The Power to Compete: An Economist and an Entrepreneur on Revitalizing Japan in the Global Economy

Chapter 5The Power to Succeed Overseas

The Decline in the Number of Students Studying Abroad

Hiroshi:

I want to discuss measures for global expansion and management capability. While I initially thought that the overseas sales of Japanese corporations were high, I found them to be surprisingly low when actually looking at the statistics. Sales peaked in 2007 at 13 percent of total sales, while they were just 11.7 percent in 2010, according to data from that year. We have gone from simpler times in which products were made entirely in Japan and then exported to a period of globalization in which production is stretched across different borders. At the same time, the use of English has become a primary factor in global business success. The movement that began when I established English as our corporate language is starting to spread and take hold.

That said, as of 2010, Japan's average TOEFL score was just 70 points out of 120—fourth from the bottom in Asia, just before Laos. South Korea sent more than 72,000 exchange students to the United States that year. Japan, in comparison, sent just under 20,000—a dramatic difference. Looking at all destinations, including the United States, the total number of students going abroad peaked in 2004 at more than 80,000. This number fell to 60,000 by 2009, and it continues to fall today. Based on this data, it seems like Japanese students are becoming increasingly inward-looking. We must do something about this situation.

One of the many ...