slows down and decelerate executive perceptions, with regard to establishing a globally recognized status in research and teaching. Moreover, Japanese universities with a small proportion of graduate student enrollment, likely opted out from competitions for gaining a greater respect in the global community of higher education between 2005 and 2012. Finally, the management in universities granted with the same amount of external research funds in both studied years responded more passively in 2012 than did in 2005 on the self-assessment of whether having established a status as a global knowledge base. Full article