Japanese campuses of foreign universities

A Japanese campus of a foreign university (外国大学の日本校, gaikoku daigaku no nihonkō) is an educational facility established in Japan by a foreign university outside of Japan whose accreditation is recognized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology-Japan (MEXT).

Temple University, Japan Campus
Temple University, Japan Campus
Tianjin University, Japan Campus
Tianjin University, Japan Campus

Overview

Since the 1980s, some foreign universities, mainly from the United States, have set up their campuses in Japan. In the 1990s, there were approximately 40 Japanese campuses of foreign universities. Because almost all of them were from American universities, those campuses were often referred to as Japanese campuses of American universities.[1] Since then, the majority of the schools have withdrawn, and in the 2000s, several universities from countries other than the United States opened Japanese campuses, decreasing the ratio of American universities. Therefore, as of 2021, such campuses are generally lumped together as Japan campuses of foreign universities.

The Japanese campuses were not legitimate universities under the Japanese School Education Law because the main campus of these universities was an accredited university in its home country (foreign country outside of Japan), and the majority of their Japanese campuses provided a regular curriculum conforming to the laws and regulations of the home country. Therefore, their curricula were based on foreign education policies and not approved by MEXT. Furthermore, graduates of universities in foreign countries were generally eligible to apply for admission to Japanese graduate schools, but graduates of a foreign university’s Japanese campus were not eligible.[2] Because there were no special treatments under other laws and regulations, most of those Japanese campuses were treated as unaccredited.

Moreover, many campuses, especially American ones, had difficulty recruiting students because they could not gain the trust of parents due to the structure being so different from that of Japanese universities. For example, unlike in the Japanese system, it is easy to enter a school without taking examinations, but it is difficult to advance to the next grade. It is not unusual for students to drop out without being able to graduate. As a result, by the end of the 1990s, most of the campuses, except a few, had withdrawn and closed.

However, in the early 2000s, MEXT revised the legal status of Japanese campuses, including the admission qualifications for Japanese graduate schools. This revision improved the student recruitment condition.[3]

Still, Japanese campuses approved by MEXT are not approved as Japanese universities under the Japanese School Education Law. Rather, they are designated as providing the same quality of education as that of the corresponding university campus(es) in a foreign country.[4] Because the Japanese campuses are now stably positioned within the Japanese legal system, graduates of these campuses are allowed to enroll in graduate schools, transfer to Japanese universities, and transfer credits.

Student Privileges

In addition, because these universities are conspicuously positioned in the law as foreign universities located in Japan, they have increasingly been treated in the same way as Japanese universities. The following are privileges commonly applicable to Japanese university students. Because Japan campuses of foreign universities have been designated as foreign universities in Japan, the enrolled students have also been eligible for the following:

  • Purchase of a student commuter pass for public transportation.[5]
  • Receive a loan-type scholarship from the Japan Student Services Organization, an independent administrative agency. Because they are foreign universities, they are eligible for the Type 2 Scholarship (Overseas).[6][7]
  • Special exception for student payment of National Pension.[8]
  • Issuance of Japanese student visas to international students from outside Japan.

List of Japan campuses of foreign universities

As of October 2, 2022, the Japan campuses of foreign universities designated by MEXT are as follows (the dates in parentheses are designation notification dates):[9]

The following campuses are closed:

Notes
  1. Even in the 1990s, there were Japan campuses of foreign universities other than from the United States. Examples include China’s Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Continuing Education Japan Branch, established in 1991, and Russia’s Far Eastern Federal University Hakodate Campus, established in 1994.
  2. Article 105, Item 1 of the current Ordinance for Enforcement of the School Education Law states, “those who have completed sixteen years of school education in a foreign country” and “those who have completed a curriculum equivalent to graduating from a university in a foreign country” are eligible for graduate school admission. However, those who study at a foreign university’s Japan campus were ineligible because they do not complete the curriculum in a foreign country. Furthermore, because such schools are not accredited Japanese universities, graduates of Japan campuses of a foreign university were generally not allowed to enter Japanese graduate schools.
  3. Torii, Atsuteru. "外国大学日本校の将来展望: テンプル大学ジャパンの事例" [Future prospects of foreign branch campuses in Japan: Temple University Japan] (PDF). 国立教育政策研究所紀要. 135: 135–181.
  4. 文部科学省 高等教育局 高等教育企画課 高等教育政策室. "「外国大学の日本校」及び「我が国の大学の海外校」に関する制度改正案の概要". Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  5. JRグループ. "文部科学大臣の指定を受けた外国大学日本校に在籍する学生に対する通学定期乗車券等の発売について" (PDF). Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  6. 独立行政法人日本学生支援機構. "海外留学の対象となる学校・課程を教えてください". Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  7. 独立行政法人日本学生支援機構. "第二種奨学金（海外）制度概要". Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  8. 日本年金機構. "学生納付特例対象校一覧". Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  9. 文部科学省 高等教育局 高等教育企画課 国際企画室. "外国大学等の日本校の指定". Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  10. "アリゾナ州立大学 サンダーバードグローバル経営学部 広島大学グローバル校". 7 September 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
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