Panel Discussion: Chigaimasu: Where is Japan? Accepted Proposal

This panel session presents perspectives of Japan's educational systems, infrastructure and research. We focus on technology, administration, policy, and research impact. Japan has been slow to reform its education to meet the needs of a changing world economy. Japan’s image is that of high technology, robotics and creative media, however, the actual uptake of technology in education “remains comparatively low, and ICT does not appear as a priority in national education policy”. Japanese schools, colleges and universities are not developing their graduates to contribute to the development of the nation’s human capital. The problems and issues confronting educators in Japan are, in many ways, common to western countries. With little time for in-depth exploration, students are being taught to live in a horizontally hyperlinked world of information rather than a vertically hyperlinked world of deep knowledge. Coupled with these policy and pedagogical issues, management and faculty in public higher education institutions (HEIs) are also struggling to cope with the demands and needs - in spite of “hojinka” (the incorporation of public universities). Although some private HEIs are attempting to internationalize and participate in the global knowledge market, most public Japanese HEIs remain outside handicapping their knowledge potentials (capability and capacity)