"Educational exchange is important" Ambassador Roos @US Japan Council meeting
In recent years, the number of Japanese enrolled in US institutions has declined dramatically - alarming trend
- During the last decade, the number of Japanese students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities decreased by 40%.
- During the same period, the number of students from China, India, and S. Korea has more than doubled. (Source: Institute of International Education)
- Some observers say the decline in Japanese enrollment at elite U.S. universities may weaken personal ties between the countries' business and political leaders.
Incentives and scholarship opportunities are desperately needed
"And yes, I hear that Japanese young people are less interested in studying abroad, and are more inward-looking. I believe they need to be encouraged. I believe that if the right incentives are in place - which includes scholarship money.... these young people will be encouraged to think in broader terms. And so I would encourage both policy leaders and business leaders to create the right incentives for young people to travel abroad...." (US Ambassador Roos in an interview with Mr. Toshifumi Kawano, Managing Editor, The Mainichi Daily News. Dec. 28, 2010)
US education does make a difference
".... What he has said repeatedly to young people is Go abroad, Japanese young man". Living abroad, he feels strongly about the importance of looking at Japan from overseas" Eiichi Negishi, Professor at Purdue University, Nobel Prize Winner 2010, Tokai News and Interviews