While bottom-up informal links, partnerships, and programs among universities in the region have proliferated, so too have government-initiated efforts toward developing regional partnerships in higher education. This chapter will explore these developments at the government and institutional levels, with particular emphasis on top-down policy initiatives for regional student exchange, research collaboration, quality assurance, and foreign credential evaluation. These policies will be considered in light of broader socio-cultural, economic, and political forces continually shaping the region.

Introduction

During much of the 20th century, Japan was recognized as a leader in knowledge production and technological innovation in East Asia, and its well-established higher education system was seen as the best in the region. Throughout this period Japan and its universities adopted an orientation toward East Asia that evolved in line with the modernizing development of neighboring countries. In the postwar period Japan viewed the region as a beneficiary of international education, with subsequent economic development in the region leading to a shift in approach “from aid to trade.” As neighboring economies have continued to develop, in recent decades Japan has been confronted with a new reality: the nation and its universities are no longer “No. 1” in the region, with China surpassing Japan in terms of GDP and a number of countries and societies such as Singapore, mainland China, Hong Kong, and South Korea emerging as strong competitors in the higher education sector. High levels of government funding for R&D by neighboring countries are now juxtaposed by a lack of such support in Japan, resulting from prolonged economic stagnation and challenges posed by the country’s shifting demography. Japan’s position has now been challenged, forcing the nation to reckon with its persistent yet misaligned perception that it is somehow “above and ahead” of its Asian neighbors.

Many in Japan’s government and universities have recognized this new reality, and have sought alternative strategies to augment Japan’s global competitiveness in spite of funding constraints. One such approach has been through internationalization, including various forms of regional cooperation in the higher education sector.