With its increasing economic importance throughout the world, Japan has the potential to expand its political influence as well. Generally, however, Japan has been reluctant to use its growing power to influence political affairs both in Asia and in the rest of the world. This digest surveys the factors affecting Japan's role in world affairs, and…

Eight perspectives on higher education are provided in essays based on papers presented at a 1982 seminar. The historical perspective is provided by Harold Perkin with attention to turning points in higher education in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Maurice Kogan considers the political view and specifically intrainstitutional issues, the…

Nationalism and worldmindedness are social cognitions that have both culture-unique and culture-universal aspects. To compare cross-cultural manifestations of these 2 sentiments, 270 Japanese and 210 American university students in Tokyo and Los Angeles answered questions on national resources, self-sufficiency and interdependence, communication,…

Twenty-one American educational researchers and policy makers present their impressions of education in Japan. Compiled as a result of a two and a half week Educational Staff Seminar tour of Japan in 1972, the articles describe public and private schools, factories, museums, educational television studios, monasteries, shrines, and the Japanese…

Argues that the fact that there are more Japanese students studying in the United States than there are U.S. students in Japan is not a problem in itself, but that the United States should develop and sustain its expertise on Japan. Educators and exchange specialists should cooperate to expand academic, work-study, and internship programs in…

Explicates the mercantilist ideology of the Japanese elite and its impact on Japanese trade policy. Offers a textured portrait of the world view of a particular elite: Japan's technocrats. Reveals a nationalist ideology that is not advertised by its adherents, especially to foreign observers such as in the United States. (MJP)

The nations of the Pacific Rim comprise an increasingly important world economic region. Of these countries, Japan is clearly the most powerful and important. While the United States is an important trading partner for Japan, the Japanese are paying increasing attention to the neighboring nations of the Pacific Rim. This digest examines the…

Basic elements of the higher education system are considered, along with variations across nations (the United Kingdom, Sweden, Japan, Italy, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Australia, Canada, the United States, Poland, Yugoslavia, Mexico, and Thailand). Three basic elements of the organization of higher education system are identified:…

This report analyzes three aspects of social studies education in Japan: (1) characteristics of secondary education before World War II, (2) the nature and effects of United States intervention in secondary social studies in 1946, and (3) features of contemporary social studies. Before 1945 the boys' middle school, the Chugakko, was the most…

Discusses the current and future status of foreign language education in Japan, focusing on the social, economic, and political influences on foreign language education policy. The Japanese government's foreign language education policies from the 19th century through the present are reviewed. (five references) (MDM)

This volume contains papers on regional and global trends that affect the political factors which are changing the context within which academic mobility occurs: (1) "Introduction" (by Peggy Blumenthal and others); (2) "Political Dimensions of Regionalism in a Changing World" (David Leyton-Brown); (3) "Economic Dimensions…

Designed for secondary students, the 20 lessons in this volume promote education for, with, and about older adults and prepare students to participate in the changing world. Lessons 1-3 explore attitudes about aging through word association, confront the aging process, and examine values regarding time. Lessons 4-6 study aging in different times…

Part of a series of studies on higher education in different countries, this paper examines internal differentiation of Japanese higher education and the problem of coordination, using a comparative perspective. The crucial difference in the division of universities by subjects among different nations has been between chair and department…

This report describes the planning process for the Export Academy at Eastern Michigan University, designed to prepare students for a Master of Arts degree combining export and trade studies with second language (French, German, Spanish). In 1989-91, the Academy prepared the proposal for the new Master's degree program and sponsored a series of…

A comparative analysis of values education in the United States, Germany, Japan, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, Sweden, and Canada analyzed eight assertions: (1) No institution with education as its primary aim can be value neutral; (2) Countries differ in values which characterize their political cultures and in values which are taught in…