The number of international students gaining work visas in Japan after graduating hit a record high in 2018.
According to the Immigration Services Agency, a total of 25,942 students switched their status of residence last year to one that permits employment in Japan, up 3,523 from a year earlier and more than doubling 2013 figures.
Asian nations accounted for 95.3% of the total, with Chinese nationals topped the list of students switching to work visas, accounting for 42%, followed by Vietnamese at 20.2% and Nepalese at 11.3%.
According to the Japan Student Services Organisation, there were 298,980 international students in Japan as of May 1, 2018, reflecting the government’s ambition to push for the internationalisation of the country’s HEIs.
However, despite prime minister Shinzo Abe’s goal of seeing 10 Japanese universities in the world’s top 100 by 2023 and education reforms including a 7.7 billion yen (US$982 million) fund for local universities, just two Japanese universities are currently in the Times Higher Education World Rankings 2020. The University of Tokyo came in 36th place, while Kyoto University ranked 65th.