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International student exchange is integral to internationalization at higher education institutions and global human resource development in Japan. However, border closures and restrictions on physical mobility since 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic forced universities to adopt virtual mobility models to deliver international exchange programs. This study explores students’ experiences of taking virtual exchange programs and their pedagogical implications for future virtual exchange programs. In this paper, we present one case of virtual student mobility implemented at one national university in Japan. Analysis of multiple data sets, including student surveys (n=789), reflection papers (n=420), and interviews with a program administrator and a faculty member, revealed that this type of virtual student mobility program has strong merits in promoting internationalization activities. Students were satisfied with the diverse interdisciplinary academic content, flexibility in taking the course, and opportunity to engage with the host university faculty members and international students. Many have expressed their interest in studying at the host university in person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explored students' experiences in an international virtual student mobility (VSM) program at a Japanese national university implemented in collaboration with partner universities in the Asia Pacific region and Europe. Through students' narratives, the study discerned how students perceive "mobility" and the concept of "international students" after participating in a virtual student mobility program. Findings revealed a tension between students' understanding of "mobility," official narratives, and students' actual experiences. While VSM programs facilitate communication and knowledge exchange across borders and develop cross-cultural communications, prevailing binary definitions in student mobility, such as "inbound" vs. "outbound," "domestic" vs. "international," or "study abroad" vs. "internationalization at home," limit VSM potential to be fully realized. This misalignment of the traditional understanding of student mobility that emphasizes place and borders challenges the official narrative of student mobility and urges educators to re-align and re-frame how we understand "international students." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the interaction between civil society organizations in Japan and incoming international students to illustrate how the nonprofit sector can be conducive to social capital generation in diverse groups in the short-term. Based on interviews, participant observation and document analysis, this study examines motivations of nonprofit staff and volunteers to get involved with international students and connects them to students' expectations and needs. The paper suggests ways of improving engagement between Japanese civil society organizations and international students to benefit all the stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to depict how the public goods of internationalizing higher education in Japan, especially inbound international students, are viewed by various stakeholders based on the main findings from semi-structured interviews. The interviewees include key persons from different levels or fields in Japan: officials from MEXT (the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology), national agencies in relation to international students and international cooperation, a national-level professional association of higher education research, both top-level and middle-level leaders of one research-intensive national university, academics from Humanities, Engineering, and Economics, administrators in charge of internationalization of their respective universities, and international students from diverse backgrounds. The study begins with a brief introduction to the research background, before presenting the analysis and main findings from the interviews. It concludes by arguing how the public good and its relationship to the internationalization of Japanese higher education are viewed and interpreted by different stakeholders, and offering brief implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid expansion of English-medium courses/degree programs at Japanese universities over the past 15 years, a greater number of English-speaking international students from diverse backgrounds are being attracted. However, little research has been conducted to address the needs of this minority group, especially at the graduate level. Employing interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study explores on-campus satisfaction with life (SWL) of nine graduate international students studying primarily in the Englishmedium regarding the support model of their Japanese university. Four master themes of traditional support, student ideal support, challenges, and best practices are discussed. The results present effective Japanese university support strategies that can promote SWL of English-medium graduate international students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education is becoming increasingly internationalized, and the use of English as a medium of instruction for academic content has become commonplace in countries where English is not the native language. However, concerns are growing that the trend toward English-medium instruction (EMI) has accelerated without sufficient thought to the challenges of the implementation processes. This article discusses the challenges facing higher education institutions adopting EMI and proposes a typology for understanding them. Drawing on previously unpublished data from a study of universities in Japan, a context in which EMI is rapidly expanding, the article reconceptualizes prior understandings and identifies four categories of challenges: linguistic, cultural, administrative and managerial, and institutional. The categories are dynamic and context dependent, with institutional challenges playing a particularly prominent role in Japan. The proposed typology is offered as a conceptual framework for policy makers and program implementers designing effective implementation strategies for EMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationalization has become an important strategy for many Japanese universities as they face falling enrollments. While some have successfully attracted students from overseas, others seek different means by which to promote their international appeal, primarily as an attractor of domestic applicants. One way that this is highly visible is in the creation of international communication lounges on campuses: mediated spaces for intercultural exchange and language study that have developed out of the imported model of the self-access center. This ethnographic study looks at the establishment of an International Communication Lounge (ICL) at a private university on the outskirts of Tokyo, where exchange activities, open-access communication classes, and self-study facilities are provided to students in a casual setting. Phillips and Ochs (2003) four stages of policy borrowing in education are utilized as a framework to gain insight into the motivations of various stakeholders in the development of the facility. The ICL is shown to have had a positive impact on interest in international exchange programs and on motivation to study English among the small group of students who make use of the facility. Through this study, a microcosmic view of one university's efforts to internationalize their campus is provided, and there is an impetus for further discussion on the value and implementation of self-access communication spaces on university campuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]