EDUCATION : Japan Puts Out Welcome Mat for U.S. Students

Raelyn Campbell first came to Japan as a high school student. Now the 25-year-old Oregon native is back, studying international politics at the elite Tokyo University on a prestigious Education Ministry fellowship. She is a fluent Japanese speaker and works part time for a member of parliament.

In the eyes of both countries, Campbell is a success: a young American who came to Japan impressionable, was intrigued--and probably will spend the rest of her life working on Japan-related activities.

“America should know more about Japan--they are our biggest trading partner,” Campbell says.

But people like Campbell are rare. Each year, 45,000 Japanese students flood the United States to study, while only 1,400 Americans trickle to Japan.

The imbalance worries top officials on both sides of the Pacific, who fret that not enough Americans know or care about Japan. Last month, President Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto issued an educational initiative to increase the number of American students, new graduates, researchers, teachers and artists coming to Japan.

“The U.S.-Japan relationship is absolutely critical to the future of both the United States and Japan, for economic and security relations,” says U.S. Ambassador Walter F. Mondale, who has championed student exchanges between the United States and Japan. “There’s only about 1,400 students here from the U.S., and most are here only for a very short time. I say it’s dangerous. We need to have far more.”

Japan too hopes to get more Americans interested in coming here.

“The Japan-America relationship is extremely important. But it is built on people. Without those people, the U.S.-Japan relationship will be weak,” an Education Ministry official says.

The majority of students who come are euphoric. Most say they plan to make Japan a central part of their professional lives--showing that early exposure pays off.

Jay Alabaster, 21, a Princeton University engineering student who is spending a year at Kyushu University, says he will definitely be back within five years and that he hopes his connection with Japan will stretch out for his entire life.

Despite rave reviews by students, systemic obstacles can be daunting. By Japanese law, foreigners must be sponsored by a Japanese citizen. Some institutions do so, but many students must find a sponsor on their own.

Student housing facilities are available to only one-tenth of foreign students. Costs can run as high as $38,000--a steep sum even with a generous $12,000 Japanese government scholarship provided to some students under the new initiative.

And even those who master the different culture and difficult language aren’t assured of professional rewards. Many Japanese companies are still reluctant to hire foreigners as permanent employees.

John Freeman, who goes by a pseudonym, spent 13 years teaching at a Japanese university with the spoken understanding that his yearly contract would be renewed until his retirement. Three years ago he was called in and abruptly fired.

“The Japanese send a lot of people home starry-eyed over the short term,” says Freeman, 60, who has lived here for about 25 years. “But when it comes to permanent residence, they are not interested in that. They basically want a revolving-door system--people coming for three years and then going on.”

Still, both Japanese and Americans say things are slowly changing. In recent years, Japanese companies have recruited at American branch campuses in Japan--something that would have been unheard of in the past--and increased globalization means that no one can shut out the world anymore.

Caroline Niizawa, 21, a student at USC who grew up in Huntington Beach, says she knows one way that the world’s view of Japan has changed since her parents’ generation.

“My parents came to the U.S. thinking that was their chance to expand their opportunities economically,” she says. “But I am the reverse. I am hoping Japan will provide me with a future and economic opportunities.”