Japan continues to show significant increases in international student recruitment.
New data from the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) shows that international student numbers in Japan have increased for the sixth year in a row. There were 298,980 foreign students in 2018, compared with 267,050 in 2017, an increase of 12%.
The international students contributing to the growth include those studying in Japanese graduate schools, universities, junior colleges, colleges of technology, professional training colleges, Japanese language institutes and university preparatory courses.
The report shows that undergraduate courses are the most popular, with 87,800 enrolled (30% of all higher education students).
International student enrolment in Japan, 1983–2018. Source: JASSO
Cumulatively, from 2013 to 2018, the growth rate of international students in Japan is 78%, which averages out to approximately 13% per year, an impressive record with Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh among the fastest-growing sending markets.
Japan’s goal is to enroll 300,000 international students by 2020 where announcements and policy legislation’s by the Japanese government on opening the market for immigration opportunities should result in a significant uptick of international students pursuing their education in Japan.
Japan is opening its doors to large-scale immigration with the Japanese government recently announcing that it will implement two new residency visa statuses. An estimated 345,000 international workers will be inducted into its local job market starting April 2019.