Transformation of university governance through internationalization: challenges for top universities and government policies in Japan

Internationalization of Higher Education as a Response to Globalization: Japan’s Policy Challenges since the 1980s

“…The indicators set forth by the project were not limited to practical individual internationalization initiatives, but were to include comprehensive university reforms. Overall, the project accurately reflects the policy trends in new public management in Japan over the last two decades-namely, more detailed and transparent monitoring to ensure the effective use of public funds for the internationalization of higher education (Yonezawa and Shimmi, 2015).…”

“…For improving research excellence, the government set up Global Centers of Excellence (Global COEs) in 2007 and established the Program for Leading Graduate Schools in 2011. The Global COEs program was introduced to elevate the international competitiveness of Japanese universities, while the Program for Leading Graduate Schools was intended to help high-caliber students become globally active leaders (Yonezawa and Shimmi, 2015). Continuing to respond to globalization, the Japanese government became more active in developing national funding projects to internationalize the university system.…”

A Systematic Literature Review of Funding for Higher Education Institutions in Developed Countries

“…Two funding projects were established to support internationally competitive research units over a five-year term, that is, 21st Century Centers of Excellence (2002Excellence ( -2009 and Global Centers of Excellence (2007Excellence ( -2014. Some funding projects have been aiming to produce world-class graduate schools and research institutes, for example, the 10-year World Premier International Center Initiative (Yonezawa & Shimmi, 2015). The Japanese government launched a number of support programs to facilitate the internationalization of universities.…”

“…The Strategic Fund for Establishing International Headquarters in Universities (2005Universities ( -2009 provided the selected universities with 10 to 40 million Japanese Yen every year. The five-year funding project, Re-inventing Japan (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016) aims to develop internationally competitive talents among Japanese youth and to develop capacity for international engagement among Japanese universities (Yonezawa & Shimmi, 2015). In addition to the above initiatives, the Japanese government has established a budgetary system for improving the global competitiveness of Japanese research universities by focusing on governance and management reform.…”

“…The funds are not provided for funding specific research activities but allocated for supporting innovations in research strategy and management. Under the same system, the Top Global University Project started in 2014 and will last for 10 years (Yonezawa & Shimmi, 2015).…”