ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the historical and contemporary international mobility patterns of US study abroad destinations, paying particular attention to Japan. As the participation rates to Europe decreased in the last three decades, US students are increasingly going to Asia. Japan is a historical leading destination for US study abroad. The research methodology of the retrospective mixed-method study on Japan Study participants from the 1960s to 2010s is explained and contains a quantitative online survey and qualitative in-depth interviews. Key demographic and study abroad program information from the online survey suggests that Japan Study participants include not only Japan-related majors, but also Asia-related, internationally oriented, and social science majors with varying levels of Japanese language ability prior to study abroad. However in Japan, participants primarily live with host families and participate in opportunities to interact with the host society through student clubs at the host institution and Cultural Practicums and Farm Stays. Historical trends spanning nearly five decades of motivations for studying abroad in Japan based upon empirical findings found that Japan has remained a historic leading destination for nearly 50 years due to its sociocultural and linguistic difference from the United States, geographical location in Asia, and economic power.
