The campus of International Christian University was an oasis of quiet in the final week of the winter term, with a handful of undergraduates studying beneath the newly sprouting plum trees that bloom a few weeks before Japan’s familiar cherry blossoms.
The number of 18-year-olds here has dropped by nearly half in just three decades, from more than 2 million in 1990 to 1.1 million now. It’s projected to further decline to 880,000 by 2040, according to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Yushi Inaba, a senior associate professor of management at International Christian University in Tokyo who has studied the phenomnon, says steep drops in enrollment at Japanese universities can offer “clues and implications” for U.S. policymakers and employers.
Well, they told us to strive for Zero Population Growth to save the planet!
So, dumbing down entry and graduation requirements do everyone can benefit doesn’t work. Hmm.