ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the development of pathways into the workforce for Asian graduates of Japanese universities. It demonstrates how such development is fuelled by corporate Japan’s burgeoning interest in talent imported from other parts of Asia as a potential driving force for business growth internationally, and how it is connected to universities’ approaches to international student education and graduate employment more generally. Singled out for in-depth analysis is a major government-led initiative in this area, the Asian Human Resources Scheme (ajia jinzai shikin kōsō; also known in English as the Career Development Program for Foreign Students from Asia). The analysis highlights the conflict between the scheme’s espousal of talented Asian graduates’ potential to revitalise Japanese business and transform corporate culture, and the degree of practical effort devoted to cultivating their Japanese literacy, often to the point of suppressing the ‘Asian’ attributes for which they were originally valued. This points to an imperfect articulation of interests between policymakers, universities and employers, as well as calling for a greater appreciation of the students’ own aspirations. The chapter also considers the intersection between these initiatives to mobilise imported Asian talent and the growing emphasis on cultivating intercultural literacy among local Japanese graduates.
