No. of Japanese studying abroad down, foreign students in Japan rising

TOKYO, Dec. 22 Kyodo -
The number of Japanese studying abroad declined by a record level in 2008,
while the number of foreign students currently studying in Japan reached a
record-high as of May this year, reports by the education ministry and an
independent organization showed Wednesday.
The Japan Student Services Organization said in its report that a record-high
number of 141,774 foreigners are studying in Japan, up 9,054 from the year
before, while the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology said the number of Japanese studying abroad totaled 66,833 in 2008,
8,323 fewer than the previous year.
The number of Japanese students studying aboard has been on the decline since
peaking at 82,945 in 2004, while that of foreigners studying in Japan has been
growing. In 2008, the number of foreign students in Japan was 123,829.
Education ministry officials said the current job recruitment process in Japan
is apparently discouraging Japanese students from studying abroad for fear of
missing out on opportunities to apply for jobs in a given period.
Students are reluctant to study abroad also because of current economic
conditions, the officials said.
The Japanese government has set goals of having 300,000 foreigners studying in
Japan and the same number of Japanese studying abroad by the year 2020.
It hopes to increase the number of Japanese students overseas by encouraging
them to enroll in short-term programs.
The United States was the most popular destination for Japanese studying abroad
in 2008 at 29,264. But the number dropped to 24,842 in 2009, according to the
latest data by the Institute of International Education, which is used by the
ministry to compile the report.
China was the second most popular at 16,733, followed by Britain at 4,465.
Students from Asia accounted for 92 percent of all foreigners studying in
Japan, according to the latest survey by the student services organization. The
number of students from China came to 86,173, up 7,091 from the previous year,
accounting for 61 percent of the total, followed by 20,202 students from South
Korea.
By prefecture, Tokyo has the largest number of foreign students at 45,617,
followed by Osaka Prefecture at 10,791 and Fukuoka Prefecture at 9,665.
By university, Waseda University has accepted the largest number of foreign
students at 3,568, followed by Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University at 2,921 and
the University of Tokyo at 2,772.
==Kyodo