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J. Jung et al. (eds.), Researching Higher Education in Asia, Higher Education in
Asia: Quality, Excellence and Governance, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4989-7_6
Chapter 6
Higher Education Research in Japan: Seeking
a Connection with the International Academic
Community
Akiyoshi Yonezawa
Abstract This study examines the historical, current, and future challenges of
higher education research in Japan within a global context and discusses future
perspectives. Japanese higher education research has been strongly influenced by
the international academic community. At the same time, higher education research-
ers in Japan have participated in international projects, and Japan has served as a
leader for economic and academic research in East Asia. However, the language
barrier and the early development of higher education as a clearly identifiable topic
of research have contributed to Japanese higher education research’s rather unique
characteristics. Currently, this area of research is undergoing rapid expansion
through the participation of emerging professionals, such as institutional research-
ers and faculty/staff developers. In addition, the internationalization of the academic
community is having both a progressive and a retrogressive impact on higher educa-
tion research in Japan.
Introduction
Higher education has been one of the most internationalized areas of research within
the broader field of social sciences and education. As indicated by Marginson and
Rhoades ( 2002 ), the perspectives of higher education have already exceeded the
national dimension because of globalization. However, in non-English-speaking
countries with established academic traditions, the language barrier is still substan-
tially high, particularly in relation to the publication of research. Japan is a good
Note
This chapter is modified from the article originally published by Yonezawa, A. (2015), Connecting
Higher Education Research in Japan with the International Academic Community, in Higher
Education Policy, 28 (4), 477–493.
A. Yonezawa (*)
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
e-mail: [email protected]